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From the hub of the Silicon Valley, to top innovation centers around the world, chief executives from prominent companies traveled across the globe to an Overseas Executive Management Program in India. The Overseas Executive program leveraged India’s regional, cultural, and economic diversity, by using India as a regional hub. India is rapidly becoming the launch pad for the emerging global market as it explores the growing economic ties between India and the global economy. Executives were immersed in a 3 day program hosted by AIMA (All India Management Association) and the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation. Executives had an opportunity to meet with multinational corporations in India, and leaders within the business, education, and government sector. Site visits included AIMA , Flipkart, Infosys, Volvo, Wipro, Citrix, HCL, US Embassy, Apollo Hospitals, and Info Edge India (Naukri.com). Each visit highlighted discussion topics on the global economy, and the future growth of India’s Infrastructure. Attendees heard from people like Dr. Omkar Goswami, India’s most noted economist who shared about the Indian economy and the need for Smart Cities. Konda Vishweshar, a member of Parliament shared his insights about Indian politics and his vision to implement changes to move the nation of India forward. Amar Singh, Director of Corporate strategy at Infosys talked about Digital India and the start-up market. Amar himself said he moved away from North America to focus on India’s diverse sectors of technology, energy and education, thus now seeing a rapid growth in the start-up market.
The program concluded with a roundtable event with Honorable President Pranab Mukherjee who was presented the Garwood Award for his outstanding leadership in Open Innovation. The event hosted Berkeley Haas faculty, including Professor Ganesh Iyer, and Professor Catherine Wolfram. The Opening statement began with Professor Solomon Darwin, he outlined Garwood Center’s research activities in Open Innovation, and its contribution to India through courses focused on: Smart Cities, IBM Watson, & Business Models. Professor Ganesh Iyer, an immediate past associate dean and faculty chair of Berkeley Haas, gave his remarks about the President’s contribution to innovation, and then shared his work on sustainable models for sanitation in India. Cofounder of the Energy Institute at Berkeley, Professor Catherine Wolfram highlighted President Mukherjee’s achievements in Open Innovation, and his leading efforts to award exceptional grassroots innovators and prominent innovation organizations for their invaluable work to the field of Open Innovation. Professor Solomon Darwin presented the Garwood Award to President Pranab Mukherjee, and read a personalized letter from the Chancellor of UC Berkeley, Nicholas Dirks. The ceremony ended with the President’s speech expressing his gratitude, and highlighting Berkeley Haas contributions: “Open Innovation is most essential for government entities, who are tasked to serve the citizens” and “Open Innovation takes innovation to the next level & creates a new eco-system of access & equal opportunities to all” said President Mukherjee, who also dedicated the award to the people of the India, his staff and colleagues at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The value of having business relationships in India is as booming as the business economy. President Mukherjee explains, “India supports around 17% of the world’s population, but its energy and electricity consumption is around 5% of the world consumption. In order to sustain the growth rate of over 8% through the next two decades, India will need to increase its electricity supply by at least 5 to 7 times of its current consumption.” Open Innovation explores the importance and success in sharing business models. As a global advocate of Open Innovation, President Mukherjee emphasizes, “Innovation is a critical driver of growth and development…Open Innovation has a potential to transform the global social landscape.”
Overseas Executive Program Attendees included:
Lee Omar, Terry Beaubois, Alan Walker, Usha Banerjeem, Ranjan Patnaik, Solomon Darwin, Manav Subodh, David Maracine, Mehnaz Ansari, Katy Atkinson, Tatiana Pospelova, Rajeev Garg, Neeraj Kapoor, Nitin Saxena
Enjoy a video from the President’s Roundtable Event: