Mumbai Chapter hosts Speaker Session by Leadership Coach Luis Moniz
To answer questions regarding working in the new age workplace where traditional strategies of loyalty, hard work and dependence are no longer effective for corporate success, the Mumbai Chapter of IIM Ahmedabad Alumni Association conducted the second event of its newly launched speaker series with a talk by Luis Moniz (PGP 1978), a CXO career and leadership coach.
This was an exclusive event for IIMA alumni based in Mumbai region with advance registrations and walk-ins. The event was held on Saturday, 31 August 2024 at MET Institute of Management, Bandra, Mumbai. Despite it being a rainy evening and a working day for many, we had a strong turnout.
Manish Pajan, a certified coach and part of the IIMA Alumni Association – Mumbai Chapter, introduced the speaker and invited him to share his thoughts. Luis Moniz, brought his senior management experience for over two decades and deep understanding of the talent acquisition space gained as a C-suite head-hunter into the talk. He held the audience captive with his hour-long presentation across various aspects of career management, which was followed by an interactive Q&A session.
Mumbai’s EEP Event: An Evening to Remember
The IIMA Alumni Association Mumbai Chapter has many alums from Executive Education Programmes (EEP) and hence the committee members thought of organising an event to provide an opportunity to get all alumni together with a focus on providing a networking platform for the EEP alums. The EEP meet became a celebration of the shared journey of learning at IIMA by alumni of all programmes.
The EEP event was held on July 19 at Club Aura with an attendance of 100 members. The evening began with an air of excitement as guests arrived at the registration desk, eager for an occasion of energised meetings and renewed commitments to stand together. All alumni were welcomed with a gift hamper by VCNow, the platinum sponsor for the event. Other than that, MCQube was the silver sponsor for this event and the Glenwalk, by Cartel Bros was the beverage sponsor.
The event kicked off with a warm and heartfelt welcome address by Nawdeep Puranik, Vice President, IIMA Alumni Mumbai Chapter. This set the tone of camaraderie and joy as he greeted the audience with enthusiasm, expressing gratitude for their presence and support. He shared a few words about the purpose of the gathering and highlighted the exciting lineup for the night. The masters of ceremonies of this event were Sarthak Chandra and Kunal Dhingra – both alums of the Senior Management Programme from IIMA.
Mumbai Chapter was delighted to host the IIMA Endowment Fund team. The IIMA Endowment Fund team took alums through to its journey, its vision, and how it acts as the unified fundraising arm of IIMA. The alums were also made aware of the initiatives undertaken by the Endowment fund including setting up scholarships, case awards, research chairs and centres of excellence.
There was an enriching discussion about giving back to the alma mater and ideas to further enhance the support towards building the future of IIMA.
With the formalities over, the room was soon filled with laughter as stand-up comedian Urjita Wani stepped into the spotlight. Her clever wit and relatable Mumbaikar jokes had the audience in stitches, poking fun at everyday life, relationships, and work. The comedian’s banter with the crowd added an element of spontaneity, leaving everyone roaring with laughter at the perfect balance of light-hearted humor and sharp observations in the lives of a common man.
As the laughter died down, the energy shifted to a more relaxed mood with the arrival of Kedar Kolte, a talented singer and musician, who captivated the audience with a mix of soulful tunes and upbeat numbers that got everyone grooving. His performance was a seamless blend of classic hits and contemporary sounds, creating a perfect musical backdrop for the evening.
Throughout the event, there were plenty of lighter moments that kept the energy high. The host, ever the entertainer, engaged in playful banter with the crowd, throwing in spontaneous jokes and quick-witted remarks between performances. Audience members were called out for funny comments or quips, making everyone feel part of the experience. These spontaneous interactions gave the evening a personal and intimate feel, where laughter flowed freely.
As the evening drew to a close, the combination of humour, music, good food, and light-hearted moments left everyone with smiles on their faces. It was an event that balanced entertainment with a sense of bonding, where everyone enjoyed each other’s company.
As is the case with many events of Mumbai Chapter, the kids of our alums offered to help the chapter committee members by volunteering in mini activities such as help with registrations, coordination near the stage etc. This event also had six such young volunteers supporting the team organising this event. The chapter remains ever grateful to these volunteers and their parent alums.
All in all a perfect blend of fun moments, music, great food, and warm connections —the EEP event had all the elements of a truly eventful gathering.
Mumbai Chapter’s Tree plantation initiative with Nabhangan Foundation
IIMA Mumbai Chapter in its endeavour of ‘giving back’ to the society undertakes social impact activities through NGOs whose representatives are alums of the chapter. These initiatives often include awareness programs, cleanliness drives, waste reduction programmes, renewable energy adoption and efforts to reduce carbon footprints.
By engaging in such social impact projects the Mumbai Chapter not only contributes its bit to a healthier planet, but also inspires other communities and corporates to take collective action towards a more sustainable future.
Nabhangan Foundation is a not-for-profit NGO, working in the fields of rural regeneration and community building, child education, empowering villages to self-reliance in the parts of Marathwada. This NGO is founded by a well-known award winning actress Rajshree Deshpande (of the fame of “Sacred Games”, “Trial by Fire” etc) and is the spouse of one of our Mumbai based alumni – Nawdeep Puranik (SMP 2019). Mumbai Chapter alums have been closely working with Nabhangan Foundation since a few years to further the non-profit’s objectives.
The foundation has undertaken major projects like building eco-friendly schools, reviving many rivers specifically in drought affected Marathwada region of Maharashtra, building toilets and others.
Teaming with Nabhangan Foundation, the Mumbai Chapter undertook a drive to plant trees in the drought affected villages in front of the houses of farmers. It was done to assure that the sapling would not be left to fend for itself against vagaries of nature, but the farmer will take care and nurture the plant.
The uniqueness about this thought was that these trees were planted in the names of beloved family members of Mumbai Alums. Hence they were not seen as just trees, but plants representing loved ones of Alums, which were now an integral part of the farmers extended family, who were all committed to ensure its wellbeing for life. The foundation planted 25 trees with the names of select alumni on ‘first come first serve basis’.
