Samvit in National Media!

IIM Lucknow hosts leading bankers at Samvit 2010

Samvit, IIM Lucknow's Leadership Summit, ended today on a high note. The two day event drew to close today with some of the biggest names in the corporate world and economists coming down to the campus for a panel discussion. The theme for this year's event and the topic for the panel discussion, "Financial Regulation & Development in India: Challenges & Prospects" saw the very best of the corporate world and policymakers thrash out ideas that could lay down the growth platform for the country in the years to come. The Master of Ceremonies for this year's panel discussion was Mr. Bhupesh Bhandari, a senior editor with Business Standard.

The key note speakers for this year's event were - Mr. Atul Khosla (Country Head Oliver Wyman), Mr. V Bunty Bohra (CEO Goldman Sachs India), Mr. Vikas Vasal (Executive Director KPMG), Mr Sanjiv Bhasin (CEO DBS Bank) and Mr.Suresh Senapaty (CFO Wipro Ltd.) and Mr. Amitabha Ghosh (Former Governor, RBI).

 Mr. Bhandari set the tone for the event by driving home the importance of financial regulation. He said that the Indian economy has a unique identity of its own and that any resemblance it shares with the US economy in terms of structure or policies is a matter of happenstance. He also remarked upon the key roles which the soon to be instituted Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) has to play.

Speaking on the topic, Mr. Amitabha Ghosh (Former Governor, RBI), commended the role of RBI in formulating policies for the economic wellbeing of the economy, but was also critical about the scale and efficacy with which these policies are being implemented. He was of the opinion that instead of government bodies formulating policies, an environment of discipline wherein all the financial players have a set of "Self Regulations", a practice that once incorporated at the top level would percolate to the lower levels and ensure overall economic health.

Mr Sanjiv Bhasin (CEO DBS Bank) quipped that regulations might be something that might not go down too well with a few, but the regulation is of immense importance in the current volatile macroeconomic environment. He said that for regulations to achieve their true purpose they should be relevant to the market and the overall macroeconomic scenario. Elucidating his stance he mentioned that these regulations have a widespread impact on common people, so the regulators have to be very cautious while laying down norms.

Mr. Suresh Senapaty (CFO Wipro Ltd.) delivered a spirited speech in which he talked about the various phases of economic reforms and the importance such reforms hold for the future. He said that with limited or no social safety cover , the policy makers should come up with policies that mitigate any risks that might emerge in the capital or the debt market.Pressing on the importance of a deeper secondary debt market, Mr. Senapaty spoke about an environment of confidence in which all segments of the society can prosper.

Mr. Atul Khosla (Country Head Oliver Wyman), delved into the topic of inclusive growth. He stressed upon the enhancement of risk coverage in public as well as private markets. Mr. Khosla said that overall consumer protection should be at the apex of any policy initiative.

Mr. Vikas Vasal (Executive Director KPMG), pointed out that the focus of economic activities have shifted from the west to the east. In the new light, it is important to device strategies to tap the massive growth potential that India has. Commending the core Indian values of prudency, Mr. Vasal said that it is due to these virtues that we largely went unscathed in the worst economic crisis after the Great Depression.

Mr. V Bunty Bohra (CEO Goldman Sachs India), was of the opinion that higher inclusion and robust capital markets are the need of the hour. He also highlighted the importance of governance stability and oversight.

The discussion was followed by a Q&A session in which the students and faculty of the institute probed the leaders on a variety of topics concerning the financial sector. Samvit - 2010 drew to a close with the event Consilium - The policymaking event, in which two member teams presented their views on fiscal and monetary policy.

The two day extravaganzas saw teams from other institutes such as MDI and IIM Indore come down to the campus and participate in the various events organized as a part of Samvit. The event was cordially accepted by both the faculty and the students. Speaking about the event, Ayush a first student said, "The event has been a revelation of sorts to the students at the campus. Not only have we been treated to a host of competitions, but also we have gained insights into the current and future economic conditions of the country".

IIM Lucknow’s Samvit – 2010, begins on a high note

Samvit - the Annual Leadership Summit of IIM Lucknow began on a propitious note today. The theme for this year’s summit is “Financial Regulation & Development in India: Challenges & Prospects”. The premier institute hosted Dr. Subir Gokarn, Deputy Governor Reserve Bank of India to unveil the theme for Samvit on the 13th of November. The main event for this year’s Samvit is the panel discussion which is scheduled to be held on the morning of Sunday 28th of November.

