SWIM
 SWIM: SUCCESSFUL WOMEN IN MANAGEMENTIs an inspiring initiative by Great Lakes Institute of Management which will showcase Successful Women from various walks of life. Powerful and courageous women will enlighten students to become aspiring business leaders and they epitomize the fact that the true woman of substance was here to stay.SWIM initiative was inaugurated in 1995 by Ms. Mallika Srinivasan and she has been actively associated with it ever since. We also had with us, Padma Shri Dr. Nalli Kuppuswamy Chetty who along with his family has been a staunch pillar of support to the Great Lakes Family since its beginning. The introduction and inauguration of the magazine SWIM came into being in 2007. |
Theme: "Women redefining the Management Quotient" |
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| This is the 5th annual conference and the theme for this year was “Women redefining the Management Quotient”. This was organized at Great Lakes Campus and an esteemed guest of panelists comprised of Indian women leaders. The successful women in their respective fields enlightened students on leadership, multitasking, the need for thinking out of the box and much more.. One of the key note was - More women in leadership bring more ethic in business as the ability of tolerance for women to compromise is far less than men. The esteemed panelist comprised of: Dr. Lalita Balakrishnan Director MBA programme and Vice Principal for MOP Vaishnav College for Women Dr Kiranmai Pendyala, Head HR AMD and former Associate Business Director of center of leadership and excellence at ISB Miss Geeta Arora Head HR in British Counsel-India Miss Shweta Jayshankar Successful entrepreneur and Model, former Femina Miss India International ’98 and runners up at Miss International pageant at Tokyo |
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| Miss Sandhya Shekhar Chief Executive Officer at IIT Madras Research Park. |
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| Dr. Lalita Balakrishnan was the moderator of the panel discussion and cited out objectives on changes in the way of leadership and management practiced earlier. She invited all other guest speakers to present their opinion on the topic. Then Dr. Kiranmayi shared a small incidents, puzzles and stories which indicated her ideas and beliefs. She talked about the need for thinking out of box, to look beyond the paradigm and to start expanding our horizons. She also said that there is a need to refrain ourselves from the measurement and figures of contribution. It is about contributing and not about worrying what difference will it make in overall. Miss Geeta Arora presented her thoughts via a presentation. Starting with appreciating the number of women in our B-School and then cited some statistics suggesting the recent growth of women in various segments of professional workforce. However, she also mentioned that if we take an organization as a pyramid, the number of women in the bottom part is high enough; 20% of these women executives reach the middle part and at the top, one will find only 2-3% of women leaders. She also talked about the fact that now no leverage is given in the organization due to gender. She believed that men and women have complimentary styles of leadership and both are needed in an organizational set up. She stressed that today’s companies are creating environments which provide opportunities for different thought processes and fitting in the complimentary styles of working. |
 Ms. Tanya Dubash with Dr.Bala |
| Miss Shweta Jayshankar expressed her nostalgia about B-school life. She talked about the generalizations made about women in various fields and the fact that the women need to contend with all these generalizations. She summed up by stating two main points: Firstly, “We should work as women to our advantage. Responsibility, multitasking and are some natural assets in women ethics come naturally to women. Women should leverage their strength and are very competitive with each other sometimes, so we should work on to it.” Secondly “We do multitask and we need to do that. Don’t lose sight of that. Maintain a work life balance.” Last but not the least, Miss Sandhya Shekhar presented her views stating very clearly and firmly her belief that men and women are not equal and are not meant to be equal as they both have their own strengths and shortcomings. She said “It is more about equivalence of men and women than equality”. With this ended the first half of the SWIM and floor was opened for questions and discussion between students and the speakers. The second half of the conference began with a key note address by Uncle Bala, Founder and Dean Great Lakes Institute of Management who talked about the ultimate leader being our own mother. He also shared some strengths and learning from his mother stating her as a true leader and expressing gratitude towards her. |
 Ms. Shivasankar with Dr.Bala |
| Miss Tanya Dubash, Executive Director and President Marketing Godrej Group spoke about the recent trends citing statistics from various referrals indicating the strong emergence of women in almost all the fields. She also talked about how a good team is made. In her opinion a good team is not just made if the best talent is put together. Rather, diversity is needed to make a good team. She also spoke about the dual role of women saying that Indian women according to statistics are the most ambitious in the world. Thereafter Miss Srimati ShivaShankar and Miss Rama Sivaraman shared their views on the theme followed by a discussion round between students and the guests. This marked the successful end of a mega event. |
 Ms. Sivaraman with Dr.Bala |
Theme: "Women as Transformational Leaders - Academics, Business and Society" |
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The guests who graced the occasion were:
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| The esteemed guest speakers shared their views on the role of woman and she being a transformational leader. |
