RETHINKING ASIA - ET Edge...post show report AKHIL BANSAL Deputy CEO KPMG India ANDREW WEIR Senior Partner, Hong Kong Vice Chairman, KPMG China, Global Chairman of Real Estate and

p o s t s h o w r e p o r t

RETHINKING ASIA



partners

Media Partners

A Magazine for Business Leaders & Decision Makers

Supported by Knowledge Partner

Investment Partner Supporting Associations

Ambient Media Partner Webcast Partner


08:30-09:30Registration

8:30-9:30CEO Breakfast MeetingBusiness leaders from ASIA will sit together and discuss -“Intensifying economic cooperation and increasing innovation and entrepreneurship in sectors of mutual interest

9:30-10:15Thought Provoking Inaugural Panel Discussion: Asia Tomorrow: Innovation 4.0 and Economic Growth, Asia as a “Centre of Gravity for Innovation”The drive for innovation is such that Asian firms are set to spend more on R&D in 2018 than anywhere else in the world. This speaks to a wider trend in which Asia is looking to realign itself away from its legacy roles as a low-cost manufacturing base• Asia Digital Revolution• How ready are we for Industry 4.0?• Are Asian developing economies well positioned to benefit from industry 4.0?

10:15-10:20Welcome Note by ET Edge

10:20-10:40Chief Guest Address: Greater integration of Asian economies for inclusive and sustainable growth in the region

10:40-10:50Keynote: Importance of Hong India Bilateral Ties

agenda


10:50-11:10Keynote: The Role Malaysia aspires to play in regional integration and advancing stability, Building Prosperity and addressing Global Challenges

11:10-11:25Unveiling of the 3rd Edition of Most Promising Leaders of Asia Coffee Table Book and Felicitation of Leaders

11:25-11:40Guest of Honour Keynote: : Showcasing India as an Investment Destination • Recent developments, EODB• Opportunities available to investors• Invest India, the national investment and facilitation agency- support provided

11:40-12:00Interactive Talk Show with:H.E Mr. Samheng Bora, Under Secretary of State , Ministry of Commerce, CambodiaH.E. Mr. Mastoor, Minister of Economy, AfghanistanHon Reginald Cooray, Governor Northern Province Sri LankaH.E Ms. Sidiqi, Acting Minister for Industry and Commerce Ministry, Afghanistan

12:00-12:10Keynote

12:10-12:25Smart Sharing City: Innovation of city and sharing of space, goods, and knowledge.

12:25-13:00Networking Lunch

agenda


13:00-13:15Flash Presentation: Ready for Next: Fintech Reshaping ASIA.

13:15-13:45Embracing E-Commerce Revolution : Asia to be the Global Epicentre of E-Commerce by 2025There are a number of attractive eCommerce markets within Asia: From the obvious opportunities like China and India, to less obvious opportunities like Malaysia and the Philippines and success stories from economies within Asia have inspired an entire generation. • Cross-border e-commerce- new dynamics to international trade• Incresing share of emerging asian economies in global e-commerce market• Factors driving intense growth• Landscape , challenges and opportunities• Role of government policies in developing E-commerse• Emerging Technologies Affecting the Evolution of E-commerce• The mobile revolution

13:45-14:00Building Bridges: A perspective on the Asian bulk trade complex The importance of open trade, and the leadership role that Asia must initiateIndia and China – strategic partners in a longer-term gameSleeping Elephant? The impact of an Industrialized India

14:00-14:15Flash Presentation: New Era of e-Payment Opportunities & Challenges

14:15-15:00Closing Panel: Investments in Asia- Which are the blue eyed sectors and the sectors to avoid

agenda


chief guestTHE HON MRS CARRIE LAM

CHENG YUET-NGORThe Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special

Administrative Region


guest of honour

YB DATUK IGNATIUS DARELL LEIKING

Minister of International Trade and Industries Government Of Malaysia


AKHIL BANSALDeputy CEO KPMG India

ANDREW WEIRSenior Partner, Hong Kong Vice Chairman, KPMG China, Global Chairman of Real Estate and Construction, KPMG

ANSON BAILEYHead of Technology, Hong Kong Head of Consumer & Retail ASPAC, KPMG China

ANSON CHANChairman and CEO Bonds Group of Companies

ARAVIND VARCHASWMD and CEO Sri Sri Tattva

ARIN JIRAChairman Asean Busiiness Advisor Council Thailand

speakers


CP GURNANICEO & MD Tech Mahindra

DEEPAK BAGLAManaging Director & CEO Invest India

EDWARD ZHOUVP of Global Public AffairsHuawei

HARINDARPAL SINGH BANGAFounder, Chairman & CEO Caravel Group Hong Kong

DR. HENRY CHIN PH.DGlobal Head of Research CBRE

IN DONG, CHO Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Seoul Metropolitan Government

speakers


JOSEPH CHAN Founder and Chief Executive OfficerAsiaPay

MANU JAIN Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director of Xiaomi India

MENG LIU Head of Asia and Pacific Networks UN Global Compact.

MIKE KAYAMORI Co-Founder CEO

NEERAJ BANSAL Partner and Head Corridors (HK, ASEAN, Taiwan) and BCRE Sector

NIKHIL ARORA Vice President & MD GoDaddy, India

speakers


SYED MUSHEER AHMED General Manager FinTech Association of Hong Kong

PUNEET AGRAWALConsul-General of India to Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR

DATO’ RAMESH KODAMMAL Chairman of Goldtex Group of CompaniesChairman of ASEAN-India Business Council (AIBC) MalaysiaCo-Chairman of ASEAN-India Business Council (AIBC)Secretary of ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC)Council Member of ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Malaysia Member of ASEAN Circle

HON. REGINALD COORAYGovernor, Northern Province of Sri Lanka, Deputy Minister, Cabinet Minister and Chief Minister of Western Province.Government of Sri Lanka

H.E. SAMHENG BORAUnder Secretary of StateMinistry of CommerceRoyal Government of Cambodia

speakers


SONAM WANGCHUKFounder Semcoal

STEPHEN I.C. WUManaging Director Taipei Trade Centre Hong Kong

SUDHIR SETHIFounder and ChairmanChiratae Ventures India

SUNDEEP SIKKAExecutive Director and CEO Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management

SUMIT SAWHNEYCountry CEO and Managing Director Renault India Operations

TERRY CHANChairman Hong Kong E-Commerce Supply Chain Association

speakers


emailers


invite


feature pages

Over the past decade, Asia has been home to some of the world’s fast-est-growing economies and can

now boast of major contributions to global growth. In an effort to underline this deepening regional integration, the third edition of the Economic Times

Asian Business Leaders Con-clave acted as a melting pot for thought leaders, g o ve r n m e n t s

and business leaders from across the region. One of the most important eco-nomic phenomena that our generation has witnessed has been the emergence of Asia from the shadows of the West, and the conclave offered a differentiated platform for leaders to come together

and discuss the most pertinent issues facing Asia today, with Premier of Hong Kong presiding over proceedings as the Chief Guest.

AN ET EDGE AND OPTIMAL MEDIA SOLUTIONS INITIATIVE, A DIVISION OF TIMES INTERNET LIMITED, CIRCULATED WITH THE ECONOMIC TIMES, ALL INDIA AN ADVERTORIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATUREFRIDAy, APRIL 5, 2019

Helping put AsiA

on the map

The world has become a global village that is constantly evolving

with technological innova-tions. So have businesses. Total Oil India believes in creating a positive work en-vironment that propagates responsible accountability and empowers talent.

