CIIE to hold two-day IIMA Mavericks meet on entrepreneurship


Ahmedabad, 24 January, 2013

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) will hold “IIMAvericks Meet” on January 26 and 27, 2013. The event will begin at 10.45 a.m. at the Ravi J Matthai Auditorium, IIMA Main Campus on January 26.

IIMAvericks’ Meet is a unique endeavor by IIMA’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship to celebrate the spirit of being unconventional and a maverick. It is aimed at inspiring more and more IIMA alums and students to be entrepreneurs, authors, artists, change-leaders.

Prof Rakesh Basant, Chairperson of CIIE, says, “We believe entrepreneurship is not just about doing business, but about following your passions. Hence the term – Mavericks. We wish to celebrate the idea of being different and create a family that can encourage & support each other.”

The Institute has produced many top notch entrepreneurs and is now looking to get them together in an exclusive event for its alumni, staff and students. Many of the alumni have gone on to follow their passions in the supposed non-management fields.

More than 100 alumni are expected to participate. Some alumni who have confirmed their presence include; H. K. Mittal (Secretary, Technology Development Board of DST), S. B. Dangayach (MD, Sintex Industries), Venkat Krishnan (Founder & Director, Give India), Ashank Desai (Founder & Ex-Chairman, Mastek), Nirmal Jain (Chairman, IndiaInfoline), Gaurav Dagaonkar (Musician), Prof. Sunil Handa (Founder, Eklavya School), G. V. Ravishankar (MD, Sequoia Capital), Mohan Gandhi (CEO,Entersoft), Vijay Mahajan (Founder & CEO, Basix) Rajesh Nair (President & CEO, Indigene), Shiv Dugal(Founder & Chairman, ICRI), Sanjeev Bikhchandani (Founder & Vice-Chairman, Naukri.com), Rashmi Bansal (Bestselling Author).

Agenda – Day 1 (26th January 2013, Saturday)

0800-0930 Breakfast @ Tower Lawn (LKP)

0900-1000 Republic Day Celebration @ LKP, RJMCEI

1000-1030 Registration, Tea/Coffee @ RJMCEI

1045-1115 Inaugural Session @ RJMCEI
Prof. Samir K. Barua, (Director, IIMA), Prof. Rakesh Basant (Chairperson, CIIE),
Prof. Vijay Sherry Chand (Dean – Alumni Relations, IIMA)

1115-1400 Ice Breaker @ RJMCEI
Prof. M. R. Dixit (Board and Executive Committee Member, CIIE), K. N. Vaidyanathan (CRO, Mahindra & Mahindra)

1400-1445 Lunch @ Tower Lawn (LKP)

1445-1500 Group Photo Session @ LKP

1500-1615 ‘Being Entrepreneurial’: Choosing a different path [Panel Discussion] This panel will be devoted to issues around non-conventional entrepreneurial journeys, challenges of being different and temptations to go back. (@ RJMCEI) Rashmi Bansal (Bestselling Author), Gaurav Dagaonkar (Musician), Prof. Neharika Vohra (Professor – Organizational Behaviour, IIMA), Venkat Krishnan (Founder & Director, Give India), Bharathan Kandaswamy (Executive Director, Kavithalayaa Productions), Ashank Desai (Founder & Former Chairman, Mastek)

1615-1645 Tea/Coffee & Snacks @ RJMCEI

1645-1830 ‘Being Entrepreneurial’: Support activities by the IIMA Ecosystem This interactive session will discuss how the IIMA ecosystem can support entrepreneurial initiatives. The role of the Institute and the alumni will be the key focus areas. (@ RJMCEI) Prof. Sunil Handa (Founder, Eklavya School), G. V. Ravishankar (MD, Sequoia Capital), Mohan Gandhi (CEO, Entersoft), Pawan Mehra (MD, cKinetics), Prof. B. H. Jajoo (Professor & Former Dean, IIMA), Vijay Mahajan (Founder & CEO, Basix)

1900-2030 Dinner @ CIIE Lawns

2030-2130 Fun @ CIIE Lawns

2130-2300 ‘Entrepreneurial Discussions’: Break-out groups and networking @ CIIE Closed door conversations where IIMA students & alumni can discuss with and gain critical inputs from ‘entrepreneurs’ of their choice.

2300 + Dorm Party

Agenda – Day 2 (27th January 2013, Sunday)

0800-0930 Breakfast @ Tower Lawn (LKP)

1030-1145 ‘Being Entrepreneurial’: Creating a business enterprise [Panel Discussion]
A variety of issues relating to conventional entrepreneurship ranging from personal
to the environmental will be discussed as a part of this panel. This interactive session
will be led by a group of well- known entrepreneurs. (@ RJMCEI)
Sanjeev Bikhchandani (Founder & Vice-Chairman, Naukri.com), Shiv Dugal
(Founder & Chairman, ICRI), Rajesh Nair (President, Indegene), Nirmal Jain
(Chairman, IndiaInfoline)

1145-1300 ‘Being Entrepreneurial’: Emerging Ecosystem Needs [Panel Discussion] This panel will discuss the emerging needs of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Policies that can seed change, successful models from other countries, role of various stakeholders will be explored. Various stakeholders of the ecosystem, government, foundations, VCs and corporates will be part of the panel to identify initiatives at various levels that can be of help to build a more robust ecosystem.

(@ RJMCEI) H. K. Mittal (Secretary, Technology Development Board of DST), Anuradha Ramachandran (Investment Director, Omidyar Network), S. B. Dangayach (MD, Sintex Industries), Stefanie Bauer (Technical Advisor to the Ministry of MSME and SIDBI & Advisor – Sustainable Economic Development India, GIZ),

1300-1330 Wrap Up @ RJMCEI
Prof. Rakesh Basant (Chairperson, CIIE)

1330-1430 Lunch @ Tower Lawn (LKP)

1430-1700 Masala Chai with Mavericks @ CIIE
One-on-one interactions between the young and the experienced. (For IIMA students and young alumni)