Over the years, Samvit has signified the homecoming of some of the biggest corporate leaders in India for the panel discussion at IIM Lucknow. Some of the names that have been associated with Samvit in the past are, Ms Kalpana J Moraparia (Chief JP Morgan India), Ms Meera Sanyal (Head ABN Amro), Mr. Pramod Bhasin (Chairman, NASSCOM), Ms Naina Lal Kidwai (India Head HSBC) and Padma Bhushan Dr. J J Irani. In continuation of the tradition, this year the institute is playing host to noted bankers and industry stalwarts – Mr. Atul Khosla (Country Head Oliver Wyman), Mr. V Bunty Bohra (CEO Goldman Sachs India), Mr. Vikas Vasal (Executive Director KPMG), Mr Sanjiv Bhasin (CEO DBS Bank) and Mr. Suresh Senapaty (CFO Wipro Ltd.) – for the panel discussion. Former RBI Governor Mr. Amitabha Ghosh will also be present to express his views on the challenges and prospects of the current regulatory environment.

In the run up to the main event, the first day of Samvit saw some exhilarating events being organised on campus. The students also got a feeler of the finance world through “Stratagem – The national level Mergers & Acquisitions Competition”. The unique event allowed the students to delve deep into financial concepts and exercise their wisdom at real time scenarios. “Finquizitive – The finance quiz” had the participants by their breath till the end. The highlight of the first day was the finance workshop conducted by Mr. Vaidya Nathan, a certified trainer who works in close association with brands such as JP Morgan Chase, Citibank and Deutsche Bank. 

Speaking about the event Hansraj Mishra, a second year student from IIM Lucknow said, “Such events which bring the industry and the academia on a common platform provide a fresh perspective to the holistic learning at B-school. More such initiatives should be taken in future”. In all the first day of the event was fun filled yet insightful. The institute now awaits the panel discussion that shall be held on Sunday morning.

Citibank Head demystifies the world of LBOs at IIM Lucknow

The students of IIM Lucknow got their fair taste of  the world of finance through the guest talk by Mr Rahul Shukla, Head Corporate Banking, Citigroup, India. Mr Shukla, who had joined Citi in 1991,was most recently heading the bank's telecom, media and technology practice in the Asia Pacific. Under his leadership, Citi's TMT franchise was recognized as the best in Asia by Finance Asia and the Asset Magazine for 3 years in a row.

The theme of the talk was centered around leveraged buyouts and the mathematics behind the same. Mr. Shukla began the session with a brief introduction to the leading private equity players in the Asian markets. Mr. Shukla thereon extensively covered the various phases that constitute the LBO process. He highlighted the key drivers of an LBO, its illustrative transaction structure and financial model output that is expected of the analyst. Mr. Shukla concluded the session with LBO valuation and an extensive Q&A session. The students were completely at awe for his sharp rhetoric and in-depth understanding of the core issues.

The lecture was organized as a part of Prodigies – The Leadership Series by the Industry Interaction Cell, IIM Lucknow. This talk was in continuation of the institute’s endeavor to expose students to a variety of exciting job opportunities and providing them the necessary exposure to leadership roles.

Dr. Subir Gokarn - Deputy Governor RBI unveils theme for Samvit-2010

IIM Lucknow’s Annual Leadership Summit is set to reach an unprecedented scale this year. The summit is scheduled on the 27^th & 28^th of November 2010 with DBS Bank being the Title Sponsor for the event.

The Summit will span two days with the first day comprising competitions involving policy design, M&A and financial engineering workshops while the second day will see the who’s who of the finance world in India ideate on “Financial Regulation & Development in India: Challenges & Prospects” which is the theme of the Summit.

Over the years the Summit has been host to some of the biggest names from the corporate arena in the past. Some of the leaders who have been a part of this august event in the past are Ms. Kalpana J Morparia (CEO - JPMorgan), Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan (Founder & CEO - Rediff.com), Mr. Pramod Bhasin (Chairman - Nasscom & President and CEO - Genpact), Ms. Meera Sanyal (Country Head - ABN AMRO), Dr. Biswadip Mitra (Country Head – Texas Instruments), Dr Sandeep Pandey (2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award winner), Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai (Country Head, HSBC) and Dr. J. J. Irani to name a few.