Given the rapid pace at which the world is chang-ing, what are the leader-ship traits that are neces-sary for success?>> As organisations grow and become more global, the leadership must be aware of local culture and sensitivi-ties. I’m fortunate to have been given the opportunity by Total to work with di-verse teams in various countries, which has given me powerful insights into challenges as seen from dif-ferent dimensions. Each day has brought unique facets and precious perspectives. One of the key qualities to be a successful leader is to be adaptable to change as it is happening and open minded to new ideas and thought processes.

To create lasting and credible thought leadership, earn the trust and respect of your teams. In my experi-ence, spurring collabora-tion with team members can be the key to making a difference as a global leader.

You have spearheaded in-itiatives to support bud-ding talent. What inspires this outlook of yours?>> Over my 27 years with Total across varied geogra-phies, I have constantly en-deavoured to empower the right people and encourage responsibility that helps them excel at their jobs.

My mantra to achieving success at the workplace is based on 4 Es…. Instilling a sense of Excitement into everything you do, making each task Enjoyable, adopt-ing an Enterprising attitude and maintaining high En-

ergy levels. The key is to truly enjoy

what you do. Each day is a learning experience and you should constantly ob-serve and learn from differ-ent people around you. Be it the person who serves the afternoon coffee, the leader-

ship team, peers, channel partners… anyone.

Total’s long standing partnership with Veng-sarkar Cricket Academy to train underprivileged children is an important CSR initiative driven by you. How has your pas-sion for sports & fitness shaped your leadership style?>> I strongly believe that playing a sport can be one of most engaging forms of building leadership and team work qualities. For be-ing the best in both, sports and leadership you need passion, dedication, and the right mentoring.

Developing good habits and a routine are critical for lifetime success. I personal-ly like to work out in the gym every day. It infuses momentum and energy into my day, allows the brain to function better at work, for longer hours and with more vigour. I sleep better at night too!

Someone has rightly said, “Sports are more than just games; they are about life, emotion, passion, and some of the greatest highs and lows that we can experi-ence.”

The Total Vengsarkar Cricket Academy has been working in the area of train-ing underprivileged chil-dren to hone their talent and develop into world-class players. Some of our young protégés have represented Mumbai, while others have proven their mettle as part of the Indian team.

The Art of Leading

With Asia increasingly becoming the seat of global economic power and innovation,innumerable business op-portunities have cropped up, which need to be tapped strategically. The 3rd edition of the Economic Times Asian Business Leaders Conclave saw gov-ernment, business, and thought lead-ers converge to frame strategic reforms and ties that will cement Asia’s posi-tion as an engine of global growth.

Team ET Edge

With the government committed to nation building measures, how do you see this impacting the construction equip-ment industry?>> The Government has very encouragingly shown great resolve over the past few years in the building of new Infrastructure in both, Urban and Rural India. Large Scale projects such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, new Airports, focus on Wa-ter Conservation and Urban Rejuvenation are contribut-ing towards sustained growth opportunities for the Construction Equip-ment sector in India.

This positive focus on creation of Infrastructure has led to growth returning to our industry which saw a severe four-year long down-cycle which ended in 2015. Over the years, the opportu-nities which India presents has had a cascading effect, as most global players have established their manufac-turing facilities in India to-day, with some also export-ing products out of the country.

This is enabling an entire ecosystem of development of SMEs, Up-Skilling and In-novation, ultimately leading to more jobs and employ-ment. The Construction Equipment Sector believes in the India Growth Story and is committed towards the building of a new India with modern state-of-the-art products.

With the nation being re-

built anew in many plac-es, do you see this as an opportunity? And if so, how?>> As the Indian Economy continues to grow, new world-class infrastructure will have to be created in Ur-ban and Rural India to keep pace with the growth that will come our way.

With global best practices being introduced at work-sites in India, we are gradu-ally experiencing a change with a significant focus on Safety, Efficiency and Envi-ronmental protection. Pro-jects are now increasingly becoming time bound with stringent safety standards being made mandatory.

While Environmental protection has to be a collec-tive initiative, the imple-mentation of BS (CEV) IV emission standards for Con-struction Equipment Vehi-cles will play an important

role in the conservation of environment through lower emissions. It will also lead to technological advance-ments in products and ser-vices, thus enhancing the overall value chain through the percolation of new tech-nology.

Thus, the re-building of a new India will not just in-crease growth opportunities for the Construction Equip-ment sector, but will enable the introduction of state-of-the-art technologies in the sector aswell.

Digital initiatives such as the Internet of Things will play a significant role in building efficiencies in prod-ucts and work sites alike. The manufacturing, opera-tions and support of modern Construction Equipment will require newer skill sets, thus opening up significant opportunities, and helping in job creation.

“We believe in the India Growth story”Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director and CEO, JCB India elucidates the factors spurring on a

new era of nation-building

ASIA’S MOST ExTRAORDInARy CHAnGE-MAKERS COnVERGED AT

THE THIRD EDITIOn ECOnOMIC TIMES ASIAn BuSInESS

LEADERS COnCLAVE

With India headed full tilt towards an electric mo-toring future, how are you strategizing to take a leadership position?>> Audi has already launched its electrification offensive globally with the world premiere of the Audi e-tron. By 2025, Audi will of-fer twelve automobiles with all-electric drive in the im-portant markets worldwide and achieve roughly one-third of its sales with elec-trified models.

Audi India is ready to launch its all electric model, the Audi e-tron, which will be perfect for the Indian market requirements once the infrastructure is condu-cive. This shall hopefully happen by 2020 latest, if not earlier.

The relaxation in import norms allows for some in-teresting possibilities in terms of expanding the portfolio. Is there a road-map created for exploring this possibility?>> The discussion around

liberalization of import norms by the Government will definitely benefit the luxury car industry in In-dia. We welcome this move by the Government as it will help us to introduce more models with advanced tech-nologies from our global portfolio into India – models like the Audi Q8 and the Audi e-tron or even smaller cars – all with the intention of exploring volume oppor-tunities for a future local as-sembly here.

You have a unique under-standing of both the Ger-man and Indian psyche and culture. How much of an advantage is that when it comes to steering a sto-ried brand like Audi?>> One of the key reasons

for being appointed as the Head of Audi India was my Indian origin. The fact that I am well acquainted with the market, know the psyche or demands of Indian buyers and understand the culture is clearly an asset. Since Audi in India is targeting young-minded and entrepre-neurial people, I have an ad-vantage of being a young CEO. not only does Audi connect very well with young-minded customers, but at the same time I can also share a lot of ‘personal’ insights, ideas and beliefs to create our brand strategy here. Also in this age of con-stant innovation and digi-talization, I am able to iden-tify and move with time.

What are the new launch-

es we will see this year?>> I am excited to announce that we have an interesting year coming up in 2019 – the year of the ‘8’s – with an ex-hilarating line up of flag-ship models – thus promis-ing a great array of choice for Audi enthusiasts in In-dia.

Audi will be introducing its flagship models the Audi A8 and the Audi R8 in the Indian market in 2019 along with other exciting models. Audi globally introduced the Audi e-tron and is planning its foray into the Indian mar-ket soon.

What does the road ahead hold for Audi India, and how do you plan to tackle any road bumps you might come across? >> I believe that the road ahead for Audi is filled with great opportunities in India. We are confident that in the coming 3 to 5 years the Indi-an market will unfold its po-tential and our India strate-gy is geared to take full ad-vantage of the same.

However, this also has to go hand in hand with a mar-ket liberalization of the gov-ernment when it comes to luxury products as they have been treated in a pro-hibitive manner so far de-spite the investments being made in the past decade by the luxury players, especial-ly by Audi India.

