A plethora of business leaders speak at IIM Lucknow’s Manfest 2010

Jan. 25, 2010 - PRLog -- Press Release


A plethora of business leaders speak at IIM Lucknow’s Manfest 2010
Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, CEO Mercedes Benz India, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, President and CEO Fiat    India, Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Director-General, SIAM, . S. Ramadorai,    Vice Chairman Tata Consultancy Services and many more

IIM Lucknow’s annual business conclave Manfest 2010 concluded after three days of intense competition between the best brains of India. This edition of Manfest revolved around the theme- India – Expect, Explore, Experience.

IIM Lucknow has hosted some of the most insightful and engaging panel discussions during previous editions of Manfest – The Annual International Business Conclave. This year Manfest set the stage for ‘Full Throttle: The Automobile Conclave’, with an underlying theme: ‘Moving into top gear: getting India on the road ahead’

Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, CEO Mercedes Benz India, Mr. D P Singh, VP S&M Goodyear India, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, President and CEO Fiat India, Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Director-General SIAM and Mr. Dilip Chhabria, Founder DC Design glittered at IIM Lucknow.

In recent times, the global automobile industry have seen large conglomerates crashing while the Indian sector has seen an opposing trend with acquisitions and innovations galore. The growth opportunities in this sector are seamless and every day presents a newer challenge to the industry with extremely dynamic requirements and demands.

The sizeable audience gathered at the conclave was a mix of b-school students from across the globe, industry stalwarts, IIM Lucknow alumni among others. It was an enriching 2 hours of discussions which touched upon several relevant issues in the automobile industry in India.

“There is a right to drive/hire/rent a car in Europe. It would be great if we have such a concept in India”, said Dr. Wilfried Aulbur. Mr. Dilip Chenoy shared his views on the correlation between the auto industry and global warming “Research in fuel efficiency is highly important. This is a step which the entire automobile industry has to take in unison”

Manfest also hosted Anjuman – The Corporate Luncheon. The guest list included the likes of Mr. S. Ramadorai, Vice Chairman Tata Consultancy Services, Dr. Wilfred Albur, CEO Mercedes Benz, Mr. A. Vaidheesh, CEO J&J Medical India, Mr. Ashok Swaroop, MD J&J Medical India, Mr.Pankaj Saluja, partner Bain and Co., Mr. Dilip Chhabria, the legendary automobile designer and Mr. Rajiv Kapoor – CEO FIAT India.

The discussion started with key note address of Mr. Wilfred Albur who contended that sustainable mobility is a key aspect of future growth. The next panelist was Mr. Ramodarai who focused on the importance of both India and China in shaping the global economy.

The key note discussions were followed by a Q&A session with enthusiastic students eager to quiz the grand masters on their addresses. The coordinators of the Industry Interaction Committee of IIM Lucknow who organized the event summed up the conclave as a huge success that will continue to be an indispensable feature in the school’s calendar in the years to come.

After 2 days of action, conclaves, music, quizzes, the campus headed for a thrilling finale. Kickstarting the day was “Red Mile” – The Lucknow marathon about HIV awareness. The main intention behind this run was to create awareness among people about AIDS and its prevention. In keeping with this line of thought, the students of IIM Lucknow put their best foot forward in setting up this 6 km long marathon which traced a route from the FUN Republic Mall in Gomti Nagar, crossed the RBI, the Taj, the UP Badminton Academy and back to FUN Republic.

The flagship event “The NEXT CEO reached a thrilling climax.” 9 budding CEOs from the top B-schools like IIMA, IIMB, XLRI, SPJIMR, MDI and IITB fought hard to win this battle of brains. Various scenarios testing their physical and mental abilities, teamwork, leadership and ingenuity were unleashed on participants and the last man standing from IIM Bangalore, Abhilash S, will take it all - a cash prize of INR 1, 00,000 and a PPI with Citibank.

The grand finale of another flagship event – Call for Arms was one of the highlights of the day. The event saw an intense competition and battle amongst eight finalists from India’s best b-schools. If yesterday saw the teams battling on individual subject rounds related to an M&A, today the teams battled it out for a B-plan. It was also a day of entrepreneurial streaks as the finals of “Nirvaan – The B-Plan competition” unfolded.

The evening saw a parliamentary style debate “Contrapunto”. 8 teams qualified after an eliminatory extempore. The topics for the debate revolved around the Manfest theme India: Expect, Explore, Experience. Performing live on campus was Kailash Kher and his band “Kailasa”. Dishing out his popular numbers like “Teri Deewani” “Allah ke Bande”, hundreds of music lovers thronged the grounds and enjoyed the musical maestro at his best.