PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, March 25: XLRI Jamshedpur hosted Manakriti: AI & Business – Transforming Strategy, Innovation and Leadership, the inaugural edition of its AI Conclave organized by the PGDM (GM) AI Nexus Club.
The event served as a premier forum for industry leaders, policymakers and AI experts to discuss AI’s transformative impact on business strategy, leadership and innovation.
The conclave was inaugurated by Fr. S. George, director, XLRI Jamshedpur and Sanjay K. Patro, Dean (Academics), XLRI Jamshedpur.
In his keynote address, Fr. George underscored the ethical dimensions of AI and its role in responsible leadership, while Prof. Patro emphasized the need for business leaders to adapt to AI-driven transformations.
Panel 1: AI & The Future of Work – Redefining Jobs & Skills
Moderated by Dr. (Fr.) Kuruvilla Joseph Pandikattu, S.J., Chair Professor of JRD Tata Foundation on Business Ethics, the session featured distinguished panelists who explored AI’s impact on workforce transformation, ethical AI governance and the evolving job market.
Srivatsa Subbanna, Senior VP & Head of Intelligent Automation & AI, Axis Bank, highlighted Axis Bank’s GenAI chatbot, Adi which is enhancing banking experiences across branches and contact centers.
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Mamta Aggarwal Rajnayak, VP – Head of AI-ML Products & Platforms, American Express, stressed the importance of Emotional Quotient (EQ) and Ethical Quotient (EQ) in AI-driven workplaces to ensure transparency and fairness in regulated industries.
Debayan Nag, Associate Director, PwC India, emphasized that businesses must prioritize human-AI collaboration while building scalable and ethical AI frameworks.
Sanmitra Sarkar, Senior Director & Global Head of Generative AI, Capgemini, discussed the shift from traditional AI to Generative and Agentic AI, shaping future business transformation.
Sameer Sagar Mishra, Head of AI Projects, Tata Steel, showcased how over 550 AI models are deployed across Tata Steel’s value chain to optimize manufacturing operations, blast furnace monitoring and energy management.
Kshitiz Aggarwal, Asia Leader – Data & AI, Microsoft, emphasized the democratization of AI expertise while reinforcing the need for accountability, explainability and transparency in AI-driven decision-making.
Panel 2: AI for Business – Transformation
Moderated by Rahul Ratnam, PGDM-GM Student, XLRI, the second panel focused on AI’s role in business transformation and strategic leadership.
Sankarsan Mukherjee, Director, PwC India, highlighted that AI adoption must be use-case-driven, leveraging agile, cloud-based ecosystems for effective implementation.
Anne Grace, Director, Verizon, emphasized that AI should solve the right problems, aligning AI-driven solutions with business goals and user needs.
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Amar Kumar, Principal Data & Applied Scientist, Microsoft India, promoted a “learn and conquer” mindset, encouraging leaders to focus on continuous learning rather than just technological advancements.
Amit Sachan, VP, Jio, illustrated how AI-powered personalization is enhancing user engagement, citing Jio-Hotstar’s AI-driven content recommendations as an example.
Ramakanta Panigrahy, Practice Director & Head of Automation, Atos, discussed how businesses can use AI-driven automation to align with broader business objectives.
Rohit Punnoose, Senior Director, Data Sciences, Target India, explained how AI-driven pricing strategies in retail are enhancing customer value while improving profit margins.
XLRI’s Commitment to AI & Responsible Leadership
The Manakriti – AI Conclave 2025 reinforced XLRI’s commitment to fostering meaningful discussions on AI’s role in business, leadership and ethics.
The event highlighted the importance of strategic AI adoption, ethical considerations and continuous upskilling for professionals navigating an AI-driven world.
The conclave concluded with a vote of thanks by the AI Nexus Club, acknowledging the XLRI faculty, industry speakers and student organizers for their contributions.