We have defined 4 key pa-rameters for us in creating a sustainable and profitable business, which are Prod-uct, network, Customer Connect and Digitalization. The elements defined in our strategy will help us to cre-ate an added value and to be poised for quantum growth in the future.

Rahil Ansari, Head, Audi India, sheds light on his formulas for success

Driven to succeed

Dilip Vaswani, CMD, Total South Asia says it is essential to believe in, value,

understand and respect talent in order to reach rich dividends

Over my 27 years with tOtal acrOss varied geOgraphies, i have cOnstantly endeavOured tO empOwer the right peOple and encOurage respOnsibility that helps them excel at their jObs.

audi india is ready tO launch its all electric mOdel, the audi e-trOn, which will be perfect fOr the indian market requirements Once the infrastructure is cOnducive. this shall hOpefully happen by 2020 latest, if nOt earlier.

audi will be intrOducing its flagship mOdels the audi a8 and the audi r8 in the indian market in 2019 alOng with Other exciting mOdels.

i strOngly believe that playing a spOrt can be One Of mOst engaging fOrms Of building leadership and team wOrk qualities.

The unveiling of The Economic Times Most Promising Business Leaders of Asia coffee table was done by YB Datuk Ignatius Darell Leiking, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Government of Malaysia and Puneet Agrawal, Consulate General of India to Hong Kong in a gala function in Hong Kong

India is a chronically under-insured nation. How have you helped drive market development in the Indian insurance industry?>> As per “Analysis of life insurance in India 2017” report by CRISIL, life Insur-ance penetration in India currently stands at 2.8% as compared to the glob-al life insurance penetration of 3.3%. Protection gap for India stood at $8.5 trillion as of CY2014, which was much higher than its Asian counterparts as per Swiss Re Mortality Protection gap – Asia Pacific 2015.

There is a significant untapped po-tential of the Indian life insurance mar-ket. There have been positive initia-tives by the Government to insure the under-insured segments through pro-grams like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jy-oti Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Plan. This coupled with increase in urbani-zation, which will also aid in the in-crease of per-capita GDP and financial literacy among consumers, will sup-port the growth of Life Insurance in-dustry in India.

In order to reach a wider population, we leverage expansive reach of our bancassurance partners by increasing activation in the branch network and deepening our penetration of the cus-tomer base of activated branches. We have a strong footprint covering over majority of 723 districts in India through over 11,000 branches of our bancassurance partners –Punjab Na-tional Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Karnataka Bank and other part-ners. This makes us a company having the 2nd largest bancassurance plat-form in India (Source: CRISIL)

Our pan-India, multi-channel distri-bution network positions us to access a demographically andgeographically broad customer base across India. With the help of our large bancassurance distribution and over 7000 dedicated insurance advisors spread across 107 branches, today we are spread across different geographies. As on FY2018,

Metro region contributed 42.47%, Ur-ban and Semi Urban regions contrib-uted 39.30% and Rural regions contrib-uted 18.23% for our individual new business premium

How can investments in analytics help provide a competitive advan-tage to modern-day insurance pro-viders?>> As Clive Humby said, “Data is the new oil. It's valuable, but if unrefined it cannot really be used.”At PNB MetLife, data analytics lies in the core of our systems. We leverage data to under-stand the diverse needs of the custom-ers and thereby design comprehensive product portfolio. Similarly, we also use data analytics to seek customer friend-ly solutions right from sourcing of the policy to servicing the needs of existing customers. Our strategy is structured around three concepts – Data, Digitize and Disrupt.

l Data: We leverage the data to design effective actionables and use the same improve our persistency ra-tios, reduce surrenders, help miti-gate frauds and manage smooth claim settlement process. Data also helps us in understanding customer life cycle and offer them need based solution.

l Digitize: We continue to invest in

digitization to improve our opera-tional efficiency and productivity. Such initiative helps us to improve productivity, reduce errors, reduce TAT, reduce our dependence on pa-per work and physical infrastruc-ture – thereby enhancing the cus-tomer experience.

l Disrupt: To stay abreast of the com-petition, we aim to develop disrup-tive technology. We have partnered with MetLife’s innovation center for Asia, LumenLab, to launch AI enabled customer service app called ‘KhUshiand conVRse, a virtual real-ity customer service application. We are the first life insurers to launch. We have recently started to use robotics technology to elimi-nate human intervention for auto debit mandate of premiums.

As technology and its convergence with the industry ecosystem deep-ens, what innovations particularly excite you, either by way of product benefits or distribution mecha-nisms?>> It is really exciting to see the way technology is shaping up the entire eco-system. At PNB MetLife, technology enables us to live up to one of our core value - ‘Put Customer First’.

We analyze markets and customers’ data across various geographical loca-tions, understand their diverse needs and offer our product suite. So we have products, which partners with the cus-tomers at 4 different stages of life – Child Education, Family Protection, Long Term Savings and Retirement. We look at the simpler ways to connect to our customers and innovations lies in the heart of it. Today we have de-signed an ecosystem, where our cus-tomers can access us through various touchpoints – both offline and online

We are pioneers in introducing tech-nological innovation like khUshi– an AI enabled customer service app.khUshi has the ability to understand customer intent and provide tailored responses to the users and can interact with customers via text and speech both. When requested, the app can also locate the nearest PNB MetLife branch, arrange a call back from call center rep-resentatives, fix an appointment with an advisor and much more. Till date, 25,000 users have downloaded this app and 93,500 queries have been received. We have addressed 3,700 service re-quests through this app and khUshi ranks high with 4.4 stars in google play.

We use technology to increase our operational efficiency. As highlighted earlier, our e-Branch helps to reduce TAT, is cost effective and also ensures in data security. This holds true with our other applications as well.

As the push for robust in-frastructure gains mo-mentum, how are you es-saying a role in bridging the infrastructure gap that exists across India?>> Infrastructure sector is the key driver for growth of Indian economy and the sec-tor is mainly responsible for propelling India’s overall de-velopment. With intense fo-cus, the government has ini-tiated several new schemes and policy reforms to ensure time-bound creation of world class infrastructure in the country. Infrastructure sector in India has evolved from purely government-funded projects to newer business models involving partial or complete owner-ship of the private sector.

The investment requirement for infrastructure develop-ment in India is estimated to be INR 50 trillion (US$ 720 bil-lion) by 2022 to have sustain-able development in the country. Power transmission & distribution, water infra-

structure, roads & highways and renewable energy sec-tors will drive the invest-ments in the coming years.

How can we make the tran-sition to ‘smart’ cities, with the latest technology and urban transportation systems?>> The idea of the smart city is fully based on efficient use of civic systems with the use of modern technologies like IoT, AI, cloud computing and ML. The communication sys-tem has become superfast, transportation has evolved to electric and driverless vehi-cles, civic services has trans-formed with online systems to save energy, time and valu-able resources. Technology companies and city adminis-

tration are investing signifi-cantly in new technologies to improve the efficiency of the basic utility services of the cities. The impact of technol-og y is prevalent in all spheres of life in our day to day activities.

The technology is ready to change our lives through the smart city networks and the smart IoT devices fully inte-grated with the centralized control system and it is be-coming essential for all large cities around the world to adopt technological innova-tions to sustain huge pres-sure of population by devel-oping smart cities through the efficient use of the mod-ern technologies in the civic systems and local govern-ance.

