Celebrating The Pathbreakers

The sixth edition of CEO Awards honoured and celebrated some of India’s most outstanding leaders, who have not only excelled in corporate performance but also transformed the idea of what it means to be a CEO

- Priyanca Vaishnav

For an evening that coincided with one of the most challenging turns of Indian political history, CEO Awards 2019 became symbolic of the very purpose of leadership in contemporary times. Whether in the revoking of Article 370, which altered the status of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, or in the boardroom where CEOs must perform beyond chasing financial outputs, the purpose of leadership has acquired a larger, all-encompassing meaning. A leader’s efforts at community mobilisation, nation-building, and the passion with which he pursues these endeavours, is in the spotlight.

The award ceremony, hosted by CEO-turned-stand-up comedian Atul Khatri, saw itself being centred on ideas of diversity, and the grounds of black, white, and the myriad shades of grey in between.

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY

National Spokesperson of the INC, Sanjay Jha, delivered the keynote centred particularly around the idea of binaries (of black and white), of middle ground and the role CEOs play in shaping and moulding of their arena as a product of and for the society. Jha cautioned, “We make ourselves into very polarised institutions. However, we live in a grey world, and that is the beauty of life… this uncertainty, the whole nebulousness, the big fog of haziness that we don't know what tomorrow is all about. One day one is thinking of liking somebody or something, and the next day you don't.” He went on to ease the pressure, “This malleability is fine, it is normal. And I just want to let you know that at the end of the day, when I look back at my own life, I marry all of these things into one. It looks like an Indian thali, which makes you realise the diversity of Indian culture."