Sapience 2025
In a world increasingly shaped by global shocks — from pandemics and geopolitical tensions to economic and environmental disruptions — businesses must adapt through agile, locally grounded strategies. Sapience 2025, themed “Global Shocks, Local Strategies: Business Continuity in Uncertain Times”, brings together leaders from across industries to share how organizations can ensure resilience while maintaining global competitiveness.
This two-day conclave will feature six engaging panel discussions led by respective student-run clubs such as The Marketing Club, The Finance Club, The Operations Club, and more. With 25+ distinguished speakers, the event will present diverse viewpoints on navigating uncertainty and crafting sustainable, future-ready business strategies.
Theme: Global Shocks, Local Strategies – Business Continuity in Uncertain Times
Dates: 30th - 31st July 2025
Venue: Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon
Keynote Address
Romil Pant
Business Head EVP, Thomas Cook
30th July, 2025
Marketing
30th July, 2025
The Marketing Panel will discuss how brands can remain relevant and resilient in an unpredictable world through hyperlocal strategies, real-time consumer insights, and culturally rooted storytelling. The session will explore how trust, adaptability, and purpose-led narratives drive long-term brand continuity.
Speakers
Nitin Burman
Group Chief Revenue Officer, Balaji Telefilms
Santosh
Senior Director – Global Marketing, Biocon Biologics
Rajiv Gopinath
Chief Solutions Officer, Publicis Media
Neerja Jha
Head of Sports, Warner Bros Discovery
Harveer Sidhu
Senior Partner, 360 One Wealth
Entrepreneurship
31st July, 2025
The Entrepreneurship Panel will discuss how startups and enterprises are responding to global disruptions by building locally adaptive, scalable, and resilient business models. The session will focus on founder experiences, risk mitigation, and innovation amid uncertainty.
Speakers
Vishal Sharma
Founder & CEO, Nuvo Retail
Abhijeet Anand
Founder & CEO, abCoffee
Gopalakrishna Kuppuswamy
Co-founder, Cognida.AI
Operations
31st July, 2025
The Operations Panel will discuss how global shocks have reshaped supply chains and operations strategies. The session will highlight localization, digital transformation, and the shift from lean to agile frameworks for business continuity.
Speakers
Jaya Priyadarshini (Moderator)
Assistant Professor, Great Lakes, Gurgaon
Sridhar J
Head – Packaging Development, Plum Goodness
Krishnan S. Iyer
CEO & Board Member, NDR InVit & Wissen Technology
Vineet Nagpal
Head – Supply Chain, Essilor
Pamela Thakur
Head – Supply Chain, Philips
Analytics
30th July, 2025
The Analytics Panel will discuss how data-driven insights and technologies like AI and predictive modeling help businesses respond to global disruptions with local precision. It will also examine real-time decision-making and scenario planning for resilience.
Speakers
Dr. Pushpender Nath
Head – Advanced Analytics, Annalect India
Mukund Shastri
Chief Data Science Officer & Group VP, Comviva
Lakshmanan Gnanapragasam
Head – Strategy & Analytics, Epsilon
HR & OB
31st July, 2025
The HR & OB Panel will discuss how organizations can maintain employee engagement, well-being, and performance during disruptions. The session will explore HR’s role in fostering inclusive culture, mental wellness, agile workforce planning, and leadership continuity.
Speakers
Mukhvinder Singh Bains
Director – L&D, Accenture
Suraj Chettri
Head – HR, Airbus
Sachin Mathur
Director – HR, ideaForge
Nidhi Vinod
Director – L&D, Epsilon
Gautam Duggal
Senior VP HR, CITI
Finance
30th July, 2025
The Finance Panel will discuss how financial systems are adapting to ongoing global volatility through agile capital structuring, liquidity management, decentralized finance, and localized financial strategies that turn risk into opportunity.
Speakers
Bhaskar Acharya
Head – Service Business Assets, BNY Mellon
Prakash Ramaiah
Head – Internal Audit, Varthana
Ashok Kumar Radhakrishna
Business Controller, Red Bull
Sapience 2024
Sapience 2024, themed "AI for All," explored the transformative impact of artificial intelligence across business functions. Held at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon, the two-day conclave brought together 25+ industry leaders, with a keynote by Hari Krishnan, MD at Publicis Groupe India. Through six dynamic panel discussions — spanning Marketing, Finance, Analytics, HR, Operations, and Entrepreneurship—the event emphasized the importance of ethical, human-centric AI adoption to drive innovation, inclusivity, and long-term value creation. Conversations revolved around the intersection of technology and empathy, real-world AI applications, and how future leaders can harness AI not just for efficiency, but for meaningful, responsible growth.
