On December 17th, the Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Core Committee organized the last meeting for 2020. Ms. Komple Sharma, Manager, AMCHAM, welcomed participants. Mr. Gaurav Ajmani, Chairman –Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM and Associate General Counsel: Business Conduct & Ethics, Amazon Seller Services (P) Ltd. moderated the meeting. Participants introduced themselves and shared their experiences for the eventful year of 2020. The committee decided to have monthly meetings on every third Thursday in 2021. The committee also decided to create industry specific sub-groups and would deep dive into specific issues pertaining to an industry and subsequently small sessions could be planned around the same. Members believed that multitude of industries would give a better perspective. The committee also discussed the Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Survey 2020 results. The meeting concluded with closing remarks from AMCHAM thanking members for their valuable inputs.

AMCHAM’s Karnataka Chapter, in partnership with 3M, hosted the third webinar of a 3 part series with subject matter experts from 3M on ‘The Science of Safety – Building & Public Safety’ on December 15th. The pandemic has brought to light the importance of safety and health in our organizations and public spaces. Safety at any workplace starts with work areas, identifying and preventing elements of risk. Understanding preventive safety measures like anticipating fire, spills, breakage, accidents, etc. are sustainable ways to ensure the safety of building premises and public spaces. Communicating safety measures effectively also ensures that safety messages are always top of mind. The science of safety seminar was a blend of preventive safety and safety communication. The session focused on navigation and safety applications, way finding and environmental graphics, social distancing at building premises and safety solutions at building premises. The speakers were Mr. Ashish Agarwal, Technical Manager Traffic Safety Division and Mr. Sumit Joshi, Technical Specialist, 3M Asia. The session was very well received with participants from various AMCHAM member companies like Swagelok, Saggezza, Optum, Netapp and more.

On December 10th, AMCHAM convened a Defense Committee meeting virtually. Members deliberated on the presence of and details of the industry engagements at upcoming Aero India 2021 as well as how to best leverage the engagements with officials at the Ministry of Defence and other central government ministries.

The pandemic, although crippling, has also led to many opportunities. On December 10th, AMCHAM organized a fireside chat with Professor Jerry Wind, Wharton and Mr. Nitin Rakesh, CEO, Mphasis, authors of Transformation in Times of Crisis with Mr. Salil Gupte, Chairman, AMCHAM. The conversation revolved around the eight principles to create opportunities and value in the post-pandemic world while focussing on the need to evolve and innovate.
There was a Q&A portion of the session. The eight principles in the book include:

• Challenge your mental models and always stay ahead
• Reimagine and reinvent your approach to customers and stakeholders
• Speed up digital transformation and design for personalization at scale
• Reinvent your talent strategy and embrace open innovation and open talent
• Seize the need for speed and design for agility, adjacencies and adaptability
• Innovate then experiment, experiment, experiment
• Redraw your timelines and build a portfolio of initiatives across all innovation horizons
• Deploy idealized design, recreate your organizational architecture and network orchestration

AMCHAM’s National Executive Board (NEB) hosted a virtual farewell for U.S. Ambassador Kenneth I. Juster, Honorary President of AMCHAM, on December 9th. Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM, in her opening remarks thanked the Ambassador for his leadership and longevity in the U.S.-India partnership. Mr. Salil Gupte, Chairman, AMCHAM and President, Boeing India highlighted Ambassador Juster’s extraordinary guidance to U.S. companies in India during his tenure. Mr. Salil Gupte, Chairman AMCHAM and President Boeing India. Ambassador Juster reminisced about some of the key moments in the special U.S.-India relationship and thanked the work of the Economic and Commercial Sections of the U.S. Embassy. While providing an overview of the accomplishments of Ambassador Juster’s accomplished career, Ms. Kaku Nakhate, Vice Chairperson, AMCHAM and President and Country Head, Bank of America N.A., complimented his sharp business acumen. While other NEB members shared their kind words and wishes for the Ambassador, the fact that he had visited every state in India was joyfully noted. In closing, Mr. Sanjay Koul, Vice Chairman, AMCHAM and Chairman & Managing Director, Timken thanked Ambassador Juster for his guidance to AMCHAM and for his ability to inspire people. AMCHAM presented the Ambassador a memorable plaque in appreciation of his leadership.

AMCHAM’s first ever virtual Christmas Carnival was held on December 5thover Webex. AMCHAM members, U.S. Embassy and government officials, along with their entire families, enjoyed the evening of fun, raffles, laughter, prizes and games with Santa Claus. Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM welcomed members. Mr. Salil Gupte, Chairman, AMCHAM gave an upbeat festive message. The holiday drink demonstrations were by Pernod Ricard (chai royal cocktail) and by Marriott (cilantro martini mocktail).

 

The evening featured the Christmas Carol Sing with participation from all regions of AMCHAM along with a fireside chat between the Regional Directors and Chairpersons:

• Ms. Amada Kidwai, Regional Director – Eastern Region and Mr. Gulshan Kumar Sachdev, Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM
• Ms. Sandya Rodrigues, Regional Director – Hyderabad Chapter and Mr. Prakash Bodla, Chairman – Hyderabad Chapter, AMCHAM
• Ms. Payal Satish, Regional Director – Karnataka Chapter and Mr. Sanjay Koul, Vice Chair of AMCHAM and Chairman – Karnataka Chapter, AMCHAM
• Wg Cdr Rajiv Anand, Regional Director – Northern Region and Mr. William Blair, Chairman – Northern Region, AMCHAM
• Mr. Aubrey Daniels, Regional Director – Tamil Nadu Chapter and Mr. Rajan Aiyer, Chairman – Tamil Nadu Chapter, AMCHAM
• Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director – Western Region and Mr. Sarthak Ranade, Chairman – Western Region, AMCHAM

Mr. Edgard Kagan, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, shared brief remarks and holiday greetings. Special thanks to Aileen Nandi, Honorary National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM and Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy for lending AMCHAM her tree virtually. Thank you to event partners: Applied Materials, Becton Dickinson, Corning India, Pepsico India, Rossell Techsys and Textron India and gift partners 3M India, Bausch & Lomb, Cargill India, Carrier Midea, Four Seasons Hotel, Hilton Bangalore Embassy Golf Links, Hughes Systique, Hyatt Hotels, ITC Hotels, Marriott International, Pernod Ricard Jacobs Creek, The Ritz Carlton and The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace.  About 100 people participated in the Christmas Carnival.