While the Key Note Speakers for this year is strictly under wraps, IIM Lucknow students can hardly wait. Radhakrishnan, a second year student comments “Every year Samvit has seen India’s biggest Leaders come to IIM Lucknow. Given that the Indian economy is shaping up and the global economy expanding, the theme of the summit is highly germane for all of us and we are looking forward to big leaders congregating at IIM Lucknow”

To unravel the theme for this year’s summit, IIM Lucknow will host Dr. Subir Gokarn, Deputy Governor RBI on the 13^th of November. Dr. Gokarn will set the ball rolling by sharing his insights on “Financial Regulation & Development in India: Challenges & Prospects”. The Summit thus will see a number of high profile speakers come to IIM Lucknow before the Summit to share their insights as preludes to the Big Day itself. Rudraditya, a coordinator with the Industry Interaction Cell, IIM Lucknow which is organizing the Summit commented “We want the Summit to ultimately become one of India’s biggest incubators of ideas. To that end, you will see the event evolving” 

Lessons in Marketing - Mukul Deoras - VP & GM Colgate Palmolive

The students of IIM Lucknow were treated to a thrilling talk by Mr Mukul Deoras – VP & GM Colgate – Palmolive South Asia Region. The top honcho of the USD 15 billion giant was not just insightful about marketing concepts but also affable to queries by inquisitive students. Mr Deoras primarily touched upon topics such as product development, pricing, promotion, distribution channels and removing bottle necks in the supply chain. The central theme was how to establish urban luxury goods in the rural segment and tap the demand that lies at the bottom of the pyramid. Frequently quoting the book “The Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid” by Dr C K Prahalad, Mr Deoras focussed a lot on rural marketing channels and the tremendous marketing potential that exists among the rural poor.

The highlight of the session was Mr Deoras’s vivid explanation of the LUP – Low Units of Production business model. Mr Deoras provided adequate examples of brands such as Nirma that worked extensively not through the modus of high working capital but through carefully planning and executing high product turnovers to ensure high profit. He also talked about various marketing strategies that can be used to attract the uninitiated rural consumers. He extolled the virtues of initiatives such as Arvind eye hospital and quoted similar examples from across the globe.

The students of the college responded enthusiastically to the queries put up by Mr Deoras and frequently quizzed him on matters pertaining to subjects such as promotion, branding, packaging etc. It was indeed an event one could learn from. Concluding the talk Mr Deoras commended the students for their response and wished them luck for their future endeavours. The talk was organised as a part of Prodigies – The Leadership Series by the Industry Interaction Cell IIM Lucknow. The talk was in continuation of the institute’s endeavour to expose students to a variety of exciting job opportunities and providing them the necessary exposure to leadership roles.

Careers in Media and Entertainment - Session by Ajit Thakur

It was a homecoming of sorts for Ajit Thakur as he reminisced about his life to a jam-packed room of enthusiastic IIM Lucknow students at his alma mater- Indian Institute of Management Lucknow. His talk primarily concentrated on different career opportunities in media sector. Mr Thakur took excerpts from his own career to educate the students on likely path to be adopted should they dream of a career in media, and surely there were many dreamers.

Mr Thakur is the current business head of Sony Television responsible for a whole gamut of media business activities inclusive of programme creation, content research and commercial handling. His tenure in Sony was preceded by very successful stints at Balaji Motion Pictures and UTV Motion Picture. Prior to venturing into Media sector Mr Thakur gained considerable marketing and sales experience handling key brands such as Coca Cola and Unilever , which in his words “equipped him to tackle the rigours of any  kinds of marketing job”. Mr Thakur’s experience across different sectors helped the students get a holistic picture of “Marketing and Sales”, as he narrated his life’s journey from IIM to his present vocation.

The session gave students a flavour of various media sectors and the different growth potential present across them. Upon asking his preference for a sector Mr Thakur quipped “Movie making is much more innovative and creatively satisfying but it is television where you hone your business skills”. He expressed his enthusiasm about the new media segment saying that the advent of new technology will revolutionize the entertainment sector by expanding its reach like never before. Mr Thakur was optimistic about radio industry and urged students to work in this niche sector by saying "It (working in radio sector) is one of the fastest ways to become a General Manager”.


