The Indian School of Business (ISB), one of India’s top B-schools, hosted top business leaders at the second edition of its annual leadership summit – Pinnacle, held at its Mohali campus on October 25. The event was a confluence of distinguished leaders from the world of business, academia and government with this year’s theme being – Leadership at the Crossroads.
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The event began by
Karthik Hebsur, President of Graduate Student Body (GSB) introducing the theme to the delegates. Hebsur highlighted the critical role that future leaders need to play in tackling pertinent global issues by acknowledging that change is the only constant. Thereafter
Ajit Rangnekar-Dean, ISB emphasized that leadership is always at the crossroads and growth emerges out of uncertainty and change.
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The keynote speaker for the event, Laxmi Narayanan- Vice-chairman Cognizant, while addressing the delegates and the students, identified three constants for managing change in the face of uncertainty- Challenges, Innovation and Learning. He said, “The disruptive nature of innovative technologies necessitates the convergence of knowledge, thereby sowing the seeds for convergence of technology. This virtuous cycle culminates in the convergence of devices and the emergence of new technologies. To successfully ride this wave of change we need strong leadership.”
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This was followed by a panel discussion. The panel represented diverse industry leaders such as Parag Saigaonkar, Principal, Deloitte Consulting, Vibha Paul Rishi, Executive Director, Max Healthcare and Krishnan Chatterjee, Senior Vice President, HCL Technologies. The session was moderated by Jyoti Kamal, Senior Editor, Network 18. The panel shared varied thoughts on leadership drawing insights from their own experiences and discussed at length about leadership in organisations. They shared their thoughts on leadership by drawing insights from their own experiences. The discussion was enriching, interactive and sprinkled with wit and humor. Some key ideas that they talked about included- inversion of the leadership pyramid at organizations; emphasis on managing first tier supervisors; and the Goliaths and Davids of the corporate world.
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Pradeep Singh, Deputy Dean ISB and CEO of Mohali campus, summed up his views on the issue by equating this period of change with a period of great opportunity provided it is coupled with the reforms and collaboration between government, society and businesses. At the closing ceremony, he encouraged Ramesh Inder Singh, IAS (Retd.), Chief Information Commissioner, RTI Act to talk about his leadership style which enabled him to manage the expectations of several opposing parties at one of the most critical points in recent times. Ramesh Inder Singh also spoke about Right to Information Act and highlighted the role of information transparency for successful leadership.
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This day of energetic exchange of ideas at Pinnacle reinforced the critical role that innovation and leadership will play in determining whether businesses and nations will emerge stronger as a result of the impending wave of change.
