Wharton India Economic Forum
Encyclopedia
The Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF), established in 1996 at The Wharton School, is a student-run business forum in the United States
focused on India
. WIEF is one of the largest and most prestigious India-based economic and business conferences in the world. It is attended by over 800 people annually and receives extensive media coverage in India and the wider business by leading publications, such as The Wall Street Journal
, Forbes
, The New York Times
, The Economic Times
and The Times of India
.
WIEF's mission is to engage the world's attention on India's enormous potential and the limitless possibilities the country offers. India's evolution as both an emerging economic power and as an increasingly important contributor to the global community has helped the conference broaden its perspectives.
Since the first forum, WIEF has stimulated energetic dialogue between current and future leaders from various walks of economic, social and political life. The forum has successfully served as a platform for not only promoting dialogue between industry leaders and policy makers, but has also served as a conduit for businesses to leverage the connections with industry professionals
A Glimpse of the Speakers
Industry
Finance
Media & Entertainment
Sports
Other
"The event featured an un-paralleled galaxy of Indian business luminaries and policy makers who
joined faculty, students and staff from Wharton and other leading US business schools in examining issues central to its theme of realizing the Indian Dream."
Bloomberg
"India's central bank has "more room" to cut interest rates further to combat economic slowdown and a global recession, according to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the nation's Planning Commission. "Fortunately, we have more room for further relaxation unlike some of the industrialized countries where the scope for monetary easing has been pretty much exhausted," Ahluwalia said yesterday via video link from New Delhi to a conference in Philadelphia sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton business School."
The Australian
"Chiefs spruik India's home turf: The conference, staged by University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, is the biggest of its type in the US and drew an elite group of Indian business speakers..."
Economic Times
"The forum is expected to serve as the platform for Indian leaders to envisage the next phase of India's journey to success while being mindful of potential roadblocks."
Economic Times
"India Shining at the Wharton Campus: India is getting unprecedented attention, albeit mixed with a healthy dose of apprehension about the risks and appreciation of the magnitude of the opportunities, from the world as it gets increasingly recognized as a global economic power..."
CNBC Online
"India is definitely the flavor of the season among students at Wharton. Uppermost on everyone's minds was Warburg Pincus
which turned a USD300 Million investment in Bharati Televentures into a USD 1.5 Billion return."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
focused on India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. WIEF is one of the largest and most prestigious India-based economic and business conferences in the world. It is attended by over 800 people annually and receives extensive media coverage in India and the wider business by leading publications, such as The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Economic Times
The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
and The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
.
WIEF's mission is to engage the world's attention on India's enormous potential and the limitless possibilities the country offers. India's evolution as both an emerging economic power and as an increasingly important contributor to the global community has helped the conference broaden its perspectives.
Since the first forum, WIEF has stimulated energetic dialogue between current and future leaders from various walks of economic, social and political life. The forum has successfully served as a platform for not only promoting dialogue between industry leaders and policy makers, but has also served as a conduit for businesses to leverage the connections with industry professionals
The 16th Wharton India Economic Forum (January 9, 2012 | Mumbai, India)
The 16th annual Wharton India Economic Forum will be held on January 9, 2012 in Mumbai, India. To celebrate 20 years of liberalization of the Indian economy and underline Wharton's commitment to the Indian business community, WIEF will be held in India for the first time. WIEF will bring together leaders from around the world to highlight India's key strengths - from arts and culture to innovation and business, while opening up for debate the issues India must overcome to continue its upward trajectory and remain competitive in today's global market. Please check the website for updates.A Glimpse of the Speakers
- K.V. Kamath, Chairman, Infosys Limited
- Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Enterprises Limited
- Keki Mistry, Vice Chairman and CEO, HDFC Limited
- Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder and MD, Hiranandani Group
- Manish Kejriwal, ex-India Head, Temasek Holdings
Distinguished Speakers at Past Conferences
Government & Policy- Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, 11th President of India
- P. ChidambaramP. ChidambaramP. Chidambaram or Chidambaram Palaniappan, sometimes written Palaniappan Chidambaram is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India from May 2004 to November 2008...
, Home Affairs Minister and former Finance Minister of India - Henry PaulsonHenry PaulsonHenry Merritt "Hank" Paulson, Jr. is an American banker who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury. He previously served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs.-Early life and family:...
, 74th United States Treasury Secretary and former CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs - Dr. Montek Singh AhluwaliaMontek Singh AhluwaliaMontek Singh Ahluwalia is an Indian economist and civil servant. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of the Republic of India. He was previously the first Director of the Independent Evaluation Office at the International Monetary Fund.-Early life and education:Montek...
, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India - Shashi TharoorShashi TharoorShashi Tharoor is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala...
, Member of Indian Parliament and former Under Secretary General of the United Nations - Praful PatelPraful PatelPraful Manoharbhai Patel is a Member of Parliament of the Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Bhandara-Gondia parliamentary constituency and is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party...
, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India - Sachin PilotSachin PilotSachin Pilot is an Indian member of Parliament. He represents the Ajmer constituency of Rajasthan and is a member of the Indian National Congress. He is presently the Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.- Early life :Sachin Pilot was born in Saharanpur,...
, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India - Naveen JindalNaveen JindalNaveen Jindal is an Indian politician and Member of Parliament from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency in the northern Indian state of Haryana. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Jindal Steel and Power Limited, which is part of the $15 billion diversified O.P...
, Member of Indian Parliament - Kalpana Kochhar, Country Head India, International Monetary Fund
Industry
- Anil AmbaniAnil AmbaniAnil Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian-Gujarati business baron and chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of the largest private conglomerates. Anil's elder brother, Mukesh Ambani, is worth more than 29 billion dollars, and owns another company called Reliance Industries...
, Chairman, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group - Mukesh AmbaniMukesh AmbaniMukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian business magnate. He is the chairman and managing director of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, the largest private sector enterprise in India listed in Fortune 500 magazine. His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%...
, Chairman and MD, Reliance Industries - Sunil MittalSunil MittalSunil Bharti Mittal , Punjabi: ਸੁਨੀਲ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਮਿੱਤਲ, born 23 October 1957) is an Indian telecom mogul, philanthropist and the founder, chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises...
, Founder, Chairman and Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises - N. R. Narayana MurthyN. R. Narayana MurthyNagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy , better known as N. R. Narayana Murthy, is an Indian industrialist and software engineer. He and six other engineers founded Infosys in 1981. Mr. Murthy served as CEO from 1981 to 2002. From 2002 to 2011, he served as Chairman...
, Non-Executive Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys - Nandan NilekaniNandan NilekaniNandan Nilekani born is an Indian entrepreneur. He currently serves as the Chairman of the new Unique Identification Authority of India , after a successful career at Infosys Technologies Ltd...
, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India and former CEO, Infosys - Rahul BajajRahul BajajRahul Bajaj is an Indian businessman, politician and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Indian conglomerate Bajaj Group and member of parliament. Bajaj comes from the business house started by a Rajasthani Marwadi businessman Jamnalal Bajaj. The US$ 1.32 Billion Bajaj Auto is his flagship company...
, Chairman, Bajaj Group - Adi GodrejAdi GodrejAdi Godrej is an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. , he is one of the richest Indians with net worth of US$7.3 billion. He is 130 on Forbes List of Billionaires. Also He is the second richest person of Parsi descent in the world after Pallonji Mistry.-Career:Godrej received his...
, Chairman, Godrej Group - Kiran Mazumdar-ShawKiran Mazumdar-ShawKiran Mazumdar-Shaw' is an Indian entrepreneur. She is the Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Limited a biotechnology company based in Bangalore , India.- Profile :Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw was born on March 23, 1953 in Bangalore, India...
, Chairman & Managing Director, Biocon Limited
Finance
- Jim RogersJim RogersJames Beeland Rogers, Jr. is an American investor, author, and occasional financial commentator. He is currently based in Singapore. Rogers is the Chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, Inc...
, Financial Investor and Author - Chanda KochharChanda KochharChanda Kochhar is currently the Managing Director of ICICI Bank and Chief Executive Officer . ICICI Bank is India's largest private bank and overall second largest bank in the country. She also heads the Corporate Centre of ICICI Bank.-Early life:Chanda Kochhar was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan and...
, CEO & MD, ICICI Bank Limited - Goerge Soros, Chairman, Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Institute
- Vikram AkulaVikram AkulaVikram Akula is the founder and former chairperson of SKS Microfinance, an organization that offers microloans and insurance to poor women in impoverished areas of India. He stepped down as the SKS chief in November 2011.-Early life:...
, CEO and Founder, SKS Microfinance
Media & Entertainment
- Abhishek BachchanAbhishek BachchanAbhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
, Actor, Bollywood - Anil KapoorAnil KapoorAnil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....
, Actor, Bollywood - Vidya BalanVidya BalanVidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....
, Actress, Bollywood - Karan JoharKaran JoharKaran Johar is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and Television host. He is the son of Hiroo Johar and Yash Johar. He is one of the most successful filmmakers in Bollywood. He is most known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest grossing films in India and the...
