AMCHAM hosted a session, in partnership with IMA, titled ‘The CFO as Strategic Business Partner: Why You’re at the Table’ on November 23rd. The session focused on how responsibilities of a CFO are evolving into a much more strategic context. To avoid competitive fade and decline, most companies work to create greater long-term sustainable value through a better understanding of when and where to invest capital and resources. The session talked about what CFOs and management accounting professionals do specifically to ensure their decisions will lead to that long-term sustainable value creation. Some of the key takeaways include how to turn CFOs into chief value officers involved in leveraging financial data into business strategy and decision-making and where the current CFOs were on this evolution. As CFOs affirm their new role of strategic partners and take on additional responsibilities, some of the new skill sets they will need to continue to add value to the business ecosystem were discussed. The role CFOs play when it comes to data and who ought to be governing it and optimizing the usage of data to drive better business outcomes was mentioned. The speakers were Mr. Russ Porter CFO, IMA | Institute of Management Accountants, Mr. Sarathi Shah, Director Finance, Collins Aerospace India, Mr. Sugeeth Kumar, Director Finance, Verticals & HQ, Commercial HVAC, Carrier and Ms. Hanadi Khalife, Senior Director, MEA & India Operations, Institute of Management Accountants. The session was very well received by participants.

AMCHAM’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee organized a webinar on ‘Neurodiversity – Demystifying Myths and Building an Inclusive Culture at the Workplace’ November 22nd over Webex. The session commenced with opening remarks by Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director – Western Region, AMCHAM followed by Mr. Shailendra Jagtap, Vice Chair – Western Region, AMCHAM and Managing Director & Country Manager, John Deere India Pvt. Ltd. who welcomed the esteemed panel of speakers and set the stage for the event.

In his special address, Mr. David J. Ranz, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai, spoke of how the U.S. American Disability Act has broken barriers to embrace and harness the unique potential of neurodivergent individuals in society and the workplace. He also highlighted the measures adopted and initiatives undertaken by the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai to build an inclusive culture. He stated that organizations will further benefit by onboarding neuro diverse talent and urged U.S. companies to engage and share best practices.

The panel discussion that followed saw eminent speakers including Mr. David J. Ranz, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai, Mr. Hiren C. Shukla, Director – Automation & Innovation / Neuro-Diverse Center of Excellence, Ernst & Young LLP, United States, Mr. Burgess Cooper, Partner – Deputy Cyber Leader | Consulting Services, Ernst & Young LLP, India, Dr. Anita Rego (MSW, MPhil, PhD) Director, Pearlss 4 Development and Mr. P. Rajasekharan, Co-Founder, v-shesh. The panel was moderated by Ms. Aashish B. Kasad, Partner | Tax & Regulatory Services | National Leader – Chemicals and Agriculture Sector | India Region Diversity & Inclusiveness Business Sponsor, Ernst & Young LLP. The discussion focused on opportunities to leverage the potential of neurodiverse professionals, challenges faced by neurodivergent people, some best practices on hiring process for neuro diverse talent, key obstacles organizations need to address, the effect of remote working due to the pandemic on neurodivergent professionals and advice for the top leadership on making neurodiversity a practical reality in organizations.

Insightful testimonials via several videos brought to fore experiences of neuro divergent hires who shared their onboarding journeys, the support and guidance received from the organizations, work experiences, COVID related challenges of remote working, the empowering recognition of their skills and talents, and last but not least, their desire to retire from these wonderful and empowering organizations. A Q&A segment followed. The event concluded with closing remarks and a vote of thanks by Ms. Zainab Patel, Director Diversity & Inclusion, KPMG in India.

Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM and ICT members met Mr. S. Kishore, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India on November 18th in New Delhi. Ms. Khanna congratulated Mr. Kishore on his promotion as a Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce. Industry members shared their concerns related to Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ), EOU, SEZ, RODTEP, etc. Mr. Kishore consented to a virtual meeting with industry members in December 2021 to discuss issues and industry concerns.

Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM, along with ICT members, met Mr. Satyajit Mohanty, Joint Secretary, NSCS and Ms. Shwetha Rao B., Deputy Secretary, NSCS, on November 18th in New Delhi. The Joint Secretary called the meeting to gather U.S. industry inputs on the issues and opportunities for strengthening the U.S.- India high technology collaboration. Challenges related to country of origin, local content requirement, GeM, digitization and cloud technology, etc., were briefly discussed. Following up on the meeting, AMCHAM submitted industry recommendations to the ministry.