13th-16th February 2020

Colombo, Sri Lanka

A marked slowdown in India’s economic growth in the context of shifting geo-political equations, trade wars and continuing stress within the Chinese economy, calls for a re-examination of business strategies. IMA India’s 24th Annual CFO Roundtable in February 2020 in Colombo, Sri Lanka aims to set the context for what CFOs should expect from 2020, a year that promises uncertainty but also the possibility of an upturn.

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Agenda


7:30pm

Pool side

  • Welcome Dinner
Come together over dinner to kick-off the 2020 offsite, a weekend of shared learning or – as we prefer to call it – collective wisdom

10:00am–10:30am

At the Crystal Grand Ballroom

  • Registration

10:30am–12:00pm

R Gopalakrishnan , CEO Mindworks, Executive Director, Tata Sons (retired)

  • Change, Personal Excellence
    and Success
Successful CFOs are involved in all aspects of the business while focusing at the same time on becoming better managers, strategists, problem solvers and leaders. How should CFOs balance business objectives and personal goals? What attributes do they need to inculcate to be able to manage dilemmas and make effective decisions?

R Gopalakrishnan is one of India's best known and most experienced business leaders with a career spanning almost 50 years in companies like Unilever and the Tata Group. Subsequently, he became a prolific writer, churning out books on management and history, and in his third innings as the CEO of Mindworks, he mentors leaders. Engage with Gopal as he shares experiences and lessons drawn from a long and illustrious career on how to be an effective manager and leader.

12:00pm–1:15pm

Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Editor, The Hindu

  • Decoding India’s Geopolitical
    Landscape
Significant developments have taken place in the last few months that have redefined many aspects of India’s geopolitical context. These include the assertive responses to recent terrorist strikes, the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and, on the economic front, India’s withdrawal from the RCEP coupled with changes to its tariff structure aimed at bolstering domestic production. At the same time, amendments in domestic laws have drawn international attention and it would seem that in many ways India’s political and foreign policy landscape is undergoing one of its most intriguing phases in memorable history. How is this trend likely to pan out in the months ahead?

As a senior journalist from one of India’s most respected media houses, Suhasini Haider brings an astute perspective to the table. She will decode India’s political and geopolitical context, attempting to make sense of this web of contrasting phenomena.

1:15pm–2:15pm

Wellness lunch

  • Luncheon

2:15pm-3:45pm

Rahul Bhasin, Managing Partner, Barings Private Equity Partners

  • Living Fully and Longer
(This will be hosted as a joint session with spouses)
Healthy living and a balanced lifestyle are about a lot more than complicated diets, rigorous exercise routines, ‘balancing work and life’, and so on. It begins with a firstprinciples-based understanding of how the human body functions – why it weakens and how it can be strengthened. Disillusioned with the conflicting and often ineffective advise thrown about by self-styled experts and even medical doctors, Rahul Bhasin has invested considerable time and energy researching this subject. He will share insights from his work that can help us all live better and longer..

5:00pm-7:00pm

A visit to the Buddhist Temple

  • A visit to the Buddhist Temple
Enjoy an evening visit to Gangaramaya Temple – an eclectic mix of Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian and Chinese architecture. The temple not only serves as a place of worship but is also a centre of learning.

7:30pm-9:00pm

PRADEEP SANGWAN , FOUNDER AND PROMOTER, HEALING HIMALAYAS FOUNDATION

  • Inspiring Change
(This session will be hosted over snacks and cocktails)
Pradeep Sangwan is an adventurist who trekked the Himalayas as a youngster and was appalled to see the mounds of litter left behind by careless travellers, and by the official apathy he encountered. He founded the ‘Healing Himalayas Foundation’ with a mission to restore India’s prized mountain range to its pristine glory. The idea took birth a decade ago and today, several campaigns later, his organisation has cleared almost 400,000 kg of waste from the Himalayas. Pradeep will share the challenges he faced and the successes he achieved in his difficult but fulfilling journey.

9:00pm

Crystal Ballroom

  • Dinner

9:00am–10:15am

Adit Jain, Editorial Director, IMA India

  • The Economy: India in the Context
    of a Changing World
The Indian economy is in the midst of a firm recession which, by all accounts, will take a few quarters to play itself out. It is important to understand the factors that have led to this state of affairs and, consequently, the drivers that can bring the economy out of its slump. Is the next phase of growth round the corner or will the wait be longer? What indicators would constitute reliable signs of revival?

Adit Jain will provide an analysis of India’s economic trajectory and an opinion on how things are likely to shape up in the coming months. He will also offer a perspective on how CFOs can adapt to maintain growth and protect margins in this environment. Adit is IMA’s Editorial Director and has authored over a thousand pieces on business and policy issues over the years

10:15am–11:30am

Suman Srivastava, Founder and Innovation Artist, Marketing Unplugged

  • From AIDA to snakes and ladders
The digital world is rewriting the rules of marketing, brand building and customer outreach, and it becomes critical for CFOs, as the ultimate custodians of corporate success, to understand the evolving paradigm. New learnings in the field of consumer behaviour tell us that the traditional AIDA funnel model (Attention-Interest-DesireAction) does not always describe customer journeys accurately. They often go from start to finish in an irregular and non linear fashion. They can be illogical and emotional. As behavioural economist Amos Tversky said, “Don’t worry about artificial intelligence. Focus on natural stupidity”.

Suman Srivastava, Founder and Innovation Artist at Marketing Unplugged, will provide a perspective on some of these principles and what they mean for brand building. Prior to founding Marketing Unplugged in 2011, Suman was the CEO of Euro RSCG India and the Chief Strategy Officer for Euro RSCG Asia Pacific. In 2016, he authored a book, Marketing Unplugged: Spotting the Elephants in the Room.

11:30am–12:00pm

Discussion Break

  • Discussion Break

12:00pm–1:00pm

Kerri Thurston, Chief Financial Officer, C2FO

  • The Genetics of a Unicorn
Today, we are in a midst of technology revolution where startups are building both constructive as well as disruptive ideas. This has spawned a new generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders who seem to share a few common attributes - high levels of energy, a large risk appetite, a healthy disregard for conventional wisdom and, above all, the spirit of innovation. US-based fintech firm C2FO, which specialises in working capital loans, is an example of a successful startup that recognised the limitations of financial institutions to create a transparent view of working capital finance for small and large companies. Valued at over USD 1 billion, C2FO has created a marketplace for a seamless match between debotrs and creditors to enable riskless provisioning of working capital. Today, in its 12th year, C2FO manages more than USD 1 billion in funding each week to business borrowers through its platform.

Kerri Thurston, the Chief Financial Officer of C2FO, leads the accounting, finance and human resource functions and is a member of the company’s Executive Committee. She will bring the teenaged company’s story to life explaining how it started, the early days of struggle, the challenges encountered and the success achieved. Culture, leadership and customer orientation played a vital role in shaping the company and its experience offers learnings to all companies, young and old.

1:00pm–2:00pm

Sit down lunch at The Golden Dragon

  • Luncheon

2:00pm–3:30pm

Armstrong Pame, Deputy Commissioner, Tamenglong District, Government of Manipur

  • The Miracle Man
IAS officer Armstrong Pame has made news for all the right reasons quite a few times. In 2012, he built a 100-km road connecting Manipur, Nagaland and Assam without any financial aid from the government. Since then he has kept busy with his many initiatives, a recent one starting when he decided to invite school students to his house every Friday for dinner. The ‘Miracle Man’ as he is fondly referred to, wanted to listen to their dreams and visions and have them express their desire about how they wished to see their district in the days to come. His marvellous initiatives earned him the honour of ‘India’s Most Eminent IAS Officer’. In 2018, he even made it to the list of the 100 most influential future leaders. Listen to the man himself as he talks about his experiences and achievements, and importantly his drive to achieve despite myriad challenges. The

4:30pm–7:30pm

Leisurely Visit to Mount Lavinia

  • Leisurely Visit to Mount Lavinia
Famed for its ‘Golden Mile’ of beaches, Mount Lavinia had until now escaped most of the damaging industrialisation of neighbouring cities and urban centres. Enjoy the walk at the beach; experience the sunset; and reminisce the colonial era architecture

8:00pm

South Lawns

  • Cocktails and Dinner
    hosted by PayU

9:00am-10:30am

Arun Prabhu, Partner, General Corporate Practice, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

  • The CFO's Role in Data Protection
The impending enactment of a data protection law in India promises to fundamentally change the operating regime for businesses in this market. Borrowing from the General Data Protection Guidelines (GDPR) of Europe, the regulation will bring in a series of strictures and rules for how companies may collect, analyse, distribute and use customer data, together with fairly strict penalties for violations. For businesses, this will have profound implications requiring changes to everything from digital and social media marketing strategies to cross-promotions and big data analytics. As the ultimate custodian for compliance, ethics and integrity, it falls upon the CFO to understand how to prepare the organisation for this emerging paradigm and set the rules of engagement well in advance.

Arun Prabhu will provide a detailed analysis of what the regulations imply for CFOs and how they may need to revisit assumptions and strategies. Arun is part of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) group was previously a member of the Government of India’s working group on the legal enablement of information and communication technology systems.

