IIM Bodh Gaya's Netritva leadership summit was a huge success

The Indian Institute of Management, Bodh Gaya (IIMBG) concluded its annual leadership summit, Netritva on 24th November 2019. The first day of the event began with a tree plantation drive by the delegates. The guests, with the assistance of volunteers from Pragati, the CSR Club of IIM Bodh Gaya, planted saplings, paying homage to the Mahabodhi Tree. After the plantation drive, the guests were welcomed in a traditional Indian manner to the Bhoomi auditorium.

What happened at Netritva?

The guest line-up had leaders from the corporate world, media, and HR. The delegates & speakers were welcomed to Netritva, and IIM Bodh Gaya by Director Dr. Vinita Sahay. In her welcome speech, Dr Sahay spoke of Netritva, as an enigmatic yet simple word, and how in the gathering people are aspiring to be leaders and those who are already leaders.

She spoke of the necessity for the premier B-schools to work towards creating leaders of the future. Her welcome address was received by the guests with a round of applause. This was followed by the lighting of the lamp to inaugurate the auspicious event.

The first session of Netritva was a keynote address by Gaurav Sangtani, President, Jigyasa Foundation. In his speech titled "Power of Disagreement: Diversity of Thought", he quoted Aristotle, "It is a mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it." He spoke of a different kind of diversity, diversity of thought, and how it is as important as diversity in workplaces for a business to success.

He touched on the aspect of groupthink, and how different opinions are essential for the working of a business. He highlighted the major challenges in ensuring diversity of thought and suggested how to overcome these. His enlightening speech was enthusiastically applauded by the students.

The second session was a panel discussion on the topic, "Diversity in Leadership Roles". The panel was aimed at celebrating the women leaders of modern India. The panelists were Amita Karadkhedkar, VP, Citibank, Yamini Krishnan, Director – HR, IQVIA, Aparajita Roy, Director HR, PHFI, Saswati Sinha, Head – HR, Cheil India, and Mehak Mahajan, Director – Business Operations, ZestMoney. Moderating the panel was Nishtha Gautam, of The Quint. The panellists spoke of all forms of diversities present in organizations today and how they are being addressed in the present context.

The session resumed after a tea break with a keynote address by Dr Rajeev Bhadauria, Ebullient. He spoke on "Learning to Manage the Future that has arrived- applying the changed rules of the Game or revisiting/ reconfiguring the Game itself". He speech revolved around preparing to become leaders in the world of Industry 4.0 and Web 5.0. He provided the students with pointers to overcome challenges in this new world and coming out on top.

The final session of the day was a media panel. The panelists were Deepshikha Sikarwar, Senior Editor, The Economic Times, Danish Manzoor, Editorial Director (Asia), IBT Asia, Bibhu Ranjan Mishra, Associate Editor & Chief of Bureau, Business Standard and Nishtha Gautam, Op Editor, The Quint. The panel deliberated on the topic "Changing Landscapes of Newsrooms". The panel contemplated how the rigidity and hierarchy in newsrooms have been set aside with the advent of digital and social media. They also reflected on the challenges brought about by social media & WhatsApp platforms.

After a very successful first day, Netritva continued to its second and final day in IIM Bodh Gaya. The day began with a keynote address by Harsh Kumar, Executive Director, IBM. The topic of his speech was "The Cognitive Enterprise - Perspectives of the Industry". The main theme of his enlightening talk revolved around how regular organizations are absorbing innovation in present times. According to him, "Disruptive environmental forces are driving seismic shifts within the Industry". He spoke of how organizations fail to adapt to rapid technological development and disappear. He highlighted several points for organizations to implement to survive and thrive in this world of disruptive development. He also shared some guidelines for the students to follow for succeeding in Industry 4.0.

The next in the list was the third and final panel discussion of Netritva 2019. The panelists were Rakesh Singhania, Chief Finance Officer, Wells Fargo India, Shrabani Basu, Vice President, Human Resources, Reliance Industries Ltd., Sanjay Chandel, Vice President and Head, Human Resources, Sterling India, and Satyajit Mohanty, Chief Human Resources Officer, Crompton Greaves. The moderator for the panel was Rajeev Bhadauria, Managing Partner, Ebullient. The discussions in the panel revolved around the topic "Biggest Challenges faced by Leaders of Modern India".

Once the panel opened for questions, the guests, and the students and teachers of IIM Bodh Gaya actively participated in the discussion with the panelists. The students gained many insights about leadership and its challenges.

The end of the panel marked the conclusion of Netritva, the Leadership Summit of IIM Bodh Gaya. The Director of the Institute, Dr Vinita Sahay delivered the vote of thanks and felicitated the guests with a memento. In her speech, she praised the efforts of the volunteers for the event for managing it successfully and commended the Media & PR Cell and Placement Committee, IIM Bodh Gaya for successfully organizing the event.