The talk was organised as a part of Colloquy – The Talk Series by the Industry Interaction Cell IIM Lucknow. This talk was in continuation of Industry Interaction cell’s endeavours to expose students to a variety of exciting job opportunities through interaction with the best in the global industry. Some of the big names who’ve been associated with the talk series are Mr Tarun Tripathi (Former Marketing Head Yash Raj Films), Ms Latika Khaneja (Collage sports management) and Mr R Balakrishnan aka R Balki of Cheeni Kum and Paa fame. The session was received very cordially by the students who had a good time talking to a fellow alumnus and a marketing mogul in all rights.

Exploring the bottom of the pyramid - ITC eChoupal visit

The students of IIM Lucknow recently visited the ITC e-Choupal project running in Hardoi which is 2.5 Km from Lucknow. e-Choupal is an initiative of ITC Limited, a large multi business conglomerate in India, to link directly with rural farmers via the Internet for procurement of agricultural and aquaculture products like soybeans, wheat, coffee, and prawns. e-Choupal was conceived to tackle the challenges posed by the unique features of Indian agriculture, characterized by fragmented farms, weak infrastructure and the involvement of numerous intermediaries. The programme involves the installation of computers with Internet access in rural areas of India to offer farmers up-to-date marketing and agricultural information. As a part of the day long visit the students visited three places

•    E-Choupal – Present in villages usually at the house of a prominent person in the village. In this case, it was a schoolteacher in the Madhavpur village who has been running this e-Choupal for the last 10 years. He is the sanchalak and he disseminates information about prices, weather, fertilizers, seeds etc. to the farmers in the village. He has a computer set-up at his house and he receives information through it on a daily basis.

•    Choupal Saagar – This is where the farmers bring their produce to be sold to ITC. This is accompanied by a retail outlet where these farmers can buy various kinds of daily necessities. A lot of students purchased stuff from this store lured by the heavy discounts.

•    The Hub – This is where the purchased produce is stored. In UP, it is mainly wheat. This is in juxtaposition to the Choupal Saagar

The students got an insight into how the scheme of things works at one of the most popular rural models which is garnering attention worldwide. The students enjoyed the visit thoroughly and made the very best of the trip by interacting with the farmers and gathering insights that can be instrumental in the development of rural India.

SPORTS & CELEBRITY MANAGEMENT – TALK AT IIM LUCKNOW!

Miss. Khaneja

To give the students a sneak-peak into the field of Sports and Celebrity Management, the Industry Interaction Cell (iic) of IIM Lucknow organized a session by Miss. Latika Khaneja, founder and director of Collage Sports Management. Miss Khaneja talked about her “virgin attempt at sports marketing” which was basically her effort towards helping budding cricketers establish their foothold in the cricketing world. What started off as a simple non-profit cricketing club has now diversified into one of the largest sports management company in India.

Among her illustrious clientele are Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma and Abhinav Bindra, besides a whole gamut of others. The highlight of the session was the story of Virender Sehwag, of how the company leveraged his boy next door image to transform him into one of the biggest brands of India. Miss Khaneja deliberated on the difference between sports marketing and sports sponsorship. She mentioned that while sports sponsorship is more about garnering financial support for the players, sports marketing is a different genre of activity that comprises a win-win situation for both the player and the company.  Mentioning about the new avenues of sports management she also shared her thoughts about Team Tennis - a new project by Collage towards professional training in tennis.

The session received rave reviews from the student community. Mukund a second year student had to say “The session was quite informative. It would definitely motivate the students to consider such offbeat career options in the future”. The talk session was hosted as a part of Colloquy – The talk series by the Industry Interaction Cell of IIM Lucknow. IIM Lucknow is slated to host some of the biggest names in Sports and Bollywood this year to give its students exposure to new career paths. The elite Management school believes in strong industry exposure to complement the curriculum, and with the curriculum being made highly contemporary, the Industry Interaction Cell is opening up channels across India’s twin loves – Bollywood and Cricket to make the course learning consummate.

Business of Entertainment - Workshop by Tarun Tripathi!