12:00pm-2:00pm

Samudra Ballroom

  • Luncheon and Close



Children are welcome to join the Partners Programme in the daytime activities (except formal conclave sessions). As indicated at the time of registration, dinner functions are however ‘adults only’ and we would request you to ensure that alternate arrangements have been made– please contact the hotel for baby-sitting facilities if required. The programme mentioned above is intended to provide a holistic set of activities that are both entertaining and interactive. This is however completely optional – partner participants are welcome to plan independent of this programme if desired. Please inform the IMA team of the same if so. All speakers, sessions and timings are tentative and subject to ongoing confirmation. Dress Code : Informal/smart casual, also for the evenings.


SPEAKERS

DAYS

SESSIONS

PARTICIPANTS



Speakers


R Gopalakrishnan

CEO Mindworks, Executive Director, Tata Sons (retired)



Suhasini Haidar

Diplomatic Editor, The Hindu



Rahul Bhasin

Managing Partner, Barings Private Equity Partners





Pradeep Sangwan

Founder and Promoter, Healing Himalayas Foundation



Adit Jain

Editorial Director, IMA India



Suman Srivastava

Founder and Innovation Artist, Marketing Unplugged



Kerri Thurston

Chief Financial Officer, C2FO



Armstrong Pame

Deputy Commissioner, Tamenglong District, Government of Manipur



Arun Prabhu

Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas







Partners' Programme


7:30pm

At Pool side

  • Welcome Dinner
Come together over dinner to kick-off the 2020 offsite, a weekend of shared learning or – as we prefer to call it – collective wisdom

10:45am

Registration

  • Registration
Come together over tea to kick-off the 2020 offsite in the company of friends and peers from across the country. Facing Sri Lanka’s historic Galle Face Green, Taj Samudra offers enchanting views of the mesmerising Indian Ocean, Galle Face Green and the vibrant city of Colombo. IMA team members will facilitate an introduction amongst the group, and talk through activities planned over the next three days.

11:00am-12:00pm

Darshi Keerthisena, Creative Director, Buddhi Batiks

  • Courage and Creativity: The
    Story of Batik’s Revival
Darshi Keerthisena is a name synonymous with batik in Sri Lanka. The renaissance of batik especially amongst the younger generation can be attributed to Darshi's skills in injecting a new artistic flair to her batik creation. Continuing a family endeavor she celebrates the ethnic tradition of batiks through her fashion design store 'Buddhi Batiks', named after her father and Founder of the concept. Darshi earned a diploma in fashion design followed by a full blown B. A. Hons in Fashion and Textile Design from the Birmingham City University in the UK. She would be at Brandix for five years, but says she felt the need to really challenge herself and give the designer inside full rein. So she returned to the family fold in 2005. Engage in a conversation with Darshi as she narrates her story and the lessons she learnt over the years in running the business and importantly, living her dreams, and finally, her plans for the future.

12:15pm-1:15pm

Zesta Tea Workshop

  • Zesta Tea Workshop
The fact that over seven billion cups of tea are consumed across the globe is proof of the popularity of tea as a beverage, second only to water. From the time it was discovered in China quite by accident, almost 5000 years ago, tea has been providing its consumers with a sense of comfort and solace. Engage in a tea making workshop and learn about the history of tea, its origin, followed by tea tasting.

1:15pm-2:15pm

At Crystal Ballroom

  • Wellness lunch
TBD

2:15pm-3:45pm

Rahul Bhasin, Managing Partner, Barings Private Equity Partners

  • Living Fully and Longer
(This session will be hosted over snacks and cocktails)
Healthy living and a balanced lifestyle are about a lot more than complicated diets, rigorous exercise routines, ‘balancing work and life’, and so on. It begins with a first-principles-based understanding of how the human body functions – why it weakens and how it can be strengthened. Disillusioned with the conflicting and often ineffective advise thrown about by self-styled experts and even medical doctors, Rahul Bhasin has invested considerable time and energy researching this subject. He will share insights from his work that can help us all live better and longer..

5:00pm-7:00pm

A visit to the Buddhist Temple

  • A visit to the Buddhist Temple
Enjoy an evening visit to Gangaramaya Temple – an eclectic mix of Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian and Chinese architecture. The temple not only serves as a place of worship but is also a centre of learning.

7:30pm-9:00pm

Pradeep Sangwan, Founder and Promoter, Healing Himalayas Foundation

  • Inspiring Change
(This session will be hosted over snacks and cocktails)
Pradeep Sangwan is an adventurist who trekked the Himalayas as a youngster and was appalled to see the mounds of litter left behind by careless travellers, and by the official apathy he encountered. He founded the ‘Healing Himalayas Foundation’ with a mission to restore India’s prized mountain range to its pristine glory. The idea took birth a decade ago and today, several campaigns later, his organisation has cleared almost 400,000 kg of waste from the Himalayas. Pradeep will share the challenges he faced and the successes he achieved in his difficult but fulfilling journey.