, Indian Film Director, Producer, and TV celebrity - Rakeysh Omprakash MehraRakeysh Omprakash MehraRakeysh Omprakash Mehra is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Rang De Basanti , for which he won Best Director awards at the 2006 Filmfare Awards and National Film Awards and received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film...
, Indian Filmmaker and Screenwriter - Rohan SippyRohan SippyRohan Sippy is an Indian film director and producer who has directed three films: Kuch Naa Kaho , Bluffmaster! and Dum Maaro Dum . He is the son of Ramesh Sippy, the director of the Hindi blockbuster film Sholay, and grandson of producer G. P. Sippy...
, Indian Film Director - Shankar MahadevanShankar MahadevanShankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...
, Indian Music Composer and Singer - Subhash ChandraSubhash ChandraSubhash Chandra is a onetime rice exporter-turned media baron and Chairman of Essel Group, that launched India's satellite television revolution. The Zee chairman dropped out after standard 12. His pioneering channel Zee TV competes with, among others, Sony Entertainment Television and STAR Plus...
, Chairman, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL)
Sports
- Sunil GavaskarSunil GavaskarSunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
, former Indian Cricketer - Vijay AmritrajVijay AmritrajVijay Amritraj is a former Indian tennis player, sports commentator and actor.Amritraj was born in Chennai, India to Maggie Dhairyam and Robert Amritraj. He and his brothers, Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, were among the first Indians to play in top-flight international tour tennis...
, former Indian Tennis Player and Sports Commentator - Geet SethiGeet SethiGeet Siriram Sethi of India is a professional player of English billiards who dominated the sport throughout much of the 1990s, and a notable amateur snooker player. He is a six-time winner of the professional-level and a three-time winner of the amateur World Championships, and holder of two...
, Professional Billiards Player
Other
- Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Company
Testimonials
Business WireBusiness Wire
Business Wire is a company that disseminates full-text news releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases and other audiences. The company distributes news via its own patented...
"The event featured an un-paralleled galaxy of Indian business luminaries and policy makers who
joined faculty, students and staff from Wharton and other leading US business schools in examining issues central to its theme of realizing the Indian Dream."
Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
"India's central bank has "more room" to cut interest rates further to combat economic slowdown and a global recession, according to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the nation's Planning Commission. "Fortunately, we have more room for further relaxation unlike some of the industrialized countries where the scope for monetary easing has been pretty much exhausted," Ahluwalia said yesterday via video link from New Delhi to a conference in Philadelphia sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton business School."
The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
"Chiefs spruik India's home turf: The conference, staged by University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, is the biggest of its type in the US and drew an elite group of Indian business speakers..."
Economic Times
The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
"The forum is expected to serve as the platform for Indian leaders to envisage the next phase of India's journey to success while being mindful of potential roadblocks."
Economic Times
The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
"India Shining at the Wharton Campus: India is getting unprecedented attention, albeit mixed with a healthy dose of apprehension about the risks and appreciation of the magnitude of the opportunities, from the world as it gets increasingly recognized as a global economic power..."
CNBC Online
"India is definitely the flavor of the season among students at Wharton. Uppermost on everyone's minds was Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus, LLC is an American private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil and Asia. It has been a private equity investor since 1966...
which turned a USD300 Million investment in Bharati Televentures into a USD 1.5 Billion return."
Present and Past WIEF Chairs
- 2012 : Shuchi Pandya · Parth Shah · Shamik Shah · Tahem Veer Verma
- 2011 : Tushar Aggarwal · Rohit Chauhan · Aditya Dada · Saksham Karwal · Derek Kightlinger
- 2010 : Rahul Jetley · Vikramjit Singh · Sathyanarayan Anand · Nina Chandra · Jay Raghavan
- 2009 : Arjun Madan · Anshul Mittal · Arjun Ghose
- 2008 : Abhishek Gupta · Karishma Mehta · Vivek Garg · Akshay Madhavan
- 2006 : Sameera Chilakapati · Piyush Jain · Ashish Khemka · Raj Pandey
- 2005 : Amit Soni · Hari Prakash · Abhishek Chauhan · Kanush Chaudhury
- 2004 : Vijay Shreedhar · Samarth Singh · Kunal Bahl
- 2003 : Nikhil Sawhney · Niraj Shah · Aditya Talwar
- 2002 : Kiran Hebbar · Rushabh Kapashi · Anirudh Patni
- 2001 : Sarin Suvarna · Venkatesh Saha
- 2000 : Ashesh Badani · Saahil Mahajan
- 1999 : Sujith Banerjee · Ankur Daga
- 1998 : Manju Chandrasekhar · Shannon Shah
- 1997 : Khawar Mann · Prashant Mehtah