The Indian Institute of Management Rohtak organised Prabandh: Management Conclave on the 21st of October, 2023, under the theme "Empowering Success: Strategic Integration of Leadership and Sustainability". Industry stalwarts from renowned organisations like BigBasket, Indigo, Oracle India, Bajaj Capital Ltd., BlackRock and Pfizer among other prominent brands participated in the panel discussions. They shared anecdotes from years of professional experience spread across Human Resources, Finance, and Marketing in different industries to prepare the students for the ever-evolving future.

Prof Dheeraj Sharma, Director, IIM Rohtak congratulated students on their arrangements and thanked all the dignitaries for their presence.

The Dean of Academic Affairs, Prof. Koustab Ghosh, welcomed the guests. He inaugurated the event by expressing gratitude to the distinguished panellists. Dr. Koustab Ghosh emphasised the importance of self-leadership and dedication and urged the students to passionately pursue their goals. He stressed the need to engage in meaningful causes to achieve desired outcomes. Additionally, Prof. Ghosh stressed that success varies across disciplines but always involves responsible and sustainable growth.

The first panel held a discussion on the topic "Nurturing Talent: Building a Strategic Employee Development Ecosystem". The panellists included business leaders from various industries - Ms Amrapali Dubey, Head of Winery HR and Admin, Sula Vineyards; Mr Ashish Singhania, Head - Human Resources, Poonawalla Housing Finance; Ms Neelam Ahluwalia, Vice President - Learning and Development, BigBasket; Mr. Rakesh Prasad, AVP - HR(IFS)/Lead - Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Indigo and Mr. Ritesh Bharadwaj, Chief Human Resources Officer, NBHC. The panellists stressed the need for professionals to grasp business dynamics, be agile, and remain flexible in their career paths. The discussion also addressed on how to adapt to the rapidly evolving market and suggested that organisations should offer accessible learning opportunities and address generational differences to retain and attract talent. The panellists further emphasised that structured, meaningful and purposeful feedback remains essential in employee development even in a digitally transformed era. Advising Gen Z employees, the panellists highlighted the importance of learning, differentiation in the job market, and the evolving needs of today's workforce.

The second panel discussion focused on "Financial Synergy: Navigating the evolving landscape of ESG Reporting". Mr. Amit Ahuja, Vice President - India Tax, VOIS; Mr Kanwar Singh, Vice President - Finance, Oracle India Pvt. Ltd.; Mr Raghavendra GS, Global SVP, Accolite India; Mr Rohit Prasad, Vice President, IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Limited; and Mr Shekhar Sood, Chief Financial Officer, Bajaj Capital Ltd. were among the panellists. The speakers discussed the integral link between sustainability and finance while emphasising on the importance to integrate sustainability and profit maximization through responsible resource utilisation. The panellists also shared insights on evolution of ESG and its deep roots in India’s traditional wisdom and knowledge. However, recent regulations and mandates have made it more prominent. Moreover, the panellists highlighted the need to go beyond cost-benefit analysis and integrate sustainability into business practices to meet customer expectations and global goals. The panel concluded by acknowledging the evolution of hyper-personalization as a significant trend, transitioning from a mere targeting tool to enhancing sustainable finance practices.

The third panel discussion, focused on the topic "Navigating Startup Success through Resilient Leadership and Sustainable Strategies". Mr Arun Tikoo, Chief Business Officer, Cashfree; Mr Ashish Singh, President - Data Products and Operations, Innovaccer; Mr Gulshan Kaushik, Senior Vice President - Customer Success, Bizongo; Mr Nishit Sharma, Chief Growth Officer, Pine Labs and Mr Vaibhav Khandelwal, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Shadowfax were among the panellists. The panellists discussed their professional journeys in building successful businesses, highlighting the importance of maintaining a balance between vision and execution in achieving sustainable growth. They also delved into how their businesses handle evolving customer preferences and regulatory concerns. The panel also discussed the role of compliance, innovation, and customer-centric approaches in staying ahead of the competition and ensuring success. Concluding the discussion, the panel underscored the importance of employee training and adapting to structural changes as businesses grow. They stressed on the importance of agility and resilience for navigating the dynamic startup landscape.

The fourth panel of the summit discussed the topic "Sustainable Marketing: Catering to Conscious Consumer Preferences". The panellists were Mr Ajay Malakar, Head of Analytics, Kohler Co.; Mr Ankur Malhotra, Head Marketing & Omni Channel Strategy, Bridgestone India; Ms Rashmi Joshi, VP - Digital Marketing and Operations, BlackRock; Ms Rati Acharya, CMO - Brand and Marketing, Mazars India and Mr Souren Paul, Country Brand Lead (Marketing Head), Pfizer. The discussion highlighted the imperative need of creating sustainable products for conscious consumers and increased consumer awareness towards sustainability, with one-third of Europe's most prominent companies embracing sustainable practices. The panellists noted that 88% of consumers are loyal to brands promoting sustainable products. The panel highlighted the shift of marketing to a data-centric approach which helps them focus on consumer behaviour analysis and sustainability. The discussion also touched on the three facets of marketing: availability, accessibility, and visibility. The panel further asserted the global commitment to ESG standards. To end the discussion, the panellists underscored the gap between intent and action, emphasising the importance of trust-building in marketing especially towards sustainability.

IIM Rohtak continues to grow by leaps and bounds in providing students with enough exposure and learning opportunities through Corporate Connect programs in the current academic year and flagship events like the Management Summit and Management Conclave.

IIM Rohtak, a premier institute of national importance with over 1600 students enrolled in various programs, recently received the AMBA accreditation, making it to the top 2% of management institutes worldwide. With over 70% female representation over the last three years, the institute hosts students from over 30 different Indian states and UTs. As one of the most prominent names in academia presently, the institute is known for producing high-quality research output in all functional management areas, ranking amongst the top 3 to 5 IIMs in per capita research output. The institute offers eight one-of-a-kind programs to students from various academic and socio-economic backgrounds, imparting knowledge with multi-disciplinary outlooks to prepare future business leaders.

Pooja Choudhury

Empowering Success Through Strategic Integration Of Leadership And Sustainability: IIM Rohtak Management Conclave 2023