Courtesy: Suraj Gupta – PGPX6 Runners Club

Dr. Kuijper guided the audience through the fundamentals of this contemporary economy and explains how companies and individuals can create sustainable wealth. The key is in wielding one of twelve contemporary sources or power nodes of profit power. If companies can control any one then they are on the path towards higher returns.

Turning profit power into sustainable wealth requires new strategies for choosing and valuing investments, structuring and managing global enterprises, confronting competitive threats, and navigating markets which may increasingly display power law dynamics and where distributions may have “fat tails”.

Dr. Kuijper stressed on the importance of focussed ownership on profit and power relationships in this transparent economy which is continually transformed by the diminishing cost of information and connectivity. She sketched a detailed picture of the new competitive arena and gave audience a step-by-step approach to build exceptionally high-return enterprises and to utilize today’s shifting market dynamics to influence choice and build wealth.

Based on original research and illustrated with real life lessons from her considerable wealth of experience Dr.Kuijper enlightened the PGPX class on how companies build and exercise power nodes to command higher profits.

 About Mia De Kuijper

In her 20 plus years career, Dr. Mia de Kuijper has built and run companies herself, and she has guided CEOs, Boards and investors to high-return investments and strategies. She has held senior positions at Royal Dutch/Shell, PepsiCo (where as Head of Strategy and M&A she contributed to the development of Pepsi-Cola in India), AT&T, Boston and Morgan Stanley. She has worked extensively in Asia, Latin America, Europe and the U.S. Dr. de Kuijper is a Fellow of Cambridge University in England, Co-dean of the Duisenberg School of Finance in Amsterdam, and the CEO of strategy and M&A advisory firm de Kuijper Global Partners. Dr. de Kuijper serves on the Alumni Council of Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She has received her Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard GSAS and an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School in a joint degree-program with the Harvard Business School.

The jury panel included –

Mr. Sandeep Nair, president and Managing Director of Emerson Network Power (India) Pvt Limited – The sponsors of X-Biz 2011,

Prof Arvind Sahay, Professor of Marketing at IIM-Ahmedabad, and

Mr. Pranay Gupta, Joint CEO, CIIE-IIM, Ahmedabad

During his opening note, Mr. Sandeep Nair highlighted that what really works in business is a combination of “The 4+2 Factors” –

The four core management practices (Strategy, Execution, Winning Culture and Structure) that HAVE to be supported by any 2 of the following 4 underpinning elements - Talent, Innovation, Leadership, Mergers and Partnership.

He also egged budding entrepreneurs to focus on Investing in innovation, Exploiting Megatrends, Customer Engagement and Cost Driver Focus. He concluded by wishing the participants best of luck in their endeavours and hope that they always strive for “Tolerance of failure” and “Bridging risk with mitigation plans”.

The event was won by Team Innopreneurs from IIM Shillong who detailed an exciting Business Plan including Production and Marketing of Mechanized Agri-equipments designed by Gurnail Singh Dhonsi at low price points and high value. The judges appreciated their well “thought through” analysis, deep knowledge of the technology and market-base and painstaking research (primary and secondary). They were advised to make their market focus “razor sharp” and go for growth through external funding.

In second place was Team Waste Junction from IIM Bangalore with their plan for an Online Exchange for Waste management. There socially relevant theme and detailed risk management. Planning for a “win-win” ecosystem and financial plans won applauds from the jury. The team was encouraged to focus further on “inimitable differentiation” in marketplace that would ensure a long term market leadership.

Team Habermas from IIT Chennai stood 3^rd with their plan to create a unique Web-magazine called Gloss focussed on the niche segment of teenage Indian girls. The jury appreciated the sharp segmentation and positioning of the idea and encouraged the team to look further into the financial and risk management plans.

The participants were judged on multiple factors including uniqueness of the plan, “thoroughness” of analysis in capital planning and working capital management, marketing and operating plans, risk identification and mitigation plans, impacts on environment and society and robustness of strategy and growth potential.

The winners received a cash prize and an opportunity to incubate their businesses with CIIE at IIM-Ahmedabad. Also, X-Biz team would be looking for PE opportunities for selected business plans. X-Biz team wishes all the participants great success and growth.

Photos follow….

The IIMA mega event ‘ConneXion 2011’ has arrived. The two day event is scheduled on 4^th and 5^th of November. With the industry A-Listers in attendance , get ready now for power packed, informative and educative panel discussions, cash-on the opportunity for networking and have the privilege to listen to the presentations of many current and future CEOs on a host of contemporary business issues and ideas. Yes, this time in ConneXion, all the panel discussions shall be preceded by a presentation from PGPX participants on the topics of discussion.

The event is hosting many distinguished speakers. The event will be inaugurated by Mr. Sanjeev Aga, former CEO of Idea Telecom and Prof. Sameer Barua, Director, IIM Ahmedabad. Renowned leaders of the industry shall be the panelists on various discussion panels.