Head or heart, which do you think is more impor-tant to be a successful lead-er?>> As quoted by Jack Ma of Alibaba – “Its’ not enough to have just a high IQ or a high EQ. The mystery factor that one must possess to be suc-cessful is a high LQ, the IQ of Love”. A high LQ is a must for any leader to gain respect.

The predictive and proac-tive aptitude of the team needs to be continually en-hanced through interactive sessions spearheaded by the leader.The intention to re-main aware and the capability to see beyond the existing con-straints is one of the biggest key to success. Hold yourself accountable, when you accept responsibility for any task, you convey ownership quality to others as part of your dele-gation and development pro-cess.

Great owners encourage feedback and welcome assis-tance of others in driving the organization forward. They work to mitigate risks and seek to be proactive about their ownership areas over time.Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and don’t let anyone limit your

dreams.

How can one foster a cul-ture of ceaseless innova-

tion?>> Learning and innovation go hand-in-hand. For true in-novation you need human in-

teraction, conflict, argument and debate. It is imperative to analyze the benefits offered by each new idea and prioritize the ideas based on their merit and relevance.

The management, despite the busy schedule, makes sure to be present for final commis-sioning of each project to en-hance their adaptive thinking competence.We have docu-mented innovation examples within the organization where in there is an overall improvement in the yield of around 3% on our Cold Roll-ing Mills. Some of the innova-tive designs have resulted in reduction of more than 50% of capital expenditure and also around 5% reduction in operational cost and in turn lesser carbon foot print.

friDAY, April 5, 2019

>>

pg 2

What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to es-tablish your success story?>> Even an ordinary can become extra ordinary is the basic mantra, I believe in.

I believe that even an ordinary can become extraordinary, if one has per-sistence, perseverance and persuasion as their traits. One must have courage, competence, fortitude, resilience and tenacity to succeed in a highly competi-tive business environment that is being constantly disrupted. I have constantly strived to embody and practice these traits in my career spanning 20 plus years to win new clients, hire the right talent, grow the business and create a healthy pipeline without having to com-promise on my personal and organisa-tional values. If we learn to put the needs of the customers and employees first, one can become an influential leader that can bring out the best in eve-ryone, making an organisation a collec-tive success. When we genuinely try to understand the difficulties of another

person, we become winners.

India is a market with myriad busi-ness needs. How have you catered to the diverse needs of Indian consum-

ers?>> We step in to the shoes of our cus-tomers and view the whole gamut in their perspective, which helps us get a better understanding of their diverse

requirements and needs. Our in-house R&D also come handy and greatly helps when we need insights into our con-sumer psyche so that we can constantly innovate to meet their needs. Once we

embrace customer centricity as core to our existence, our job becomes easier and everything else will fall in place.

Trust and transparency is intrinsic to our business and we do everything in

our customer’s interest. Fair price and value for money are our watch words. This keeps us in good stead.

If you had to offer some nuggets of wisdom to an aspiring entrepreneur, what would they be?>> Building a successful business em-pire is not that easy if one is not deter-mined enough to succeed. My sugges-tions would be:l Have the relentless hunger to winl Have the quest for excellence l Do not be overwhelmed by challeng-

es but stay focused on your goal and proceed steadily

l Have strong business ethics. Be ethi-cal even if no one is watching you.

l Be transparent in dealingsl Build trustl Have good governance l Believe in the dictum: “What we

have done for ourselves alone dies with us; but what we have done for the society and the world- remains and that is immortal”. “Leaving the World a Better place is important”

M Murali, Chairman and Managing Director, Shriram Properties, expounds on his remarkable journey and the lessons to learn from it

From ordinary to extraordinary

Through digital disruption to development

“Technology is ready to change our lives”

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand”

Ashish Kumar Srivastava, CEO, PNB MetLife, scrutinizes the way technology is

reshaping the insurance ecosystem

Subhash Sethi, Chairman, SPML Infra, offers his reasoning about how and why the infrastructure sector is spurring on growth

Navneet Singh, Managing Director, Digi Drives, opines on the ingredients that go into the making of a successful leader

From India to the world, it’s been quite a journey for the brand. Tell us a bit more about it.>> Giving good quality, de-pendable products that have stood the test of time is of primary importance to us. And as a brand we believe in helping consumers across the world to live a fulfilled life. Bringing Parador to the HIL family helped us expand our portfolio and include flooring solution in the wide array of building products we offer. We saw it as the right move for us as a brand and taking us closer to one-stop solution for all building solutions needs.

We also see a strong syn-ergy between our existing products and Parador’s port-folio. Being leading brands in our respective markets, we can both leverage on the presence we have across var-ious countries and look for-

ward to making HIL the most trusted brand globally with our dependable products.

Customers today have di-verse needs. How are you looking to meet their needs comprehensively?

>> We are the market lead-ers in the categories we cur-rently operate and the addi-t i o n o f Pa r a d o r o n ly solidifies our positioning. We provide products across segments that can be cus-tomized as per the consum-

er’s needs. For e.g: We do boards that are made pri-marily for partitioning but can be used as false ceiling as well. Our multi-purpose panels are used as an alter-native to walls as well as mezzanine flooring and cladding. Our designer boards are used also for dec-orative interiors with CNC engraving.

Our Premium Flooring brand Parador has an array of product offerings – a range of standardized wood-en flooring, variety of high-ly customized flooring as per consumer needs & also ex-ceedingly unconventional – ground breaking designs for stunning interiors.

We also actively collabo-rate with brands and prod-ucts which complement our portfolio. This gives a higher efficiency to the efforts put in by the team which helps delight the consumers.

Synchronyis built on a diverse workforce driv-ing an inclusive work

culture. With a substantial employee base in Hy-derabad, women employees make up 27% of our leader-ship and 41% of our work-force. We also have more than 125 employees with dis-abilities. Our seven Diversi-ty Networks help to cultivate an environment of inclu-siveness that allows employ-ees to bring their best selves to work every day and con-tribute to the business in an impactful way. Our diverse workforce engages with the community with programs-such as ‘Goals for Girls’, sup-ported by our Women’s Net-work, that teaches young girls community develop-ment skills through football,

while simultaneously giving our employees the opportu-nity to mentor, engage and guide participants.

How does Synchrony stand apart from its peers?

Our culture is built on en-gagement, care and working forward together. Our inno-vative engaging work style gives our employees numer-ous opportunities to drive their individual ambitions while pioneering the future of finance. We provide our employees with wellness amenities at work - a health-care and fitness centre, cafe-terias providing healthy meal options 24/7/365, relax-ing break-out zones, music and dance rooms, a spa and custom-built walk stations where employees can work

as they exercise.

Work life balance is a very important component and Synchrony thoroughly supports the need.

As a company that be-lieves ambitions live every-where, we value respect and encourage employees to ful-fil their ambitions- be it fam-ily, hobby or whatever be their passion. We support-them through many flexible programs that provide op-tions to take time off to help balance work and life. We invest and leverage the in latest technology to work smarter and improve pro-ductivity.

Companies cannot thrive without giving back to the community. How does Syn-

chrony strive to do so?As a caring organisation,

volunteering not only con-nects us to our communities but helps our employees ini-tiate, build and drive various programs to generate volun-teer hours to help the com-munity. This has helped pro-vide 5000 cornea transplants through LV Prasad Eye Insti-tute, Hyderabad. Likewise, our partnership with the Government of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has helped provide potable drinking water to over 32000 people across 16 villages. Our employees also drive various educational programs on digital literacy, spoken Eng-lish classes during summer, personal hygiene and helps clean and beautify different parts of the city.