Mr. Tarun Tripathi is the Former Head of Marketing, Yash Raj Films (YRF) and Mr. Tarun Tripathi is the Former Head of Marketing, Yash Raj Films (YRF) and ex-Director, MySpace India. He joined YRF in 2002 and has been responsible for film marketing tie-ups, the most significant being that of ‘Hum Tum’, ‘Dhoom’ and  ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. Following a productive 5-year stint at Yash Raj Films, he joined MySpace.com as Director-Marketing and Content, for its India operations. The social networking site launched its customised Indian beta version under his supervision. Prior to joining YRF, he worked with global advertising agency Grey Worldwide (Mauritius) and KPMG (Mauritius). Mr. Tarun Tripathi currently teaches the course – “Business of Entertainment” at MICA. Tarun is a master of the Entertainment game. Be it the fundamentals of entertainment as defined through cultural entities or creative dimensions in marketing movies, he is IIM Lucknow's undisputed entertainment guru. He held the audience spell bound with his insights on the music industry and the marketing strategies used for Hum Tum. Tarun's most endearing trait is his passion for giving back to IIM Lucknow. The 8 hour workshop which spanned two days took the students through a comprehensive journey of the Culture Industry of which Entertainment Business is a part. The workshop was not the only delight though. Tarun also floated 2 competitions - a Case study contest and a Live Project. The case study contest focussed on emerging trends in social media while the Live Project was floated in association with Star One. Both competitions were of high significance to the student community best indexed by participation by over 160 students from the second year batch alone! On the whole, the workshop offered great insights into an industry that has recruited very few professionals and it opened up channels for new career options to IIM Lucknow's whiz kids. He joined YRF in 2002 and has been responsible for film marketing tie-ups, the most significant being that of ‘Hum Tum’, ‘Dhoom’ & ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. Following a productive 5-year stint at Yash Raj Films, he joined MySpace.com as Director-Marketing and Content, for its India operations. The social networking site launched its customised Indian beta version under his supervision. Prior to joining YRF, he worked with global advertising agency Grey Worldwide (Mauritius) and KPMG (Mauritius). Mr. Tarun Tripathi currently teaches the course – “Business of Entertainment” at MICA. Tarun is a master of the Entertainment game. Be it the fundamentals of entertainment as defined through cultural entities or creative dimensions in marketing movies, he is IIM Lucknow's undisputed entertainment guru. He held the audience spell bound with his insights on the music industry and the marketing strategies used for Hum Tum. Tarun's most endearing trait is his passion for giving back to IIM Lucknow. The 8 hour workshop which spanned two days took the students through a comprehensive journey of the Culture Industry of which Entertainment Business is a part. The workshop was not the only delight though. Tarun also floated 2 competitions - a Case study contest and a Live Project. The case study contest focussed on emerging trends in social media while the Live Project was floated in association with Star One. Both competitions were of high significance to the student community best indexed by participation by over 160 students from the second year batch alone! On the whole, the workshop offered great insights into an industry that has recruited very few professionals and it opened up channels for new career options to IIM Lucknow's whiz kids

Ex. MD Technopak, visits IIM Lucknow for Retail Consulting talk

The Industry Interaction Cell of IIM Lucknow invites industry experts to deliver domain specific talks in the campus under the “Colloquy” talk series.

Mr. Harminder Sahni, MD, Wazir Advisors, Ex MD Technopak visited IIM Lucknow on August 5^th and conducted an interactive session with the students. Mr. Harminder has extensive industry experience in Retail sector business including  launch of new brands, implementation of new projects for clients and for brand licensee and supply partnerships between Indian and international firms. He has consulted for clients in India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Hong Kong, Europe, North America and South America , including manufacturers, marketers and retailers.

The theme of the session was “Retail Consulting in India – Challenges and Best Practices”.

Mr. Harminder talked about organized and unorganized retail formats and shared his insights on how the micro segmentation of the consumer base  is taking place in Modern retail stores. The absence of talent gunning to enter the industry -- one of the biggest challenges facing the industry -- was also delved upon.

Students were curious to know about the key strategies behind private labels and the same was reflected in the number of questions they posed to the speaker. Current issues in Retail such as failure of Subhiksha and the debt restructuring at Vishal Retail was also discussed.

