True Empowerment Not Just Lip Service But Change From Within: IIMB Alumna Malavika R Harita

True empowerment is not just lip service, but a change from within, says IIMB Distinguished Alumna Malavika R Harita.

Delivering the Foundation Day Lecture at the 45th Foundation Day celebrations of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) on October 28, Harita, Founder-CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Focus, said, “True Empowerment needs a change from within, not just lip service and smart media bytes. It has to work at several levels – personal, organizational, familial and societal. It is painful and long-drawn and needs willing participants on both sides, those who empower and those who are being empowered.”

The theme for the Foundation Day Lecture was ‘Real Empowerment’. Harita stated that empowerment could be transformational, provided it is backed by knowledge, a clear direction and the absence of fear.

“True empowerment of the spirit is what kindles the fire of self-confidence, the courage of conviction, the resilience to face failure and the determination to get up and keep going,” she added.

Harita, with 36 years of experience in communication and entrepreneurship, after accountancy training and MBA from IIM Bangalore (PGP 1980-82), had joined HMT Watches. She then ran her own interior design firm before joining Saatchi. In 1998, she founded Saatchi & Saatchi Focus, a specialist B2B and Healthcare Agency in India.

She was one of the first Gurukul Chevening Scholars chosen to study at the London School of Economics. Harita is on the Governing Council of Mount Carmel College and the Advisory Board of the NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore. She was President of the IIMB Alumni Association and the Advertising Club Bangalore. She has been teaching at various postgraduate institutes of management and communication for the last 25 years.

The Foundation Day celebrations began with a panel discussion on the evolution of the Post Graduate Program in Management at IIMB, titled: ‘Raising the Flag’. The discussion was moderated by Dean, Alumni Relations and Development Professor K Kumar. The panellists were Professors A K Rao, S Jagadish, R Narayanaswamy, Rishikesha T Krishnan, Ganesh N Prabhu and Sourav Mukherji.

Ever since the launch of the PGP at IIMB in 1973, the program has been central to the evolution of the institution. The chequered 45-year history of the PGP is correlated to the growth as well as ups and downs of IIMB; while it is no longer the only programme that is offered, it has always occupied centre-stage. The tracing of the evolution of the PGP is hence a key component in the remembering and recording of the history of IIMB, the Institute said in a press release.

As part of the Foundation Day celebrations, P C Musthafa (PGSEM 2007), CEO and Co-founder of iD Fresh Food (India) Pvt. Ltd., S Vaidyanathan (PGP 1992), Co-founder, The Ganga Trust, and M V Rajamannar (PGP 1985), Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President, Healthcare Business, Mastercard, received the Distinguished Alumni Award (DAA) 2018, presented by the Harita.

Musthafa is the youngest DAA recipient in the history of IIMB. Earlier in the evening, Dean of Alumni Relations and Development Professor K Kumar introduced the Distinguished Alumni Awardees. In keeping with the institute’s tradition, each recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award received a citation and his name engraved on the Wall of Fame at the institute.

“I thank the Central Government for this autonomy. I also thank the Government of Karnataka for full closure on the land in Anekal for our second campus and for granting permissions for construction, both on the existing campus and the new campus. The BMRDA and BBMP too, have supported us by giving us all the necessary clearances,” he added.

In his acceptance speech, Rajamannar said it was a significant achievement for him to be recognized as a distinguished alumnus by IIMB. “The foundation of my career was built at IIMB and the school has been a rock for me throughout my professional life. It was a privilege to be guided by phenomenal professors who taught me about both critical thinking and creativity.

“When you are provided with an environment like the one at IIMB, you build relationships and life experiences that stay with you forever. I am incredibly grateful for the people I met and the opportunities afforded to me during those years,” he added.

“The Institute seemed to know we would need a full toolbox of skills to successfully navigate corporate life. The institute was visionary and provided sectorial management courses on issues like urban planning and health – no less relevant today,” he added.

Attributing his success to ‘the power of determination’, Musthafa said he used to study for two hours daily for two years, worked hard on enhancing his analytical skills and was then selected for the PGSEM at IIM Bangalore. He shared how he overcame his fear of public speaking, again through determination and hard work, before he became the confident speaker that he is today.

He went on to co-found a 1000-crore company that feeds nutritious breakfast to a million people every day. It has also built more than 250 homes for the needy in Coorg, Kerala and Rajasthan.

“Though I feel happy to touch the lives of millions with healthy food on a daily basis, I feel guilty for polluting this earth with plastic bags and I want to do something about this problem.” He invited solutions from the audience for the same. “Let us work together to create a heaven for others,” he added.

S Vaidyanathan, Co-founder, The Ganga Trust, said it was his dream that every person with spinal cord injury in India must, at least by 2030, lead dignified, productive and meaningful lives.

Highlighting the role that IIMB could play in this process, he pointed out that to drive landscape-altering change, what is needed is a powerful anchor. “IIM Bangalore, its powerful alumni network and NSRCEL, have an opportunity and responsibility to support the expansion of quality rehabilitation in India. If we do not come together to do this now, we will have failed another few generations of persons with spinal cord injury and other acute disabilities,” he added.

IIMB Director Professor G Raghuram congratulated all associated with the Institute for working towards accomplishing the vision and mission that IIMB has set for itself. “With the IIM Act coming into force, we could grant degrees to our two-year PGPs, starting this year. We are the first IIM to do so. We are also the first IIM whose Board independently selected and appointed the Chair.

“I thank the Central Government for this autonomy. I also thank the Government of Karnataka for full closure on the land in Anekal for our second campus and for granting permissions for construction, both on the existing campus and the new campus. The BMRDA and BBMP too, have supported us by giving us all the necessary clearances,” he added.

 He also spoke about the immense contribution of the former Chairperson, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, in steering the institution to greater success and welcomed Dr.Devi Prasad Shetty as the new Chairperson of the Board of Governors of IIM Bangalore.

“Dr Devi Shetty is one of the most well-known and respected men in the field of medicine and in the business of hospital management. Healthcare at Narayana Hrudayalaya founded by him is all about protocol, process and price. He has a very strong management mindset, which makes it wonderful for IIM Bangalore that he will lead our Board,” he added.

In his first address as Chairperson, Board of Governors, Dr Devi Shetty said the key to a better future is transformation. “Every organization, individual and country must disrupt and reinvent itself,” he said, quoting the examples of individuals like Steve Jobs, and companies like Uber and Airbnb.

“I am often asked why I needed to fix that what is not broken. But the answer to that is: we need to think about the future, and make changes even when the going is good.”

To the aspiring managers at IIMB, he said, “Put in your efforts to make this world a better place. This is the direction we should all take.”

As part of the Foundation Day celebrations, cultural programmes were held. Service awards, scholarships and prizes were given to the students, faculty, and staff. A set of pictures, to commemorate the various milestones of institution building at IIMB, were on display at the Central Pergola of the institute.