Dhirup Roy Choudhary, MD & CEO, HIL offers his take on what it takes to build a brand of global stature

A tale of global success

Synchrony: Where Diversity & Inclusion is a way of life! Synchrony's work culture and focus on employees has established it as one the best places to work

>> Faisal Uddin, Sr.VP. International Operations & Business Leader Asia, Synchrony

>> Navneet Singh and Samir Bansal


feature pages


>>

pg 3

Along your long professional jour-ney, what are the major milestones that you look back on with satisfac-tion and pride?>> My professional journey goes back to the roots of my early life. At schooling, in my days, passing with 1st division was a rarity as the marking system then was not even half as lenient as now. In those scenarios, I was the only student in my class who passed SSC (10th Stand-ard) in 1st division.

Further into my educational journey, I completed graduation in Science. But despite being a science graduate, quali-fying as a C.A. was a proud moment for me. But I never settled with practicing Chartered Accountancy. Shifting from professional practice as a C.A. to run-ning a business empire was a transfor-mational breakthrough for me. We started manufacturing of diapers in 2010 and expanded our machine line and sales growth every year.

Could you give us some examples of how R&D has helped drive the growth of the company?>> Continuous R&D from designing our diapers to machine design and all the rapid improvements which we continu-

ously carry out has given confidence to both, our consumers and sales team. One prominent reason for a strong R&D base has been because we believe in good quality and deliver the same. A lot

of thought goes into making our diapers a perfect fit for Indian body and Indian climate compatible. Being a long stand-ing brand against three multinational brands would not have been possible had we compromised on quality and not focussed on R&D continuously.

If you had to describe the factors de-fining the success of Nobel Hygiene, what would you boil it down to?

Primarily two factors;l Dreaming big, working hard to

achieve the same, scaling up the manufacturing plant to internation-al level.

l Being fair and honest to every stake holder be it the staff, the distributor, the supplier or the end customer.

Under your stewardship, the company has em-braced digital innovations fully. Talk to us a bit about this thinking, and what else is in the pipeline.>> Asset Management Indus-try in India is in a growth phase with tremendous po-tential. Currently only 3-4% of the population invests in MFs and this is rising rapidly with increasing financial awareness and availability of digital communication. We have been able to pick up the trend early and have in-vested behind it consistently. Today we are widely recog-nized to be at the forefront in terms of Digital services and innovation. We have a com-plete suite of assets across website and mobile apps for both investors and distribu-tors. But this is just the first step for us as we roll out fur-ther initiatives such as voice-controlled transaction services on app. The idea is to provide wealth creation op-portunities across the coun-try and strive towards higher financial inclusion. Current-ly more than a third of our transactions are coming through our own Digital as-sets and this is set to grow in the future as more tech-savvy investors join the Industry.

The main focus area going forward, therefore, will be on effectively connecting the AMC, the Financial Advisor and the Investor. With this in mind, RNAM has been build-ing its digital infrastructure to connect the dots and pro-vide a transaction and ser-

vice platform across devices.

Heading into 2019, what are the leadership lessons you have learnt from 2018 that you will apply on a day-to-day basis?>> 2018 was a year of turbu-lence. There have been rapid changes and volatility across capital markets, economy, and investment patterns. There were disruptions in several business models which has contributed to a bias towards short-term view. However it is important in such turbulent times, to focus on the longer term and be cognizant of opportuni-ties. Rather than apprehen-sion towards short-term

challenges, the long term op-portunities will decide the fate especially for growing industries like financial ser-vices in India.

At the core, your mindset

determines the outcome in the longer term and this is the focus for development. It is important to cultivate a mindset of ‘playing to win, not playing to not lose’. One is about optimism in the face of difficulties and the other is about caution. Put simply, the optimistic mind finds it much easier to not only over-come obstacles but also set exciting targets. In day-to-day decisions, this mindset cascades into steps like:l Confronting realityl Defining the winning sit-

uationl Promoting intelligent

failurel Cultivating courage.

In your decades long pro-fessional journey, what have been some of your most memorable moments and biggest lessons?>> I believe one makes the best decisions while looking ahead, and not while looking into the rearview mirror. Gradually, yesterday’s moti-vators become today’s hy-giene factors, both for employees and customers. In financial services and other industries as well, there have been large companies that have suddenly found them-selves behind the curve and going down the path to irrel-evance. Often when the in-dustry is being disrupted by a new entrant, it takes time for this change to be noticed and taken seriously. It is therefore crucial to keep evolving and keep looking ahead for new opportunities.

Dreaming Big

“Digital Infrastructure will drive our market leadership”

Kamal Johari, MD, Nobel Hygiene, emphasizes the importance of ceaseless innovation

Sundeep Sikka, ED & CEO, Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management, gazes into the crystal ball and

outlines critical factors for success

As a nation harboring huge devel-opment ambitions, how can we continue to fuel these dreams through energy sufficiency? >> Indian energy sector needs an in-tegrated approach with defined role for each type of primary energy. In-creasing domestic production and diversifying into new sources like renewables seems most affordable and convenient path for energy suf-ficiency but both solutions have in-herent challenges. Focusing on natu-ral gas and procuring energy sup-plies through long term contracts can ensure long term energy securi-ty. A portfolio approach can help to reduce the price volatility. RE-Gas hybrid model is another option for India towards sustainable energy

sufficiency. Integrating CNG/PNG with smart city projects can also en-sure sustainable and affordable en-ergy access to Indian citizens.

Given sustainable concerns, re-newable energy is now increas-ingly becoming a part of the en-ergy mix. How is GAIL poised to benefit from this shift? >> India’s ambitious target of 227 GW RE deployments by 2022 offers significant investment opportunities for energy majors like GAIL to invest in renewable value chain. Apart from this, as share of renewable energy will grow, there will be increasing inherent challenge of balancing the electricity grid. Natural gas has the right synergy with renewables to ad-dress challenges like seasonality, reli-ability and diurnal variations. Forth-coming peaking power regulation can generate further demand for natural gas sector.

From your perspective, how have technological advances impacted & ena-bled better designs.>> The field of Architecture & Interior Design has come a big way ahead due to techno-logical advances especially in the field of planning due to DATA Analytics. With a clean & crisp process driven evolution of Design, Archi-tects have now indulged heavily into understanding the usage PATTERN of the client with the help of BIG DATA, has helped Architects to rightfully PREDICT the optimal nature of clients re-quirements. This controlled detailing and space planning in turn helps to OPTIMIZE spaces which can be used for providing GREENLUNGS or COLLABORATE SPACES to usable spaces.

DESIGNS which are most suited to end users require-ments and modeled as per space, density and collabo-rate spaces can be now visu-alized with modern software tools with appropriate soft-ware features (viz., Revit, Sketch-up, Rhino, Grasshop-per, Lumion, etc). A complete real-time feel of the spaces by virtually walking in the user, enhances and helps to solidify the Development ex-periences for the clients who can take decisions faster and that too conclude with basic calculations of consumption

& cost.Once the Architects con-

clude on to the form, the en-tire BUILD [w.r.t. Structures & Services (MEP)] can be de-veloped with softwares which have helped to opti-mize the structural & MEP design. Construction tech-

nologies have also gone way beyond the conventional and customary style of execu-tion, be it for speeding the construction or optimizing or reducing wastages, tech-nology or even newer project management tools have defi-nitely helped. All these ben-

efits have certainly been passed on to the end user in terms of time, quality & not to forget costs.

As sustainability grown in importance, how have you embedded it into your ongoing & completed pro-jects?>> We have taken the cause of sustainability into the very DNA of any develop-ment. The basic Mantra of Reduce, Recycle & Reuse has been complimented with the theme of predict (Analyse)/Pattern (Decision) & pursue (execute) which has kept the very matrix of basic plan-ning, sunshading, material selection, metering and recy-clic approach, INTACT.