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| Ms. Sheela Rani shared her administrative experiences through her stint as an IAS officer. She has been a transformational leader truly, in reviving the lives of women working in quarry in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu and showing them a way to earn. She has stressed on women to live independently and take decisions for a brighter and happier future. SWIM awarded Ms. Sheela Rani for her tremendous achievement and contribution to the society in her own sphere. |
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| Ms. Jaya Vaidhyanathan is a corporate woman who has been in investment banking from the early days of her career. She emphasized on how she has able to scale heights despite her career demands and the fast paced life and how a woman needs to network to keep herself moving in the career and maintain relations. |
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| Mr. Kannan P Srinivasan, shared experiences of his colleague who has transformed his business and was emphasizing on why identifying the talent in a woman and respecting and trusting them is important for a work to be done. He was appreciating the progress of woman from earlier times. |
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| Vinita Bali talked on the various aspects of leadership, why we need to introspect and act, what the qualities of successful leaders are and mainly about the keeping the value system intact. It was a spellbound talk leaving many thoughts and questions to ponder. SWIM awarded Ms. Vinita Bali for her tremendous achievement and contribution to the society in her own sphere. |  |
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Photogallery of SWIM 2009Click on the image to enlarge
Highlights of SWIM 2009
ThemeUmbrella Theme
Dignitaries at SWIM |
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Theme: "Women as Trailblazers: Dreaming, Exploring and Discovering new horizons" |
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| Following the success of SWIM in 2007, Great Lakes has selected this year's topic namely 'Women as Trailblazers: Dreaming, Exploring and Discovering new horizons'. The day-long event was organized at Hotel Green Park, presided by Ms. Anu Aga, former chairperson of Thermax. Padmasri Sudha Raghunathan - Noted Carnatic Vocalist, Ms. Mridula Ramesh of Sundaram Textiles and Ms. Hemu Ramaiah Founder of Landmark. The distinguished guests discussed at length about the success women have achieved in the field of management. Ms. Anu Aga in her opening speech said that it was important to balance professional responsibilities and personal life and emphasized on Vipasana - The art of living. Ms. Sudha Raghunathan talked about her journey to becoming a maestro in classical music. She discussed the challenges faced during her journey, and how she won over them. |
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| Ms. Hemu Ramaiah opined that it is important to think out of the box to reach "the other side" and achieve success. She elaborated on the lessons learnt in running an entrepreneurial venture. According to her, entrepreneurs must plan when to start and exit a business plan. Ms. Mridula Ramesh talked about four success enablers for women, namely role models, proving early competence in a language known by competitors, courage, and family support. There was also a panel discussion on – 'Educated, Intelligent, Energetic and Just in her forties – can she still pursue her career dreams?' This was moderated by Mr. T. N. Seshan, Former CEC of India. |
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The Panel included:
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Mr. Seshan introduced the theme, and enraptured the audience with his characteristic witty remarks throughout the discussion. Ms. Indra Subramanyam stated that desire is what takes women towards their goals. She also said that for a country to prosper, men and women must work together without compromising on domestic life. Ms. Pushpa Kandaswamy said that relations were more important than numbers. She vehemently supported the theme and emphasized that women are adaptable, efficient and capable of multi tasking. According to Ms. Sarda, determination and grit are important and even if one were to take a break in professional life, one can still get back as and when one feels like, and make the best out of it. Ms. Lalitha, a visiting faculty at Great Lakes, addressed the women in the audience and advised them to define success for themselves, and not neglect their own selves. She said every decision taken will have its own consequences, it is important to make a choice and live by it. |
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| This was followed by an open house session where the audience, comprising of the distinguished guests, students and faculty, posed a variety of questions related to women's lives and their career orientation. Founder and Honorary Dean of Great Lakes, Dr. Bala V. Balachandran and Executive Director of PGPM Great Lakes Prof. S. Sriram were also present on the occasion. Dr. Bala V. Balachandran in his address spoke about the need for women to pursue their dreams in spite of obstacles on their path. Towards the end there was a Quiz Competition organized: "Les Quizerables" - A competition between various Corporates and colleges. There was a total prize money of Rs. 35,000. Mr. Vinod Ganesh conducted this quiz competition and many others such as the annual 'QFI Open Quiz' for the last four years and the 'Infosys Corporate Quiz' in 2006. He is a passionate quizzer and has won multitudes of quizzes all over the country. He has been a regular finalist at the Landmark Quiz and the Odyssey Quiz. He has won Lone Wolf quizzes at IIT Madras' Saarang, REC Trichy's Festember and won the annual Grandmaster quiz at the Quiz Foundation of India, Chennai. |
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Theme: "The New Age Woman: Redefining Power, Success and Compassion" |
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