The theme of the event is ‘Thought Leadership’. The inaugural event shall be followed by discussions on two interrelated topics – ‘Harnessing Growth Potential of India’ and ‘Technology Led Business Innovations’. On the second day of the event, the discussions shall be on ‘Sustaining India’s Growth Engine’, ‘Innovations in Marketing’ and ‘Building and Managing Brands by Riding the Digital Wave’. The topics have been meticulously chosen to give a direction to the thought process.

The alumni of PGPX are the strongest pillars of strength for the current and future batches. Many initiatives taken by them have become a tradition now. We look forward to meeting our distinguished predecessors and learning from their experiences. Alumni meet, scheduled on day 1 of the event gives us this opportunity. We are eager to welcome you all on your return to the campus.

ConneXion 2011 is not just about discussions, brainstorming and brainy matters. Be ready to loosen up your joints and do a bit of warm-up before coming to the campus… because continuing with tradition, the 5K run is part of the ConneXion this year also. The run will take the runner through the paths of the sprawling, lush green campus of IIMA. So, be ready to test the strength of your lungs, legs and spirit.

PGPX6 batch and IIMA welcome you to Connexion’11.

For details please visit our website: http://www.iima-connexion.com/

The results for the selection of the final three spots are now declared.

Congratulations to the finalists (in order of the team number below) and best of luck for the final round:

Team 18 – InnoPreneurs (IIM Shillong)

Team 42 – Waste Junction (IIM Bangalore)

Team 45 – Team Habermas (IIT Chennai)

For a summary of the shortlisted business plans, visit the ”Meet The Finalists” page http://iima-x-biz.com/finalists/

The final session will be held on 5th November (5 PM) during the X-Biz event @ IIM A New Campus.

The participants will present their ideas to our esteem panel of jury including Prof Arvind Sahay, Mr. Pranay Gupta (Joint CEO CIIE @ IIMA) and Mr. Sandeep Nair (President and MD of Emerson Network Power – India).

The X-Biz team also would like to thank all the 60+ participating teams, especially the top 13, for putting up a great show with their ideas and strategies. We sincerely hope that this experience has contributed in structuring the thought process and taken all a step further towards actual implementation. It has been a great ride so far and we hope for a fitting culmination.

Hope to see you all there!

Regards The X-Biz Team

And that’s where the military ethos comes into play.  Not only these 21 brave men fought till their last breath, but delayed their enemies long enough to advance any further.

Lt General Rajesh Kochhar, AVSM, SM, VSM – Chief of Staff, Army Training Command, shared many such military stories during his lecture on “Essentials of military leadership”.

As per the General, military ethos places the interest of the country and men under the command of an Army Officer.  And the corporate world can benefit immensely from the Army ethos that stress on dedication, justice, equality and total commitment.

He used many such anecdotes to explain how one can learn and apply the lessons from these stories to become an effective leader in the corporate world.

With 39 years of distinguished service in Indian Army, the three star General has fought many battles for the nation and also under the United Nations flag.  The General, himself an engineer, used the law of thermodynamics to explain the relationship of challenges in the making of a leader.  “Higher the heat, greater the expansion” is the essence of the second law of thermodynamics.  So is the life of a leader.  The bigger the challenge, the greater the opportunity for leaders to shape their own frontiers.

He emphasised the importance of ethics, values and morals, in the making of a Leader.  His lecture was punctuated by pearls of wisdom from military leadership.  Sample this: “Whether you lead five men or five million, the essentials of leadership are the same.”  Talking about the principles of leadership, he said that true leadership means developing others and encouraging them to take leadership roles at all levels.  Leaders genuinely believe in what they are doing and engage those around them in the same way.  While dwelling into the nitty gritties of strategic planning, he said: “Disagreement during strategic and planning stage is acceptable, argument beyond that is unacceptable.”

Drawing upon his vast experience of leading from the front, he said that as a leader, people should trust you and be sold on your vision.  He asked the audience to not complain about what they do not have and to remember that people are more important than resources.

In the end, he stressed upon the need for leaders to uncomplicate issues for their followers. He said that an effective leader understands the KISS principle.  “Keep It Simple, Stupid”!!

    ************************

Speaker Series is an event where PGPX students interact with top managers, executives, thought leaders and innovators from the corporate and academic world.  PGPX at IIM-Ahmedabad is a one year fulltime MBA course, for students with substantial work experience, and is ranked 11^th in the world in the Financial Times Business School rankings.