The whole theme of sus-tainability was to ensure that present Development should not be at the cause of reducing or compromising the ability of the future gen-erations.

We went to the root cause as to how a user thinks to im-bibe the cause of sustaina-bility.(i) Explanation and prove

the net return on invest-ment.

(ii) This automatically led to increase in the net in-come.

(iii) Minimization of using energy and other re-sources which would lead to reducing costs.

Success by design Parish Kapse, Founding Partner & Director, Team One Architects lays bare his blueprint for success

DESIGNS whIch arE moSt SuItED to END uSErS rEquIrEmENtS aND moDElED aS pEr SpacE, DENSIty aND collaboratE SpacES caN bE Now vISualIzED wIth moDErN SoftwarE toolS wIth approprIatE SoftwarE fEaturES (vIz., rEvIt, SkEtch-up, rhINo, GraSShoppEr, lumIoN, Etc).

wE havE a complEtE SuItE of aSSEtS acroSS wEbSItE aND mobIlE appS for both INvEStorS aND DIStrIbutorS. but thIS IS juSt thE fIrSt StEp for uS aS wE roll out furthEr INItIatIvES Such aS voIcE-coNtrollED traNSactIoN SErvIcES oN app.

INDIaN ENErGy SEctor NEEDS aN INtEGratED approach wIth DEfINED rolE for Each typE of prImary ENErGy. INcrEaSING DomEStIc proDuctIoN aND DIvErSIfyING INto NEw SourcES lIkE rENEwablES SEEmS moSt afforDablE aND coNvENIENt path for ENErGy SuffIcIENcy but both SolutIoNS havE INhErENt challENGES.

I NEvEr SEttlED wIth practIcING chartErED accouNtaNcy. ShIftING from profESSIoNal practIcE aS a c.a. to ruNNING a buSINESS EmpIrE waS a traNSformatIoNal brEakthrouGh for mE.

Given India’s low insurance pene-tration, what are the innovations deployed to increase its uptake? >> Simplicity is the new innovation. To cater to the larger segment of the popu-lation, we need to have simple, easy to understand products which can serve dual purpose of protection and sav-ings. This coupled with our strong reach through a network of over 10,000 partner bank branches in metro, ur-ban, semi-urban and rural areas and our 37 hub offices gives us the leverage to provide financial security and solu-tions to wider population.

On the other spectrum there is a big population who loves to be digitally connected and is comfortable with ex-ploring, understanding and buying products, including insurance on on-line platforms. For this customer seg-ment, we have best in class, simple and affordable protection & wealth solu-tions which customers can buy through our website or through web aggregators. Very soon we shall also of-fer our health solutions currently available through our partners on on-line platforms. We have two Point of Sale (POS) products in our product suite which are over the counter prod-ucts there by providing convenience and ease to the customers.

Educating the millennial is more im-portant, as they’ll create a huge impact on the insurance sector as well its pen-etration within the mentioned tiers. Government has initiated schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana,

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yoja-na for the same. Digital initiatives through whatsapp, FB, chatbots are making impacts too while cross selling through various digital partners and insurance aggregators have been fruit-ful.

The right combination of all of the above aided with our vast distribution network will help in penetrating tier 2, tier 3 cities and rural areas as well.

In your experience, how has the landscape and model of insurance evolved over the years?

>> Like all other sectors, Insurance is also directly impacted by digital initia-tives and artificial intelligence. Recent past saw a good growth. The industry is estimated to grow 15-20% in the next 3-5 years, which would essentially come from Tier 2 & 3 cities (apart from the Tier 1 cities). People are more educated about needs and benefits of Life and Health insurance; we have also wit-nessed high growth in digital insur-ance selling.

Competitiveness in sector and some key regulatory changes have made the product propositions very attractive and make very sound case for protec-tion, savings and wealth creation bun-dled in single proposition. The future is bright for this sector as more and more people realize the benefits of Insurance.

In your experience, what unique qualities do female leaders bring to the organ-isational table? >> A vital piece of advice that I would like to share with my female counterparts is that they should embrace the qualities that set them apart as a woman, instead of blindly trying to emulate their male colleagues. Wom-en have a great sense of lead-ership that comes to them organically and they need to be cognizant of that. Women, typically, essay an array of roles in their personal lives which makes them strike a better balance at work and multitask more efficiently with greater perseverance.

Further, women are often known to possess high levels of emotional intelligence which enables them to empa-thise and thereby foster strong interpersonal rela-tionships at work. I am proud to acknowledge that we are already in a beautiful transi-tional phase where these qualities are being appreci-ated in the form of higher representation of women across various sectors of In-dia Inc.

Technology has impacted diverse industries in myri-ad ways. How do you fore-s e e t e c h n o l o g i c a l innovations being har-nessed to drive improved business outcomes?

>> The constant advance-ment of technology allows companies to explore new avenues and offer unique modes of service to the ever- evolving customer needs. Technology is one of the most powerful tools to reach the untapped and under-served population in the hin-terlands of the country as well as enhance customer service. The adoption of digi-tal payment ecosystem and use of the digital platform has seen a clear shift in rural areas. The use of tablets, mo-bile apps, and chatbots has momentously aided in doing so and we see great potential in upcoming technology for promoting financial inclu-sion across the country.

While the use of block-chain in the financial indus-try is limited to elementary stages, we see the technology

developing greatly in the fu-ture to assist in cutting down turnaround time and docu-mentation, thus improving overall processing.

One of the main arenas that we expect technology to

hugely impact is fraud man-agement. With leading com-p a n i e s d e v e l o p i n g fraud-detecting softwares, we are already on the path to sig-nificantly reduce frauds in the financial industry. We be-lieve that with the evolution of technology, we will see a future with marginal reduc-tion in fraudulent activities.

“simplicity is the new innovation”

Technology driven

innovation

Anuj Mathur, MD & CEO, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance reveals how simplicity can be a winning differentiator

Rajashree Nambiar MD and CEO, Fullerton India enumerates the ways in which technology is

pushing the envelope further than ever beforeI am prouD to ackNowlEDGE that wE arE alrEaDy IN a bEautIful traNSItIoNal phaSE whErE thESE qualItIES arE bEING apprEcIatED IN thE form of hIGhEr rEprESENtatIoN of womEN acroSS varIouS SEctorS of INDIa INc.

Towards integrated energy blueprintsB.C. Tripathi, Chairman & Managing Director, GAIL India, explains how we can fuel our dreams through energy sufficiency

oN thE othEr SpEctrum thErE IS a bIG populatIoN who lovES to bE DIGItally coNNEctED aND IS comfortablE wIth ExplorING, uNDErStaNDING aND buyING proDuctS, INcluDING INSuraNcE oN oNlINE platformS. for thIS cuStomEr SEGmENt, wE havE bESt IN claSS, SImplE aND afforDablE protEctIoN & wEalth SolutIoNS whIch cuStomErS caN buy throuGh our wEbSItE or throuGh wEb aGGrEGatorS.

T he universe conspires to make your dreams come true, provided

your dreams are followed by action. Be ambitious and set your goals higher to be achieved over a period of time. Break your goals into smaller time frames. Find your passion and do what you love. Be helpful to everyone around. Never fear of failures as the person who has not failed has not tried enough. I have hired trained and men-tored thousands of freshers straight out of college directly so have invaluable great mem-ories with them. Believe in youngsters and keep learning and be a student all your life.

