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Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon, held its Convocation for the Class of 2020 in Online Mode, on 31^st July, 2021, from the Gurgaon Campus. The ceremony graced by Chief Guest, Mr. Sanjay Behl, CEO & Co-Founder, Nextqore Inc., and former CEO, Raymond.

The graduating class of 2020 was elated to receive their convocation address from Mr Behl, an industry veteran who has held numerous positions at major brands including Hindustan Unilever, Nokia, Reliance and Raymond for 27 years before beginning his entrepreneurship journey 1 year ago. Mr Behl has built many businesses and brands multiple times over. He has a proven track record of delivering disruptively profitable and sustainable high growth across industries.

Delivering the convocation address, Mr. Behl talked about how the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the industrial, geo-political, social and economical scenario worldwide. Though it has been one of the biggest crisis in the past century, the pandemic has opened numerous avenues to transform the way businesses are conducted. He also described how it's presented with an opportunity to shun age old practices and innovate, leveraging techology and ingeunity, to thrive and grown in the post-COVID world. His 'New Narrative of Leadership' was the perfect motivation for the newly bestowed graduates.

Congratulating the graduating batch through a message conveyed by Prof. S.K. Palhan on his behalf, Padmashri awardee Dr Bala V Balachandran, Founder, Dean Emeritus and Chairman, Great Lakes Institute of Management, advised them to not be afraid of taking the toughest job. "Not only do you need to surivive, but you also need to thrive," was Uncle Bala's opening message to his dear graduating Nephews and Nieces. Dr. Bala compared the pride of seeing the students graduate to the joy of a father leaving his hands off his child's bicycle as they learn to ride; at the same time he also spoke about the challenges that lie ahead for them, the responsibilities they will have to shoulder and the importance of their decisions. As he bid farewell to the graduates, he made an appeal - "Wherever you go, and in whatever you do, always be humble and kind. Never forget the people who lent you a helping hand so that you could pull yourself up."

Dr. Debashis Sanyal, Director, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon, listed the highlights of the institute’s developments in the Director's Report. Ranking 12^th , among management programs in the country, International Immersion at the reputed IÉSEG School of Management, Paris, and numerous Research Publications by the faculty were some of the key milestones achieved by the institute. Concluding his report, Dr. Sanyal urged the students to keep learning and growing, remembering and giving back to parents, the institute and teachers, and to the society, for the success they achieve in life.

Mr. Mohan Lakhamraju, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Great Lakes Institute of Management, began his address by thanking the Chief Guest, Mr. Sanjay Behl for sharing his message with the graduates, and by commending the faculty and staff for the execution of the Convocation ceremony. His message to the graduates was, "Part of graduating, and part of growing up, means taking responsibility. The best and the most empowered way of living your life is to own the responsibility for yourself. You have the power, the opportunity, and the responsibility to shape your destiny."

As a part of the convocation ceremony, a number of academic honors were handed to the meritorious students. From the PGPM batch, gold medals were awarded to Anupama Joy for Academic Excellence and to Shivkumar Agarwal for being the Dr. Bala V Balachandran Best Outgoing Student. From PGDM, gold medals were awarded to Adithya S for Academic Excellence, and Jay Jain for being the Dr. Bala V Balachandran Best Outgoing Student.

CLICK HERE to watch the Convocation Ceremony for the Class of 2020.