9:00pm

At Crystal Ballroom

  • Dinner

9:30am-11:00pm

Shopping and Sightseeing in 'Wonder of Asia'

  • Wonder of Asia
Often referred to as the pearl of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is a perfect place where culture, nature, and traditions are intertwined. Colombo, ‘the garden city of the east’, has endless contradictions infused with wisdom of Buddhism and history of communism - with colonial architecture, ancient temples, sprawling high-rises and shopping malls side by side. We will spend the morning visiting some of Colombo’s bespoke art and shopping galleries. Note: Buses will depart from the Porch by 9:30 am. Please assemble by 9:15 am.

11:00am-1:30pm

Barefoot and more

  • Barefoot and more
TBD

2:00pm-3:00pm

Sit down lunch at The Golden Dragon

  • Sit down lunch at The Golden Dragon
TBD

4:30pm-7:30pm

Leisurely Visit to Mount Lavinia

  • Leisurely Visit to Mount Lavinia
Famed for its ‘Golden Mile’ of beaches, Mount Lavinia had until now escaped most of the damaging industrialisation of neighbouring cities and urban centres. Enjoy the walk at the beach; experience the sunset; and reminisce the colonial era architecture.

8:00pm

At South Lawns

  • Cocktails and Dinner
    hosted by PayU

10:00am–11:00am

Living a Balanced Life

  • Living a Balanced Life
Sri Lanka developed its own Ayurvedic system based on a series of prescriptions handed down from generation to generation over a period of 3,000 years. The indigenous medicine system is a mixture of the Sinhala traditional medicine, Ayurveda and Siddha systems of India, Unani medicine of Greece through the Arabs, and most importantly, the Desheeya Chikitsa, which is the indigenous medicine of Sri Lanka. The session will focus on Ayurveda and well-being and time-tested practices of living a balanced life.


12:00pm- 2:00pm

Luncheon and Close

  • Luncheon and Close



Children are welcome to join the Partners Programme in the daytime activities (except formal conclave sessions). As indicated at the time of registration, dinner functions are however ‘adults only’ and we would request you to ensure that alternate arrangements have been made– please contact the hotel for baby-sitting facilities if required. The programme mentioned above is intended to provide a holistic set of activities that are both entertaining and interactive. This is however completely optional – partner participants are welcome to plan independent of this programme if desired. Please inform the IMA team of the same if so. All speakers, sessions and timings are tentative and subject to ongoing confirmation. Dress Code : Informal/smart casual, also for the evenings.

IMA Conferences

IMA’s Roundtables are an unrivalled hub of high-quality insight and invaluable networking. Our speakers, a mix of visionaries and industry stalwarts, ensure that these platforms are among India’s leading meeting grounds for industry Every summer for the last five – and every winter for the last twenty two years - we have taken a close group of a 100 of our members to an offsite location to brainstorm the near to medium term outlook for our operating environment.

Agenda

The Roundtable will think through prospects for India, the economy, and for its businesses. It will consider the global environment and the most crucial issue of big economic shifts as the world’s financial and fiscal environment changes, and as geo-politics remains in flux. India is in the year before the country’s next general elections already and the Forum will think through how India’s political environment, on the basis of which policy direction will be set, might pan out in our states, and at the Centre. At a secular, no less important level, digitalisation is changing organisational structures; and talent pool expectations. It will ask of new – and renewed - promises from leaders as shifts in how organisations will be formed and built transform the nature of leadership. Everything changes. Nothing changes. That is the operating paradigm and knowing what to sustain, and what to change, is the key.

About the Host City

Colombo, Sri Lanka‘s bustling commercial hub, is located on the country’s west coast and with a population of between 800,000 and one million (estimates vary) is by far the country’s biggest city, as well as the most developed. Its natural harbour at the mouth of the Kelani River was a magnet for successive traders and conquerors – initially the Arab merchants, then Portuguese, Dutch and British imperialists.

The city is a jarring mix of old and new, with a central cluster of high-rise office blocks and hotels overshadowing red-tiled colonial-era buildings and sprawling street markets which overflow with high-piled fruit and vegetables, colourful silks and cottons, and deliciously fragrant spices. On its crowded streets stand places of worship, symbolic of Sri Lanka‘s multiethnic heritage: graceful Buddhist viharas (temples), for instance, stand close to extravagant temples encrusted with Hindu statuary, along with Muslim mosques with minarets scattered along Colombo’s streets.

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