AMCHAM’s Karnataka Chapter hosted the signature event on October 11th at Taj, MG Road in Bengaluru. The event featured two segments focused on 1) skill development and 2) ESG. Mr. Som Satsangi, Vice Chair, AMCHAM and SVP and MD, India, Hewlett Packard Enterprise gave opening remarks and welcomed participants to the skill development segment. The inaugural keynote address was given by Mr. Satish BK, Head – SANKALP, Karnataka Skill Development Corporation, Government of Karnataka. In his address, he enumerated various schemes and initiates undertaken by the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka. He spoke about Karnataka being a pioneer state in startups and the SNAKALP project i.e., Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP), a program of the Ministry of Skill Development with loan assistance from the World Bank. Mr. Satish stressed upon the importance of delivering the right skills and also to promote entrepreneurship in India. He also spoke about emerging trends like social inclusion, diversity and trainings in gig economy.

A panel discussion on ‘Digital Skilling: Critical to Economic Growth’ followed with panelists Mr. Abhishek Tomar, National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM and Chief Data Officer, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Ms. Shalini Modi, Global Lead – Learning Platform and Operations, Genpact and Ms. Mona Bharadwaj, Head – Global University Programs, IBM India. Dr. Kiranmai Pendyala, Co-Chair – HR Committee, AMCHAM and Head of HR, India, Western Digital was the moderator. The panel discussed digital skills as a necessity for survival, quantum of digital transformation happened due to the pandemic leading to faster adoption of data, innovation and paradigm shifts in skilling culture, innovation in early career professionals’ training, challenges of scale reskilling and upskilling mid-level professionals, challenges of reskilling and upskilling globally. Challenges of bridging industry needs and university curriculum readiness was also discussed. The second panel discussion was on ‘Skilling India Beyond the Obvious: U.S.-India Partnership.’ The panelists were Mr. Rajiv Gupta, Country leader – Healthcare, 3M and Ms. Anubhuti Kaul Bhrany, Senior Director and Head – Government Affairs, India, Flex. Mr. Prakash Bodla, Chairman – Hyderabad Chapter, AMCHAM, Chairman – GCC Committee, AMCHAM and MD & VP Global Engineering, Carrier Technologies India was the moderator. The panel discussed the skilling ecosystem in their respective sectors and how skilling, reskilling, upskilling was important for both the existing and new set of employees. The panel also discussed ways the central and state governments support their initiatives more. The panel ended by sharing some of their best practices and challenges faced in the current dynamic environment.

The next segment of the program focused on environmental, social and corporate governance was focused on providing key highlights of how ESG framework helps stakeholders understand how an organization manages risks, opportunities around sustainability issues and the role ESG has in investment and capital allocation decisions. The segment began with opening remarks by Ms. Deepa Nagaraj – Senior Vice President & Head – Sparkle Innovation Ecosystem and Communications, Mphasis who set the tone for the conversation on ESG followed by an address by Mr. Anand Kulkarni – Technical Director, KPMG on the importance of ESG reporting by companies. Mr. Rohan Parikh – Head of Sustainability, Nuture, gave an address on ‘The Role of Leadership in Achieving Net Zero.”

There was an engaging and innovative panel with experts from various industries on ‘Strategy and Framework to Adopt ESG – Why, What and How of Commitment, Technology and Resources.’ The panel consisted of Ms. Koel Ghosh, Head – South Asia S&P Dow Jones Indices & CEO, AIPL, A SPDJI and BSE Ltd. JV, Mr. Khurshed Gandhi, Managing Director, Strategic Consulting, Cushman Wakefield, Mr. Sandeep Narayanan, HR, L&D, Corporate Communication, First American, Mr. Vaibhav Gomkale, SAP Service Line Leader, IBM and Ms. Deepa Nagaraj, Senior Vice President & Head – Sparkle Innovation Ecosystem and Communications, Mphasis with moderation by Ms. Jalaja Menon, Executive Director & Head Operations, Technology Center for Excellence, 3M.

This was followed by a special address by Dr. N. S. Vishwanathan, Senior Fellow at Centre for Public Policy at IIMB, Deputy Governor RBI Retd on ‘Compliances and Financial Sector Regulation and Supervision’ which included internal governance, internal control and risk monitoring. Mr. Ravi Krishnan, Chief Administration Officer, Goldman Sachs, made closing remarks and thanks the eminent speakers and participants. The signature event was supported by 3M, Pernod Ricard, Flex and Rossell Techsys.

 

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.