IIM Ahmedabad 57th Convocation: At the 57th convocation of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM Ahmedabad), Chief Guest and Nykaa CEO Ms. Falguni Nayar advised the graduating students to take risk at the early years of their career coming out from their comfort zone. "Spend the early years of your career taking the right risks and make some bold bets on yourself. Test what you like and what you don't. Take on roles that put you outside of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. Discover new interests and hone on skills you excel at," Ms. Nayar said. "And remember, no matter what anyone says, it is never too late to start all over again. Decision making will not always be easy, and often there will be no straightforward answer. So, trust your gut to an extent, it will guide you well," she added.
Interacting with students, Ms. Nayar shared her journey as an entrepreneur. According to Ms. Nayar, when in 2012, she decided to start her new venture in beauty and technology- Nykaa, no one was interested. "This idea of doing what's right by 'you' was the inspiration for the name Nykaa itself, which comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Nayaka' and is inspired by a message to all that one must pursue their dreams and shine the spotlight in their lives," she said.
This year, IIM Ahmedabad conferred degrees to 584 students from the Two Year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP); Two Year Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agribusiness Management (PGP-FABM); One Year Full Time Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) and PhD Programme in Management (PhD). The batch toppers Mr Shubham Goyal, Mr Vaibhav Agarwal and Mr Nitin Kulshreshtha from PGP and Mr Amit Kumar from PGPX were awarded with gold medals, the institute statement mentioned.
Director, Professor Errol D'Souza said, "“For managers dear students the landscape has changed. It is no longer about short-term financial targets and efficient execution. Ever since the Great Financial Crisis, and even more so since the pandemic, there is some room for a swashbuckling Elon Musk but soft skills such as compassion and collaboration are going to be a top requirement. Your views on corporate strategy will be important but so will those on climate change, discrimination and inclusion, human rights, culture wars and a host of other issues. You will face challenges from outside the organization as well as from within."
