The Global Business Summit, the most important event on the annual calendar for The Times group, got underway on Friday, March 11. It is the most anticipated brainstorming session in the world of news and current affairs. It is a celebration of India, and also a statement of the truism about India as the strongest engine for global growth.
Over two days—March 11 and March 12, 2022— prominent national and international figures will congregate to discuss ideas and actions for the future of the country. GBS 2022, which is in its seventh edition, is a one-of-a-kind gathering that celebrates the present and anticipates the future.
Since its inception in 2015, GBS has emerged as South Asia’s premier meeting place for global thought leaders.
The deliberations this year, held virtually, is centred on the theme ‘The Great Resurgence: Now, Next & Beyond’ that encompasses a post-pandemic and rapidly evolving geo-political calculus, the disruption in economies and the path to the new normal, an accelerated move towards sustainability, better governance and tech-led innovations for the future.
“It is our belief at the 184-year-old Times Group that together we can embrace every crisis as an opportunity to craft a different and better future,” said Vineet Jain, Managing Director, BCCL.
On the first day, over 20 renowned global CEOs, opinion makers, and government leaders, including Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, Punit Renjen, Global CEO, Deloitte, Doug McMillon, President and CEO, Walmart Inc, Bruce Flatt, CEO, Brookfield Asset Management, Alfred R Kelly Jr., Chairman and CEO, Visa Inc, Evan Speigel, CEO and co-Founder, Snap Inc, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and Chief Content Officer, Netflix, Ronnie Screwvala, Chairperson and Co-Founder, upGrad.com, Alka Mittal, CMD, ONGC, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson and CEO, Salesforce India, Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej and Boyce, Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric, Suneeta Reddy, MD, Apollo Hospitals, Glenn Fogel, President and CEO, Booking Holdings, Werner Baumann, CEO, Bayer AG, Bill Winters, Group CEO, Standard Chartered Plc, Rajeev Misra, CEO, Softbank Vision Fund, Tony Douglas, Group CEO, Etihad Aviation Group, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates, and Gopichand P Hinduja, co-Chairman, Hinduja Group sharing their insights and perspectives on world economics, geo-strategy, health & environment and technology disruption.
Union minister of Commerce and Industry Mr Piyush Goyal offered a deep perspective on “Enabling Greater Prosperity through FTAs”. Mr McMillon gave an insight on “Adapting to the New Normal,” while Mr Renjen spoke about “India’s Promise and Potential”.
Mr Flatt gave an idea about “Private Capital: How the Playbook has Changed”; Mr Kelly Jr. talked about the “Future of Money”, Mr Spiegel gave an insight on “Chasing Growth: From Content to Commerce”, Mr Sarandos spoke about “Setting the New Entertainment Agenda”, Mr Screwvala offered a perspective on “EdTech: Repurposing Purpose”.
Dr Mittal, Ms Bhattacharya, Mr Godrej, Mr Munjal, Ms Reddy, discussed new ideas and frontiers about “Creating Sustainable Business”, while Mr Fogel talked about the “Travel Industry-From Shock to Surge”.
Mr Baumann spoke about “ESG: The Next Big Leap”, Mr Winters talked about “Reimagining Modern Finance”, while Mr Misra spoke about “Indian Unicorns: Next Big Thing or Next Bubble?”, Mr Douglas gave an insight on “Net Zero Aviation: Is it a Distant Reality”, Mr Zeyoudi talked about “Leveraging Technology and Cutting Edge Innovation to Build new Economic Initiative”, while Mr Hinduja talked about whether “Is it the Right Time to Invest in India?”.
Another stellar set of speakers including Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State of External Affairs, Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO, Adobe, Nathan Blecharczyk, Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer, Airbnb, Warren East CBE, Rolls Royce, and Bill Ford, Chairman and CEO, General Atlantic, among others are scheduled to speak on the second day of the summit on March 12, 2022.
Kyndryl is the presenting partner of the summit. It is co-powered by Capgemini. GfK is the intelligence partner, Samunnati and Paxfaul are associate partners, ET Edge Insights is the knowledge partner of the summit and is brought by ET Edge Unwired.