Overall the session provided an excellent insight into the ground realities of Retail in India. The session made for an excellent learning opportunity for students interested in pursuing a career in retail marketing management.

IIM Lucknow students learn lessons in Bollywood

R. Balakrishnan (Director, Paa and Cheeni Kum)

The IIMs have played host to many a CEO and budding entrepreneur in the past – learning the latest in management trends across the traditional industry verticals. Tuesday evening came as a welcome refresher when IIM Lucknow invited one of the most creative minds of the country - R Balakrishnan, aka R. BalkiAd Film Professional-turned-Film Director par excellence, Balki is the Chairperson and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Lowe Lintas and the director of Cheeni Kum and Paa.  for an interactive session with its MBA students.

Balki is known for his no-nonsense approach to advertising as exemplified in his “Daag Achche Hain” campaign for Surf Excel. His “Jaago Re” ads for Tata Tea and “Walk when you Talk” Idea Cellular campaign have brought in a much needed fresh social voice to advertising. His penchant for exploring different creative avenues led him to Bollywood. He wrote and directed Cheeni Kum, with Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu in the lead. Paa (2009), starring Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan and Amitabh Bachchan was his second directorial venture.

The interactive talk was held on campus as part of ‘Prodigies – the Leadership talk series’ facilitated by the student run Industry Interaction Cell of IIM Lucknow. Based on the theme of ‘Ad & Film Making – Through the Management Lens’, it was very well received by the IIM Lucknow community with a jam-packed auditorium. From the Lalitaji of Surf to the Auro of Paa played by Mr. Bachchan Senior, Balki had the audience floored with his anecdotes. Over the course of an hour and a half, he took the students through his journey of ad making, playing out different ads and explaining their significance, story board and the like.

The session gave the students a flavour of how the Indian advertising industry works in general and how Lowe Lintas, with Mr. Balki at the helm, succeeded in producing top-notch, eye-catching ads. Highlighting the nuances of designing integrated ad-campaigns, he shared his perspective on the changing consumer behaviour in India which throws up new challenges to today’s marketers. The students were particularly amazed about his experiences as a director to some of the most noted actors in Bollywood.

“The advertising world is a business of disparate, different brains”, says Balki. It is ready to play, ready to risk all the challenges and accept new ideas. For instance, Surf Excel, a detergent brand, is celebrating the glory of being dirty! TATA tea puts an awakening thought in your mind each and every day! Havells is ready to experiment with a new idea each time! Marketers have now become more forthcoming in implementing out-of-the-box ideas generated by advertisers – ideas which do not necessarily highlight product benefits but rather make the consumer’s life more interesting.

The greatest challenge for Balki is to take up the most boring brand and making it the most noticeable. He says success comes only to those who step into the discomfort zone. The best advertisements are those that remind you of the brand and not the ad itself. Commenting on the talk, Dheeraj Sarwaiya, a second year student said, “Today’s MBA student is more enterprising and bold than ever before. We have students who choose not to tread the beaten path but simply follow their dreams in unconventional fields. These talks are a good source of inspiration for us to pursue what we truly believe in.”

US firm puts IIM-L students on biz network!

In a first-of-a-kind development, a US-based software consultancy firm approached the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) to be a nodal centre for introducing to the market its new software product which essentially happens to be an operating system providing networking platform.

US Tech Solutions, the New Jersey-based company, announced the venture officially much to the cheers of management students who look it as an opportunity to be a part of business enterprise much before they graduate from the coveted institute.

Ian Tomlin, sales director of the product, said that the platform was an improved version of various social networking sites like Facebook and Orkut. The system brings together business entities together while at the same time maintaining the much needed security to the date. In the initial stages, the platform would be opened to business houses, institutes and entrepreneurs.

Vice-president (corporate strategy), Dhiraj Adya said that it would be like an operating system by which one can have a webpage where one can post information — from products to suggestions to e-mails to SMS.

Himself an alumnus of IIM-L, Adya claimed that this is for the first time that a global consultancy is officially launching the software product suite at a B-school.

The company also conducted a case study competition exclusively for IIM Lucknow Students, and Team 'SPAM' emerged as winners.