Article Courtesy : Abhishek Gupta, PGPX ; Photo Courtesy: Sameer Madan, PGPX

Mr.Nanda gave an overview of the Indian Private Equity Industry, and the opportunities and challenges that are inherent in the PE area when seen in the Indian context. He commented that although the Indian PE field is relatively less mature as compared to the developed world, PE firms cannot afford to ignore India because of the recent growth in almost all the sectors. He opined that PE in India will mature as the economy continues to grow and as the regulatory environment changes to promote even more FDI in currently restricted industries. He said that currently the PE firms in India only provide strategic and growth capital to enable entrepreneurs to reach a “critical mass” before they can raise money by going to the stock market. He provided the statistics on the current investment made by PE firms noting that majority of the investment in India are in Energy and Financial services sector. As per Mr.Nanda, the main challenges of PE firms in India are due to its nascent stage, India’s abysmal contract enforcement and regulatory restrictions and also because of the huge dependence on promoters and founders for any firm’s success. However he was optimistic on the future of PE firms in India because of the opportunities available across the spectrum of industrial sectors.

Towards the end of the session he advised the students of the PGPX programme on pragmatic ways to build a career in the Private equity field, especially for those students who do not have experience or background in the Private equity and financial services industry.

Speaker Series is an event where PGPX students interact with top managers, executives and innovators from the corporate world.  PGPX at IIM-Ahmedabad is a one year fulltime MBA course, for students with substantial work experience, and was ranked 11th in the world in this year’s Financial Times rankings.

Journey to the finals: After 2 games in preliminary rounds, Rahul faced tough competition in quarter finals. He won the quarters 4-1, with the last set going to dues, and cruised through the semi finals 4-0.

His batch mates enthusiastically supported him through the final stages.

Below is the complete result of the TT tournament (Courtesy: Sports Comm)

Girls’ Singles
Winner: Shambhavi Prasade (PGP1)
Runner-up: Reema Ghosh Roy (PGP2)
2nd Runner-up: Vandana P. (PGP1)

Girls’ Doubles
Winner: Smruti Soni & Reema Ghosh Roy (PGP2)
Runner-up: Deepti Poluru & Divya Jyoti (PGP2)

Boys’ Singles
Winner: Udit Dhupar (PGP2)
Runner-up: Rahul Bheemidi (PGPX)
2nd Runner-up: Ramakrishnan TS (FPM)

Boys’ Doubles
Winner: Kantesh Patil/Kushal Karwa (PGP2)
Runner-up: Abhinav Bhalla/Udit Dhupar (PGP2)
2nd Runner-up: Himanshu Nimje & Kunal Khilar (PGP2)

Mixed Doubles
Winner: Kantesh Patil & Smruti Soni (PGP2)
Runner-up: Himanshu Nimje & Divya Jyoti (PGP2)
2nd Runner-up: Kailash HD & Shambhavi Prasade (PGP1)

Organized in partnership with Breakthrough Management Group International (BMGI), Sectorama 2011 was bigger and better than before with more than 2000 teams participating in the first round and with a total prize money of Rs. 1 lakh. This year’s focus sectors included Pharma, Retail, Media and Telecom, Automobile, Financial Services and Energy. Round 1 of the contest, comprising of a short sector-specific quiz was held at various business schools across the country in July’11. In Round 2, roughly 200 shortlisted teams were asked to develop a 10-year strategy for a specific company in that sector. In the finals held at IIMA campus, 12 teams, top 2 from each sector, were asked to present their strategy.

 Krishna Veer Singh and Premendra competed in the energy sector with their team name – Xenergy and presented a 10-year strategy for Suzlon. The 1^st prize winners presented a 10 year strategy for Nokia and the 2^nd prize winners presented a 10-year strategy for Walmart in India.

Congratulations to all the winners for their great performance!

An important element of this journey has been the ability of the country to generate tremendous amount of intelligentsia. Temples of education in form of IIMs, IITs and other top-notch educational institutes are committed to ensure that best in the world education is imparted to minds of leader of future.  IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA) is spearheading this drive by bringing the best minds together in an environment that fosters learning… and more learning.

They say the spirit of IIMA is no different from the spirit of India. This spirit was relived during IIMA’s Independence Day celebrations today.

When Dr. Barua hoisted the ‘Tirangaa’ today at the iconic LKP (Louis Kahn Plaza), the entire community attending the event erupted in loud chants of ‘Jana Gana Mana….’ The usually silent LKP with its marvelous red backdrop added to the spirit of unity and equality at IIMA and in India. Following the flag hoisting, we headed over to RJM (R J Mathai Auditorium) to witness some of the finest performance from kids as young as 6 years old. The various clubs of IIMA came together to put together a show that drenched the entire audience with showers of patriotism and more importantly .. the new found Indianism.

Among the audience were some 20 odd kids from Prayaas, an initiative to help the local needy children with their education. These kids celebrated Rakshabandhan on Saturday with the student community on Saturday and came back today to join the celebrations of Independence Day.

The spirit of India relived at IIMA:

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”

Proud to be an Indian… proud to be @ IIMA…. Jai Hind!

-Abhishek Gupta and Amitesh Tyagi