Be the change! Chanda Kocchar enthuses MBA grads at FORE

(prHWY.com) August 11, 2010 - Noida, India -- FORE School of Management held its 17th Annual Convocation on Friday, August 6, 2010. The occasion was graced by the august presence of Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI Bank, who was present there as the Chief Guest.
Kochhar started her address by congratulating the fresh graduates of FORE School of Management, their parents and the faculty members of the B-School. She rightly read the thoughts that were going on in the minds of the students. "You must be having two feelings at the moment, one of excitement as this is your last lecture and no more classes or learnings from now on! And the other feeling is that of apprehension about your future," she said.
She decided to burst both the feelings of the students. She started with the feeling of excitement. "If you are thinking that you have learnt everything, then you are wrong. Your learning actually starts from today!" She mentioned that the new MBAs will learn from every opportunity, challenge, mistake and achievement. "You will learn from the opportunities and challenges you receive, your and others' mistakes, and from doing something good yourself as well as others," she said. "From tomorrow onwards, you will be graduating every single day," she exclaimed.
While talking about the feeling of apprehension, Kochhar assured the students that their future is very bright. "All of you are fortunate enough to graduate and enter the corporate world at this stage when India is booming with opportunities," she said. She mentioned that it is a landscape of growth with a vibrant and robust economy. She explained the reason why they are fortunate as things were different 26 years ago.
Describing the Indian scenario 26 years back, Kochhar said, "India was in a license regime at that time. It targeted five point growth and achieved just three point of growth. It was the age of brain drain. But today India is a different country."
Talking about the present scenario, she mentioned how India is becoming a land of opportunities now. She mentioned that India has experienced various discontinuous changes. "India has seen, faced and experienced the virtues of liberalization and globalization. It has unshackled India to face the world," she mentioned. "Another change is that of the evolution of technology. This has led to the growth of the IT industry which has eventually helped in the growth of the Indian economy," said Kochhar. The third discontinuous change which she has noticed is the innovation and rejuvenation of the manufacturing industry. "This is an era, when the manufacturing industry has also gone global," she said.
But she tells the students that the coming 25 years is more important the past 25 years. "Next few decades are going to be for India. I believe this because of the strong factors which we have built," she said.
She described the demographics of India as the growth factor of India. "We are a young country where the average age is 25 years. 45 per cent of our population is between 25 and are productive. Every year, we are adding 12 million people to the work force. By 2020, we are going to be one fourth of the global work force," she explained. Another factor is the investment in infrastructure.
Encouraging the students, Kochhar said that they can take the country to double digit growth. But along with the encouragement, she also forewarned the students about the challenges associated with it. "This growth and achievements which I was talking about is not a cakewalk. Everything that appears as an opportunity is a challenge in itself," she cautioned.
The biggest challenge which Kochhar feels is lack of education and skill base. "If we cannot educate and train our population properly, then there is no point in adding 12 million unskilled work force to our industry every year. Otherwise it will create social unrest," she mentioned. She also emphasized on the importance of investment. "If we do not invest, we will create bottle necks for growth in infrastructure. No it is in our hands. We can make it demographic dividend or challenge," she said.
She compared the changes that have taken place in India in past and today. "The per capita income used to take 40 years to improve. Today it is done in nine-and-a-half years to double the per capita income," she described. She also mentioned that the concept of leadership has changed too. "In the past, leaders were chosen on the basis of age, experience and wisdom. But today the parameters of leadership have changed. It is about youth, energy and innovation, which are at a bigger premium today," she said.
Kochhar mentioned the task which lays ahead for the future leaders. "You are demanded not only to cope with change but also foresee change and be prepared for change and cause change." Giving examples of ICICI Bank, she said, "In early 2000s, we foresaw consumerism, so we invested in the retail sector."
For a leader, the most important aspect is to cause change. "When each one of you can cause change, we can drive the country to the next phase," Kochhar said. "You will have to display your actions, show a set of behavior to prove your leadership," she added. Talking more on the qualities of a leader, she said, "Leadership is about values, principles, integrity and ethics. It is not about what you do, but how you do. You should have sportsmanship spirit. It's not about winning or losing, but how you play the game. That is how you leave a legacy and mark," Kochhar described the qualities of leadership.
While concluding her talk, she said that it is in the hands of the students whether to take something as an opportunity and leverage, challenge and overcome it or just a matter of fact and let it be. "Your destiny is in your hand. Our nation's destiny will depend on your excellence," she concluded.
Chanda Kochhar is an alumnus of the prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. She received masters Degree in management studies from there. Prior to that, she did MBA and Cost Accountancy from ICWAI. She received the Wockhardt Gold Medal for Excellence in Management Studies as well as the J. N. Bose Gold Medal in Cost Accountancy for highest marks in the same year.
Kochhar started her career in the year 1984 by joining ICICI Bank as a management trainee. She experienced consistent success in her career and in May 2009, she became the CEO and MD of ICICI bank for a term of five years.
She has received several awards and accreditations. She received the award of 'Retail Banker of the Year 2004' by the Asian Banker, 'Business Woman of the Year 2005' by The Economic Times to name a few. She has consistently featured in the Fortune's list of 'Most Powerful Women in Business' since 2005. She debuted in number 20 in the Forbes 'World's 100 Most Powerful Women' list in 2009.
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