Colloquy: The Leadership series 2009

The Colloquy leadership series organized by IIC invites thought leaders from various spheres to share their valuable knowledge and experiences with the budding managers of tomorrow. Some of the notable industry stalwarts who visited the campus in 2009 were:


Mr. Chetan Bulsari, Head (Finance), Barclays Wealth
This session was aimed at educating students on the real issues that led to the financial crisis in its present shape and what could be the potential strategies that could be employed by companies to better the situation. In a second session he helped the second year students, majoring in Finance, understand the nuances of Risk Management in a Bank & explained in detail the critical role played by the bank’s Treasury.


Mr.Anuratna, Global Marketing Manager, Citi Private Bank
Primarily focused at the first year students, this talk by Mr. Anuratna Chaddha centered around the credit crisis, its origins and the mechanism of its spread to all economies. Further, Mr. Chaddha shared deep insights highlighting the key steps that financial institutions such as Citi were taking to emerge from the crisis and start their progress towards growth. Drawing from his personal experiences, he also shared with the students his perspective on the prime challenges he encountered while working in diverse geographical locations such as South Africa & Sub Saharan Africa, which was a very important take-away for students.

Anirban Malakar, Business Head, Maxus Global
Mr. Malakar held an engaging talk on "Media Strategy and Media Schedules" for students of IIM Lucknow. He highlighted how advertising companies go about promotional strategies for corporates. He also shed light on the importance of 360 degree campaigns by companies involving various technology components to create bigger impact and increase reach to the consumers. Mr. Malakar talked about how one should go about placing advertisements and campaigns in different media like print, TV, magazines etc. The session was a great learning experience for the students who gained useful insights into the media strategy domain.


Mr. Bijoy Daga, Head Invest Banking group
Mr. Bijoy Daga, a CA with over 14 years of experience in Relationship Management, Asset & Structured Finance, Advisory Services and Project Finance and currently heading the Investment Banking group at IL&FS Financial Services Limited, took a session on Project Finance. This highly-engaging session primarily dealt with examples of live deals in tune with the current market trends in the International and Indian arena.

Beyond Kotler: The retail and experiential marketing Workshop

Mr. Vijay and Mr. Rajesh of 141Sercon, a WPP Company, delivered a flawless and highly engrossing session on Retail and Experiential Marketing at IIM Lucknow on the 6th of February. Speaking to a packed room of over 100 participants, they walked the students through a whole new world of marketing communications. By opening up new channels of thought in Social Media and how it is changing the face of marketing communications, the highly learned duo, disabused multiple fallacies and passé understanding of marketing communication. The workshop also touched up solutions that 141Sercon has executed for its clients and delved deep into some of the most popular case studies in the world of experiential and retail marketing.


The session proved to be highly interactive with multiple questions on the relevance of social media, the cluttering of the web, the relevance to the Indian context, indices for measuring the results of below the line advertising taking precedence. An interesting anecdote involved a student questioning the relevance of social media in the context of the usage of Facebook in B2B contexts and the presenters breaking the common myth that social media revolved around social networks and Facebook.


Amit Haralalka, a first year student and a marketing enthusiast felt that the session was an eye opener for marketing students, thanks to the numerous case studies on Burger King, Ikea, WHO et al which helped relate to the content easily. IIC, which coordinated the workshop, was inundated with requests for another session on digital marketing by the company the next year around. Vijay and Rajesh were more than happy to come back to IIM Lucknow and termed the student participation as well-informed and precise. On the whole, a highly engaging afternoon and time well spent.

Anjuman: The Corporate luncheon at IIML

The Industry Interaction Committee on the occasion of Manfest 2010 hosted the third edition of Anjuman - The Corporate Luncheon on 23 January 2010. Anjuman has been the platform where stalwarts of various domains to share their expert opinions on a contemporary theme, which this year was “India – Expect, Explore, Experience”. This year IIM Lucknow had the opportunity to invite the following industry leaders:


• Dr. Wilfried Aulbur - CEO, Mercedes–Benz India
• Ashok Swaroop – MD of B.Development and Corp. Affairs Citi South Asia
• S. Ramodarai – VC TCS and former CEO TCS
• Pankaj Saluja – Partner Bain Consultancy
• A. Vaidheesh, CEO J&J Medical India


Each of the speakers presented his views on the theme and shared his opinions on it.


