A simple conversation can powerfully inspire a mind trudging along in a quest for its calling. Today’s luminaries from all walks of life share their knowledge and wisdom, planting seeds of innovation and galvanizing the leaders of tomorrow into action.

 

With a series of Guest Lectures spanning the duration of the fest, there is no better place to assimilate sheer brilliance than from the simmering concoction of ideas that emerges when these pioneers arrive at the Idea Summit at XLRI.

President (Group HR & After-Market) , Mr Rajeev Dubey is one of the biggest names in the prestigious Mahindra and Mahindra Group.

 

His role in the meteoric rise of the Mahindra brand name in the past few years is incomparable. A man with impeccable academic and professional credentials, he is on the Board of several Mahindra group companies. A visionary and thinker, he also serves as the Chairman of the Sustainability and CSR councils of the Group.

 

Mr Dubey would be sharing his experiences about the great Mahindra success story, and how they managed to bridge the gap between customer expectations and results.

 

Dr. Kiran Bedi is India’s first and highest ranking woman police officer.

 

She chose to follow a path for her that was yet unexplored by women. Renowned for her tough yet innovative ways to prevent crime, reform prisons, end drug abuse, and support women’s causes, she is indisputably an icon of heroism. One of India’s most trusted and admired leaders, she has brought a sense of urgency and purpose to bring about social change and civic responsibility. She is the founder of two NGOs, Navjyoti and India Vision Foundation, which reach out to over 10,000 beneficiaries daily, in the areas of drug abuse treatment, schooling for children of prisoners, in addition to education, training, counselling, and health care to the urban and rural poor. With the rampant corruption prevalent in the country not just at government level but also at corporate level, her talk at Ensemble 2011 on how ‘Managers can fight the evils of corruption’ will help create socially responsible managers.

 

Mr S Shivkumar is the Chief Executive of Agri-Business Div of ITC, and the architect of ITC e-Choupal.

 

An entrepreneur, who devised the path-breaking e-Choupal model and gave corporate sustainability practices a meaning hitherto unknown by most, he assured his place in the pantheon of business visionaries with a social conscience. He has been able to deliver superlative shareholder value, along with ensuring improvement in the quality of life of rural India. With e-Choupal being administered as a case study in leading business schools around the world, he would grace this year’s Ensemble, and share his vision as to how we could “bridge the gap” by integrating rural transformation and sustainability practices into models for driving corporate profitability.

 

Mr Krishna Kumar is the Managing Director & Group Executive (National Banking) and Whole-Time Director of State Bank Of India

 

As the Managing Director of India’s largest bank, in terms of branches, market capitalization and profits, Mr Krishna Kumar has overseen the bank double its network in record time and increase its presence significantly in mobile banking. He has earlier handled a number of important assignments, with exposure to various facets of banking. This year’s Ensemble will witness Mr Krishna Kumar sharing his invaluable insights, garnered from 35 years of experience in the banking sector, and providing his views on future trends in the industry.