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24
MAGIS
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MAY 2014
D Shivakumar
Chairman and
CEO, PepsiCo, india
Speaking on
Brands and their Evolu-
tion D Shivakumar characterised brand
as a ‘time-saving device’. At the best a
customer remembers seven brands of a
product and companies strive to retain
their position in the ‘top-of-the-mind
awareness category’.
According to Shivakumar brands
should answer two questions: Who am
I? – what it contains – and what do I
promise? – benefits of the brand. He said
good brands deliver the answers to these
questions in the back and front of the
pack. Emphasising the importance of
insights, he urged the students to cash on
customer data to arrive at an appropriate
conclusion.
Sharing his work experience with re-
nowned companies such as HUL, Philips
and Nokia, Shivakumar brought to the
forefront the sensitivity of brand exten-
sion. ‘If you add a variant you should
delete one,’ as numerous variants would
only confuse the consumer beyond his/
her wits.
Talking about successful brands he
said “Great brands have great simplicity.”
Consumers always associate with the core
value of a brand and hence brands should
not stretch beyond its core. Particularly
in India, which has a hyper-competitive
market, brands must maintain consistency
yet evolve to stay fresh.
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MVS Murthy
Chief People Officer,
Future Value Retail Ltd
Encouraging students
to set
clear goals, MVS Murthy asked them
to frame their own vision and mission
statement. As future leaders, the students
should constantly have a passionate outlook
towards learning.
Murthy, who has over 24 years of expe-
rience in the industry, spoke on Leadership
in the Talent Age. He stressed on the impor-
tance of being proactive and taking control
of one’s life. Highlighting the importance
of outcome, he suggested that one should
‘begin with the end in mind’. One should
take an extra step to understand the outer
world and not complain of being misunder-
stood. “…Seek to understand, than to be
understood …”
Coining an acronym, GROW (Goals,
Reality Check, Options Available and Wrap
Up) for the duties of a coach, he advised
the future leaders to be a mentor to their
sub-ordinates and empower them to create
their own goals. Talking at length about
situational leadership, one should focus
on supportive and directive behaviour of
oneself to improve the performance of the
team members.
He concluded by elaborating his own 3D
model — Decide, Dedicate, Dividend. As
future leaders, he said we should decide on
the investment we make on ourselves. With
enormous dedication in the chosen field of
interest, one would reap the dividends.
S Vishwanathan
MD & Group Executive, SBI
Associates & Subsidiaries
Sharing his
views on Changing land-
scape of Indian Banking, S Vishwanathan
said the environment in which the banking
industry is operating today has become
very complex compared to the past. He em-
phasised that for the banks to perform, all
sections of the economy should also func-
tion well. With the increase in number of
international banks the competition in the
market has also surged. These international
banks target a niche segment in the market.
SBI faces a big challenge in overcoming
this niche market.
Talking about the complexities the bank-
ing industry faces today Vishwanathan said
the risk profiles in every geography has
changed and this has resulted in having dif-
ferential pricing for various bank products.
In addition to this, he also discussed the
numerous regulatory challenges faced by
banks. Moreover, banks also have internal
challenges such as attracting and retain-
ing effective employees. When people are
recruited a lot of time is spent on training
them in both soft skills and hard skills.
In the current scenario banks are
exposed to a wide range of risks such as
credit risk, foreign exchange risk, market
risk, interest rate risk and liquidity risk.
Vishwanathan stressed on development of
risk management measures and dedicated
risk management teams to overcome
adverse circumstances.
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