Dr. Wilfried Aulbur felt that sustainable mobility is a key aspect of future growth and meet the needs of the society. He said that the demand for cars was outstripping the infrastructure growth in India. He added by saying that population growth and rapid urbanization were fuelling demands for cars and adding to the problems. He felt that India should develop a road mobility infrastructure plan specific for it and not blindly copy the solution from West.


Ashok Swaroop initiated his talk by contrasting how things have changed from 1970s compared to today. He was referring to the fact that the batch of 2010 at various B-Schools would be facing a demanding consumer, whose tastes have changed and will continue changing. He stressed on the fact that India has become disparate with close to 40% of the population still poor. He believes that both state and civil society have realised this and expects to see major investment in social infrastructure. He left us with an inspiring and optimistic note “There are more things in India that unite than the things that divide”.


Mr. Ramodarai emphasized on the importance of both India and China in shaping the global economy. He felt that a major chunk of labour force of the future will come from these two countries. He lauded the role played by both Indian and Chineese, who have been part of many patents and innovations in the recent years. He stressed that new education methods should be adopted to make 500 million people skillful and ready for the global challenge.


Pankaj Saluja shared his views on how foreign firm should make an effective entry in the Indian market. According to him, the companies should aim higher by targeting the mainstream markets by quoting examples like Lo’real, Nokia and Gillete. Localise the 4Ps and cited how Frito Lays used this strategy to launch Kurkure. Effective cost structure should be maintained. The companies should invest in local talent. His final advice was that the companies should be selective when it comes to partnering, M&A and forming Joint Ventures. He cited the example of Bharti Walmart in the Retail sector.

When P&G chose IIML over others...

Conducted exclusively for IIML, the P&G Information & Decision Solutions (IDS) Case study Competition had hundreds of enthusiastic students from both the batches competing against one another. A panel comprising senior managers from P&G, including Ms. Priscilla China from P&G Malaysia judged the final round of the contest. The judges were extremely pleased with the quality of the solutions which according to them “came very close to P&G’s own solution of the case”.

Crisil Young Thought Leader'09

This year the Special CRISIL Young Thought Leader Trophy for Business School with the highest number of winners went to IIM, Lucknow which topped the chart with 3 Thought Leaders. The winners won a call for a final interview with CRISIL's business heads for an entry-level position in CRISIL.

"Modern Trade is here to stay", says HUL VP

The growth of Modern Trade (MT) in India has been slow for the past so many years. But of late, the growth has been characterized by the increase in the number of private labels. And this was the main topic of discussion during the session on Modern Trade by the Vice President of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Mr. Manish Tiwary. He delineated the growth of MT in India and its relevance to the Indian Consumer. He touched upon Unilever’s growth strategy in Modern Trade and strategies developed by the company to counter the threat of the Private Labels from Reliance and The Future Group.

IPL CEO enthrals prospective managers at IIM Lucknow!

IIM Lucknow woke up to a freezing Saturday morning with Great Expectations! The Prestigious Management school has witnessed some of the best CEO’s from India Inc. deliver Key Note addresses over the past 6 months, but Saturday promised a whole new degree of Entertainment. Mr. Sundar Raman, the CEO of the Indian Premier League was slated to deliver an address on “Sports Management with IPL as a case in point”. The energy thawed the freeze across the IIM campus with students anticipating a highly enriching session.

Sports Management in India is increasingly becoming a highly sought after career for budding managers from India’s premier Business schools. Managing a sport in India demands no less than the most prolific Business minds in the country. Given this, To discuss and interact with the Big Daddy of Entertainment promised to be exhilarating experience for some of the brightest young minds in the country. The address by Mr. Sundar Raman witnessed a full house with passionate Managers and equally intense Cricket fans coming out in full strength. Managing the Indian Premier League is a challenge of monstrous proportions and its CEO showed why. Strategies and Cricket proved to be the hottest ideas exchanged with Bollywood being discussed sotto voce.


Mr. Sundar Raman’s session proved to both Entertaining and Enriching. According to Arvind Charanyan, a student coordinator of the Industry Interaction Committee which organized the event, “Mr. Sundar’s session was phenomenal. We have a lot of students who are very keen on pursuing a career in Sports Management. This session was a dream come true for them.”


If the student enthusiasm at IIM Lucknow was anything to go by, Management Strategies will find their way into net practise in the offing!