Born and brought up in Amritsar, my father was a timber shopkeeper. Supreme Court banned felling of trees from 30th June 1990 so migrat-ed to delhi for search of new business. Within a month, Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2nd August 1990, resulting in the collapse of stock markets worldwide including India. I was of firm opinion that war won’t happen so why not in-

vest in markets as Sensex had crashed to below 1000.

However I had zero knowl-edge of stock markets. I hur-riedly opened my trading ac-count and invested my all life savings when sensex was at 980. War happened but Sensex shot up next day and kept ris-ing and rose by more than 450% in next 15 months and reached to 4500, I sold my all shares in this rally and made a windfall gain in spite of my prediction of war incorrect.

Subsequently faced my big-gest failure and lost all my money in speculation during Harshad Mehta scam. Learnt my lesson that markets re-ward investors/professional and punish speculators so took trading as my profession and founded Jaypee capital in 1994 which was one of the nse founder member and thereaf-

ter recovered all my losses. In 2003 opened subsidiary in USA and became India first and only Nasdaq member but again second time lost all my money in trading USA stocks. In 2004 commodities trading started and in next few years not only recovered all my loss-es but made record profits

year after year.In 2005 became market

maker of sgx. In subsequent years Acquired exchange memberships at Chicago, London Tokyo etc. In 2009 I promoted India newest na-tional level stock exchange united stock exchange with 28 banks and bse and launched currency futures, which merged with BSe in 2016. Be-came anchor/ largest share-holder of ncdex in 2010 with nse and Goldman Sachs as co owners. Served as director on commodity exchange and stock exchange. Sold ncdex stake to private equity inves-tors and have started artificial intelligence based high fre-quency algorithmic trading on equity, commodities and currencies and planning to launch shortly a alternative investment fund.


>>

pg 4

Disclaimer: The views/contents expressed/presented herein, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of individual leaders/ their authorized representatives, to which effect, Publication house / its representatives are not responsible/liable whatsoever.

India’s healthcare needs are diverse and widespread. How are you playing your part in helping bridge this gap?>> Healthcare is one of the larg-est and most complex industry for any country and more so for India due to its vast geography and population. At HealthAs-sure we endeavour to simplify this complexity for the consum-er by ‘Consumerizing health-care'. We are a truly HealthTech firm which has created an on ground Quality Medical Net-work of 3,500 Primary care cent-ers across 1000 cities which can be accessed on our Tech Plat-form by customers anywhere in the country for any of their day-to-day care health needs.

Our network includes GP Consultation, Pathology, Diag-

nostics, Dental, Opthal, Pedia-trician, Gynaecologist, Tele Medicine, and many more from some of the top medical centers like Apollo Clinic, SRL Well-ness, Suburban, Health Spring,

Lucid, Medall, etc. Through our HealthTech platform an indi-vidual can get discovery, access and discount to any of his/ her needs and thereby providing good health for our customers.

We have serviced 1.5 million customers over the last 8 years as individuals and from top Cor-porates and Insurers like De-loitte, Deutsche Bank, L’Oréal, Yahoo, UBS, Apollo Munich,

Max Bupa, Cigna, ICICI Prudne-tial, etc.

What have been your biggest learnings as you’ve moved along your entrepreneurial journey?>> An entrepreneur's journey is very rewarding on both per-sonal and professional level One of the biggest learnings have been how to understand the market trends and consumer needs before they happen and plan to capitalise on that oppor-tunity. equally important has been to understand and manage risk better whether its a day-to-day risk or a long term risk. A true entrepreneur typically be-comes a better person, be it in form of a colleague or family member.

Healthcare made friendlyVarun Gera, Founder & CEO, HealthAssure, has demystified the complexities of Indian

healthcare and grown from strength to strength

How has the power of digital marketing and connectivity helped connect the dots when it comes to better un-derstanding your custom-ers?>> In the last few years, India witnessed the digital era in full force. Personalizing customers experience with relevant con-tent delivery became possible with marketers being able to understand their audience bet-ter through advanced ranking algorithms and the interven-tion of artificial intelligence.

Digitalization has made it possible to capture behavioral insights of consumers and identify which are the right au-dience, how to communicate with them more effectively, how to influence them and how to predict their next move. This

kind of in-depth psychograph-ic analysis of consumer behav-ior, has drastically elevated the marketer’s as well as consum-ers’ experience. The standard of marketing has as a result undergone a major shift.

Mass marketing is passé; di-rect marketing is the future>> Businesses now are increas-ingly moving from a mass me-dia centric, one-to-many ap-proach to a more digitally driven, dataenabled one-to-one approach. This recent incarna-tion of ‘one-to-moment’ mar-keting has further pushed the effectiveness of marketing, and hence, provided business-es a clear screening of their target customers as well as bet-tered the manner in which they communicate. The end-con-

sumer is also highly benefitted as now they are now being of-fered more personalized con-tent appealing to their individ-ual preferences. As a result, everybody wins!

How can one foster a compa-ny-wide culture of forward-thinking and innovation?>> I strongly believe that the culture of innovation and for-ward thinking grants an or-ganization the competitive ad-vantage it requires, benefitting it in the long run. For this to materialize, a deeper sense of ownership and a clear align-ment of employee’s personal growth with the overall vision of the organization is impera-tive.

We, at JetPrivilege, continu-ally persuade our employees to express their creativity by pro-viding them witha stimulatin-genvironment where their ideas can connect. Our task force is constantly involved in major decision-making, moti-vated to share their opinions

and ideas. We also encourage collaborations across teams resulting in better accounta-bility and productivity as well as exchange of new thoughts. We have built a healthy envi-ronment driving employees to take risks and learn from their mistakes. Finally, we ensure that just as we have a clear vi-sion for our organizational goals, we map out a clear growth chart for our employ-ees so that they can see them-selves growing both personal-ly and professionally with our organization.

Such practices create a strong sense of belonging among employees making them personally invested in the organization as well as more responsible, forward thinking and innovative.

“Innovation and forward thinking grants a competitive advantage”

Homing in on ideas for growth

Learnings from a success story “IoT will play an important role in the customer service experience”

Manish Dureja, Managing Director, JetPrivilege, reveals how a culture of innovation and empowerment has helped his dreams take flight

While Indian housing is under-going a bit of a renaissance, mainstreaming affordable hous-ing remains a challenge. How is this gap being bridged? >> Affordable housing should be segmented as mass housing. Home ownership, is housing for people like you and me, but seldom for those at the bottom of the pyramid. The demographic dome of India bulges at the middle segment of the society. Mass housing is like tooth-paste; everybody requires it. The government has done a lot, but mass housing can be more corpora-tised. Moreover, nobody has talked about funding requirements. Pro-viding housing is a capital-inten-sive economic activity for a country. There should be firm government support in funding mass housing through tax sops and incentives, but not subsidies. It is also high time we bring in relevant technology as an important component of mass housing, especially towards creat-ing green homes. It is the way to go and can be the engine of growth for at least 10-15 years.

Access to credit remains a chal-lenge for homebuyers. How is this conundrum being resolved?>> In India, we think financial ser-vices are ‘thank-you’ businesses. A financial product or service should be right-priced, but unfortunately, it has become an obsession with the diaspora, that financial services should come at a discount. The first fundamental change we have to bring is in our thought process.

