Sunday, 24
th July 2016
The 9
th Season of Mahindra War Room, arguably the most eagerly anticipated B-school contest in India, was launched at XIM Bhubaneswar last Sunday. The panelists for the evening from Mahindra and Mahindra were Mr. Anirban Ghosh, Vice President, Strategic Planning and New Business Development and Mr. Rohan Gupta, Group HR Manager. The panelists had a freewheeling and open interaction with the students in a session that was both engaging and immensely instructive.
The theme for this year’s edition of Mahindra War Room is ‘embracing the paradoxes’, keeping cognizance of the fact that businesses and enterprises in this day and age are operating in a global environment that is in a state of flux. The challenges businesses face today are multifarious and vary widely in size, scope and extent. The spirit behind Mahindra War Room is to engage the finest talent from top B-schools across the country and push them to respond creatively and innovatively to challenges.
The students got a sense of exactly what Mahindra War Room entails and what is expected of them. Groups are to work on sector caselets that are representative of actual problems and issues faced by Mahindra and Mahindra across multiple sectors. The finalists shall be flown to Mumbai where they shall present their solutions to a jury consisting of, among others, Mr. Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra and Mahindra Group and members of the Group Executive Board, among others.
The panelists also talked at length about the Mahindra and Mahindra Group and its activities. Attendees got an overview of the group’s history and the ways in which it has evolved since its inception in the mid-1940s. Today, it is a global federation of businesses across six continents and over a hundred countries and is involved in sectors such as mobility, farm equipment, IT services, financial services, defence and clean energy, among others. The audience came away with an awareness of the philosophy and ethos that drives the group’s activities as well as that of the various socially responsible initiatives the group undertakes. A lively Q and A session rounded off proceedings for the evening.
Since its inception in 2007, Mahindra War Room has grown in stature year-by-year and is now arguably the most awaited event in the Indian B-school calendar. The 9
th edition promises to be the most exciting and demanding yet.