The 3rd Babson India Symposium took place March 10th, 2018 at the Babson College Wellesley campus, bringing together students, alumni, faculty, and staff to connect, build relationships, and network with esteemed speakers and their peers. 

The Babson India Symposium was created to provide a platform for students and professionals in the Boston area to learn about India, listen to and network with some of the most eminent business leaders, entrepreneurs, academicians, and eminent sporting and media personalities from India.

The Best of a Billion Minds

In line with the theme for this year – ‘The Best of Billion Minds’ – the event was filled with panel discussions and keynotes by business leaders, future entrepreneurs, and academicians, from big business, start-ups, sports, media, and entertainment. Speakers shared their stories, experiences, and thoughts on opportunities in India. The event also included a performance by the Berklee School of Music’s Indian Ensemble.

Scheduled speakers included:

  • Abhinav Bindra – Olympic Gold Medalist and Entrepreneur Keynote Theme – Lessons from the most unique sporting journey, that hold true in the world of entrepreneurship.
  • Malini Agarwal – Founder, MissMalini.com Keynote Theme – Secret to not just succeeding but creating your own world and then succeeding in it. Hear a story of breaking conventions by following your passion, building a successful content business, inspiring change in consumer behavior and building a brand.
  • Tarun Khanna – Author, Economic Strategist (Niti Aayog), Entrepreneur Keynote theme – What special pieces does India hold in the jigsaw puzzle of the world’s future?
  • Harsha Agadi – Chairman, Quiznos Keynote theme – Investing in India is good business. Hear the story of a serial CEO for large MNC Food and Beverage companies like Quiznos and Friendly’s.
  • Panel – What is holding India back from making a larger impact at the world stage? CEO’s of the India arms of MNC’s talk about opportunities and roadblocks of doing business in India – infrastructure, human resources, regulation, and others. Panelists include Mr. Prashant Prabhu (President, Michelin India-Africa-Middle East), Dr. Sanjeev K Chaudhry (MD, Super Religare), Mr. Neville Taraporewalla (President, Brand Capital, Times Group) & Mr. Navjot Singh (Managing Partner, McKinsey, Boston)
  • Panel – Technology solving problems in India and why some entrepreneurs succeed. Hear technology entrepreneurs and VC’s talk about what entrepreneurs need to succeed and how technology can solve big problems like payments, data collection and analysis, amongst others in developing countries. Panelists include Mr. Aditya Kurjekar (CEO, Let’s Talk Payments), Mr. Preetish Nijhawan (Co-Founder, Akamai Technologies and Partner, Cervin Ventures), Ms. Lakshmi Nambiar (Partner, Anthill Ventures) Mr. Ahmed Naqvi (CEO & Co-founder, Gozoop)
  • Panel – Babson Comes Back (Moderated by Ms. Kerry Healey, President of Babson College). Learn about how learnings from business schools help in succeeding and what they wish they had known when they graduated. Panelists include Mr. Rahul Kanodia (CEO, Datamatics Global Services Limited), Mr. Dinesh Wadhwani (CEO & Founder, ThinkLite) & Ms. Savitha Sridharan (Founder, Orora Global, Inc.)
  • Performance from the Berklee School of Music’s India Ensemble.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for​ Entrepreneurship of All Kinds®. The top​-rankedcollege for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.