The second thing is that there is a sort of bunching up of lending in-stitutions. The first 15 housing fi-nance companies occupy 89 percent of market share, but nobody knows the whereabouts of the remaining 85 percent. I call this the ‘capillary-movement management’ style. We keep doing new things, but don’t know how to manage the old and make sure majority of them flour-ish in a compliant manner. even to-day, 73 percent banking is in the hands of the public sector banks,

hence discounts and pricing are the only talking points when we men-tion financial services. When we don’t do right pricing, we are una-ble to reach out to everyone – inad-vertently we do exclude some seg-ments of the society.

Along your long and suc-cessful professional jour-ney, what are the major milestones that you look back on with satisfaction and pride?

First Milestone Within 7 years of joining as

a Relationship Manager in American express Bank, I was able to rise to the position of India Corporate Banking Head.

Second MilestoneIn little over two years after

undertaking a tectonic career shift from Corporate Banking to Retail Financial Services I championed the launch of In-dia’s 3rd largest ever Mutual Fund New Fund Offering, the energy Opportunities Fund garnering more than INR2.7 Billion.

Third MilestoneBeing appointed CeO in

2015 of Sundaram Mutual, the Asset Management arm of one of the Most Respected

Financial Houses in South-ern India -the 60-year old Sundaram Finance Group.Fourth Milestone

Building a strong market presence and reputation while achieving sizeable growth in Assets Under Man-agement for Sundaram Mu-tual resulting in the company being awarded ‘Best Brands in 2018’ in the BFSI Space by

eT.

What are the business mantras you have em-braced as you sought to establish your success story?>> Nothing Ventured Noth-ing Gained - Be willing and prepared to try radically new career options and business strategies, and venture into

new territories in order to give yourself a chance to achieve great success.

Always set ‘STReTCH’ goals which are just beyond what you think is achievable: Strong muscle is built only by the constant tearing and re-building of tiny muscle fibres - constantly setting ‘stretch goals’ for yourself and the team will result in strength-ening and expanding your potential and achieving ex-traordinary success.

Build a Bow with Multiple Strings - Always have a Plan ‘B’ and ‘C’ when you under-take any project or venture. The prepared mind can often make the difference between winning and losing when life throws unexpected challeng-es at you.

The Way we do business is as important as What busi-ness we do - ethics, Transpar-ency and Consistency in deal-ing with stakeholders will result in a more sustainable, profitable and trustworthy business.

With a sustained focus on infrastructure develop-ment across the country, how do you appraise the future prospects of the in-dustry?>> The Construction equip-ment industry witnessed a growth of over 25% in 2018 over the year 2017. This growth was primarily driv-en by the sustained invest-ment in infrastructure and will continue in year 2019 and onwards. Railways, road development, irrigation, wa-ter resources, inland water-ways, metro railway, energy and ports shall see a sub-stantial share of investment over the next five years. These investments are likely to spur industrial activity coupled with employment and overall growth of the economy and will continue to generate a substantial de-mand in construction, min-ing and handling equipment over the next decade.

Advances in tech and a fo-

cus on eco-friendliness are redefining norms for the industry. How are you spearheading Sany’s lead-ership position on this?>> We have continued focus on upgradation of all our products with the help of lat-est technology. Today, SANY machines are using IoT in a big way to access real time data and is shared with the customers to derive the best

efficiencies and to enhance equipment availability. IoT is playing and will continue to play an increasingly im-portant role in the customer service experience. Given the worksites of today, IoT is already a crucial link be-tween the customer and a Construction equipment manufacturer. Connected machines and data shared with customers will not only help service teams to deliver the best experience to cus-tomers, but will also play a big role in the design of our product and service offer-ings. Further to this, we are in the process of developing a service mobile App for the customers to enable them to access real-time data them-selves and enhance the ser-vice experience.

Moreover, our machines come equipped with various automated preventive & fail-ure signals to facilitate time-ly action by customers and our service team. SANY has also been contributing to de-

velop eco-friendly technolo-gies. All SANY products in-c o r p o r a t e a d v a n c e d technologies and strong electronic controls for con-servation of fuel and are globally best in this domain. The load sensing technology that we adopted in all our equipment is giving maxi-mum output at lowest fuel consumption. Also the mate-rial used in our machines is 90% recyclable.

As a group we work to-wards conservation of natu-ral resources and reduce the carbon footprint a c r o s s the globe. Accordingly, we have installed all our facto-ries to solar power. Our Pune factory fulfils 40% of its power requirement from in-house solar plant. We look forward to meeting our 70-80% power demand through solar power very soon. SANY also has made foray in renewable energy business and started manu-facturing wind turbines and wind power projects.

Sanjaya Gupta, MD, PNB Housing Finance, enumerates how housing for

all should really be endeavored

Sunil Subramaniam, MD, Sundaram Mutual Fund elucidates his success mantras from a long, rewarding career

The governmenT has done a loT, buT mass housing can be more corporaTised. moreover, nobody has Talked abouT funding requiremenTs. providing housing is a capiTal-inTensive economic acTiviTy for a counTry. There should be firm governmenT supporT in funding mass housing Through Tax sops and incenTives, buT noT subsidies.

Deepak Garg, CEO, Sany India, expounds on embracing the many ways technology will impact the industry

“Everything we do is centred on our customers”

Emerging media is giving brands new ways to crea-tively engage with their customers. How can this be leveraged to strengthen customer loyalty and hap-piness?>> The race to own a custom-er right from the first time they interact with the brand has intensified more than ever now. Today’s media landscape is rapidly emerg-ing as the next big frontier for customer engagement. These interactions are pro-jected to grow exponentially over the next 5-6 years as the usage and users continue to grow.

Increasingly, current and prospective customers are using social media to com-municate about the products and services they buy or in-tend to buy. Leading brands have recognized the impor-tance of tapping into these new mediums. They are fol-

lowing a number of paths to learn from, participate, sup-port their customers and ul-timately find ways to lever-age these conversations for their business benefits. eve-rything we do at GoDaddy is centred on our customers. We work closely together with our partners in a con-sultative manner, giving them the tools, insights and

the people to transform their ideas and personal initiative into success.

Capturing customer mindshare is increasingly challenging. How can businesses ensure they cut through the clutter and reach out to custom-ers?>> Technology today, is pow-ering the next stage of growth across business are-as and digital has fast emerged as the medium of this movement. Whether it is redefining existing land-scape by integrating physi-cal and digital experiences or modern businesses mov-ing beyond the usual hubs, to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, digital is increasingly play-ing a major role in shaping the way India operates. Fur-ther with digitization ena-bling accessibility, new age consumers today are more

aware of the various ways in which technology can em-power them. This has con-tributed to a rise in expecta-tions they have from the entities they interact with.

Customer’s today expect experiences tailored specifi-cally to their individual needs being served to them via channels that excite them the most and experi-ences which are curated to delight through the span of their jour ney with the brand. Therefore, the immi-nent need for brands today is to develop strategies which not only focus on customer acquisition but retention that lasts. In order to stand apart from the crowd, brands today need to develop an in-trinsic connect with a digital first customer, and using on-line as a key medium to tai-lor seamless experiences is the secret sauce to attain suc-cess.

Nikhil Arora, Vice President & Managing Director, GoDaddy India, expounds on the customer-centric approach that has won plaudits

Gaurav Arora- Chairman, Jaypee Capital, offers learning from his experiences for aspiring entrepreneurs

A life less ordinary


social media


social media


post event

PR


CEO break-

fast


event snap-

shot


t h a n k y o u

Documents

RETHINKING ASIA - ET Edge...post show report AKHIL BANSAL Deputy CEO KPMG India ANDREW WEIR Senior Partner, Hong Kong Vice Chairman, KPMG China, Global Chairman of Real Estate and