On 6th December 2017, AMCHAM’s Western Region organized it’s signature event under the overarching theme of ‘India: 2018 & Beyond. The significant event also marked Ambassador Kenneth I. Juster’s first address to AMCHAM India. Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM India, welcomed the gathering of industry leaders, AMCHAM’s NEB members and senior representatives of the U.S. government, thus setting the tone for the evening through her opening remarks. This was followed by warm welcome remarks by Mr. Mahesh Krishnamurti, Chairman – Western Region, AMCHAM India and Managing Director, RGP, who welcomed the Ambassador on behalf of AMCHAM India. Through his brief address, Mr. Arun Kumar, Vice Chairman, AMCHAM and Chairman and CEO, KPMG in India, shared an introduction to the Ambassador while also speaking highly of his past experiences of interactions with him. Ambassador Kenneth I. Juster made a special address.

As part of the next session of the evening, Ms. Kaku Nakhate, NEB Member, AMCHAM India and President and Country Head (India), Bank of America, introduced the keynote speaker Mr. Prashant Jain, CIO, HDFC Mutual Fund. Through a presentation and a talk on ‘India Economy and Equities – Best Lies Ahead,’ Mr. Jain shared his views stating that a healthy pace of reforms continues and the outlook for the economy is improving steadily, while demonetisation and GST implementation caused some pain in short term, but will be beneficial in the long term and it is an improving outlook for economic growth and profit growth. Markets are trading at attractive market cap to GDP at 78% CY18e and large supply of stocks, sharp increase in U.S. interest rates and how adverse global developments are key risks. An engaging Q&A session answered several important issues on the subject.

The evening witnessed an interesting fireside chat on ‘India: 2018 & Beyond’ in which Ms. Vanitha Narayanan, Immediate Past Chairperson, AMCHAM and Chairman, IBM India Pvt. Ltd. and Ms. Kaku Nakhate discussed a wide range of topics including big data privacy, innovations in technology, artificial Intelligence and the critical need for leaders to learn and unlearn to adapt. With the recently concluded GES in Hyderabad, Ms. Narayanan shared her insights on the entrepreneurial spirit in the country today and the startup boom from an IBM perspective. With AMCHAM being a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion, Ms. Nakhate appealed to the audience present to partner and contribute to the momentum of the diversity and inclusion agenda in India.

The 3rd segment of the enthralling evening was an address by Mr. Rachid Fergati, Managing Director, UPS, who shared his expert insight on futuristic India with a focus of infrastructure and logistics. Mr. Fergati highlighted the sustainable and accessible infrastructural solutions at UPS that make them stand apart as one of the leading organizations in the field. Mr. Gulshan Kumar Sachdev, Vice Chairman, AMCHAM India and Managing Director, Quaker Chemical India Limited, through his concluding remarks thanked Ambassador Kenneth Juster, the esteemed speakers, the sponsors, AMCHAM members present and the leaders of AMCHAM’s Western Region for coming together to create an impactful signature event.

The event was sponsored by platinum sponsor: UPS; silver sponsors: Citibank India, Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd., and Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. and bronze sponsors: Abbott Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Bank of America N.A., Ernst & Young LLP, Jacobs Engineering India Pvt. Ltd., KPMG in India, Lubrizol Advanced Materials India Pvt. Ltd., Marsh India Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. and Resources Global Professionals (I) Pvt. Ltd. The signature event concluded with networking and conversations over cocktails and dinner.