CII – FBN I Next Generation (NXG) International Convention on Family Business
Voicing opinions on the International stage 24 – 26 October 2013.
A quick glimpse of the convention
An annual event for Next Generation members of Family Businesses, the International convention, the first of its kind being organised by the Chapter, had drawn the participation of young family business leaders in the age group of 18-40 years. The convention provided a powerful platform to Next Generation Family Business leaders across the country and the globe to share and gain from insightful discussions.
The three-day event directed attention on diverse themes of interest to young business leaders, such as social media, viral marketing and brand building. There were panel discussions on topics like 'New Leaders - Building Credibility & Trust in the Family Business' and 'Outside Work Experience vs Joining Family Business Directly'. Besides, participants were introduced to the 'New Leaders Circle'.
Day 1, 24.10.2013
The day began with the registration at the lobby of the venue followed by dinner and ice-breaking session at the grounds of Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science, Margao, Goa hosted by Chowgule Family. Mr. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Trustee, Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation along with Mr. Raju Mansukhani, Consultant, Media and Communications, MMCF and Dr. Mayank Gupta, Deputy Secretary MMCF, Development registered from MMCF, Udaipur held meetings with several young business leaders like Mr. Arjun Chowgule, Chowgule Group of Companies; Mr. Gaurav Ghatge, MD, Ghatge Logistics and Mr. Shankar Vanavarayar, Executive Director, Sakthi Auto Motors Ltd. Over a barbeque, out in the premises of the Chowgule Group offices, the evening was a memorable one.
Day 2, 25.10.2013
The morning session started at The Banquet Hall of Taj Exotica with the opening remarks of Mr. R. Haresh, Chairman, CII FBN India Chapter Core Group and Managing Director, TVS, followed by address from Mr. Arjun Chowgule, Leader, CII FBN India Chapter Next Gen Initiative & General Manager, Chowgule & Co. Pvt. Ltd., Goa. In the 2nd session the International case study was presented by Mr. Ulrich Schmidt-Maybach, Fourth Generation of Maybach Family & Founder, Wilhelm and Karl Maybach Foundation, USA. The case study was moderated by Dr. Rania Labaki, Associate Professor of Management, Family Business Research Centre University of Bordeaux, France. The Lunch session commenced with a panel discussion focusing on New Leaders - Building Credibility & Trust in the Family Business and the panel moderated by Mr. Gaurav Ghatge, Chairman CII Western Region, Family Business Sub Committees and Managing Director, Ghatge Logistics.
Amongst the panel members were Mr. Shankar Vanavarayar, Co – Chairman, Family Business Sub Committee & Executive Director, Sakthi Auto Motors Ltd., Mr. Risto Väyrynen, Finland, Mr. Tamas Kurti, Hungary and Ms. Bhairvi Jani, Director, SCA Group of Companies. The next session of the day was centred on 'Getting to Higher Ground : How NxGs can leverage the family emotions?', by Dr. Rania Labaki and lastly on Brand New Generation by Mr. Sid Shah, Brand strategist and motivational speaker.
Day 3, 26.10.2013
The morning session social event began with the opening remarks and summary of proceedings of Day 1 and 2 by Mr. Arjun Chowgule and was followed by the Indian Case Study from Mr. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar. Mr Mewar delivered an inspiring talk focusing on 'Step Up: Taking the Family Business to the Next Level'. His first plea to the audience was to 'break the stereotypes' and 'get out of the trap' that age, education and technology may be pushing us into. "If we remain trapped, we will not be able to think freely, independently; we do not need to think out-of-the-box, we only need to get rid of the box itself," he said, with characteristic panache, holding the audience spell-bound. Knowledge, he said, is more important than education; learning from all quarters is the stepping stone to achieving a sense of fulfilment is more important than success. He drew from his own experiences in India and Australia and highlighted how learning is a continuous process and cannot be assessed by educational degrees or examination marks.
Industry giants like Barclays Wealth and Investment Management shared insights. The lunch session was started with the topic 'Co-preneurship: Getting entrepreneurial…' by Laura Horstmann & Dr. Ingo Stork-Wersborg, Presibake, followed by a motivational concluding session on 'Auto Pilot Thinking' by Mr. R. Sridhar, Innovation and Coach partner, IDEAS-RS. The evening session was more of a summary and closing remarks and a thank you note by Dr. Rania Labaki and Mr. Arjun Chowgule. The convention concluded with a gala dinner at Hotel Radisson.
Mr. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar had a luncheon meeting with Mr. Arjun Chowgule and, on the CII-FBN India Chapter request, he invited them to visit Udaipur and plan for hosting the 2nd Next Gen International Convention scheduled to be held in November 2014 in the 'City of Lakes'!