PM Modi to lead galaxy of top global, Indian CEOs at ET Global Business Summit 2016

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest, and star attraction, at the Airtel-ET Global Business Summit (GBS) on January 29-30 at the Taj Palace hotel in New Delhi. PM Modi will inaugurate the summit on the evening of January 29, and deliver the keynote address.

The first edition of ET GBS, held last January, was defined by the PM asking business leaders to dream of a $20-trillion Indian economy. Expect him to deliver a sharp and inspirational message this year too. More so because India is both a bright spot on a somewhat gloomy global economic stage as well as a major economy that needs a strong push now.

As with last year, PM Modi’s audience will be global and Indian CEOs who run blue chip companies, senior business executives, political heavyweights and influential academics and analysts. And just like last year, expect a starstudded supporting cast.

McKinsey Global MD Dominic Bar ton, BCG Chairman Hans-Paul Burkner, PwC Chairman Dennis Nally, GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty and GE Vice-Chairman John Rice lead a global corporate A-list of speakers. GBS 2.0 will also host key ministers of the Modi Sarkar. They will speak, and will lead, along with CEOs, panel discussions on key business and economic questions. Joining them will be seasoned public administrators and academics who keep a close eye on governance.

And to provide the contrarian spark, to persuade corporate and political leaders in attendance to think different, we have lined up the sharpest observers of global capitalism.

There will be Nouriel Roubini, the universally acknowledged superstar of risk analysis. When Roubini goes bullish or bearish, big bulls and bears listen to him. And when Nassim Nicholas Taleb critiques a system, the establishment sits up. The bestselling author of Black Swan and a star at last year’s GBS will be back again to inform, educate and entertain.

Ram Charan, who has trained more CEOs than anyone can count and whose pugnacious wisdom makes him a leader among global management gurus, will be at the GBS, as will Randi Zuckerberg, who left Facebook, started by brother Mark, and emerged as a strong and radical voice on all things digital.

With China fumbling, Brazil stumbling and rumblings in Russia, global investors are keenly watching India. 2016 will be a critical year. And there’s no better way to get a head start on understanding the headlines and headwinds that may dominate this year than listening to the best and brightest at the Airtel-Economic Times Global Business Summit 2016. Be there.