C-Change 2013: The countdown begins

BANGALORE, INDIA: As the countdown begins for the tenth edition of CIOL's Annual India CIO Forum, C-Change 2013, to be held from February 21-23, 2013 at The Golden Palms Hotel & Spa in Bangalore, let us delve a little upon what went by the year before.

Three standing ovations, over 80 IT honchos, about half a dozen eminent speakers/personalities, back-to-back power packed sessions, panel discussions, peer-to-peer interactions, and fun-filled evenings on the banks of backwater along with a publication house which has seen the who's who and what of what of Indian IT/technology industry for over two decades - that was what the three days of C-Change 2012 were all about, if it was to be put into words.

Held last year at the Raviz Kollam in Kerala from 23-25 February, 2012, the ninth edition saw personalities from different walks of life taking to the stage and sharing their experience to the new age CIOs, who, as R "Ray" Wang, CEO, Constellation Research Group, rightly pointed out, are not just information officers but also innovation, intelligence, infrastructure and integration officers'.

Every speaker, though not necessarily from the IT background, succeeded in making an emotional connect with the audience in their own ways. While, someone used the yogic route with a pint of technology, others did it by relating personal experiences or by sharing the success mantra they imbibed in their chosen career path.

As the curtain rose on the first day and everybody was awaiting the sessions to kickstart, little did the attendees knew then that the very presence of the first speaker of the day, Isha Foundation founder Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev, was in itself a miracle as he had braved a near air collision before reaching the venue.

Human body, according to him, is the best gadget one possesses because it is from here that every (electronic) gadget comes out from. He called for the attendees to explore the full potential of their body by understanding the inner self.

No one but D R Karthikeyan, former director, C B I, director general, National Human Rights Commission, (India), special director general, CRPF, who cracked Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, could have been more appropriate to drive home the message that one can indeed succeed despite odds and pressures.

And no one but, N Santosh Hegde, former Justice, Supreme Court of India, former Solicitor General, India, former Lokayukta, Karnataka, could have called for heart-felt appreciation from attendees when he pointed out the need for ethics in corporate life. All the three speakers received standing ovation, the first ever in C-Change's history.

Evenings were all about setting aside the day's hard work and letting down one's hair. People whom we associate with serious boardroom meetings, deadlines, targets, and as technology hardcores and boring techies could be seen singing, dancing and enjoying only to be back the next day with an added vigour to take along the best out of the whole conference.

That was about the ninth edition. This year we are going to take it forward from where we left last year and assure that it is going to be no less.

Some of India's leading personalities, ranging from spiritual leader to brand specialists to scientists and to professors, who are known as Change Agents, will grace the conference. We are also proud to bring three Padma awardees under the same roof, Rahul Dravid and B N Suresh (PadmaVibhushan) and Roddam Narasimha (Padma Bhushan).

While Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will give his insight on 'Art of bringing change', do not forget to lend ears to what 'The wall of Indian cricket' Rahul Dravid has to share on Leadership. And brand domain specialist Harish Bijoor shows the 'The Karan Arjun way: Re-incarnating IT Teams/Department'.

Eminent personalities such as Dr. BN Suresh, former director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Founder Director, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Professor M V Rajeev Gowda, Economics & Social Sciences Chairperson, Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, Sashi Kumar, chairman, Asian College of Journalism, Dr Roddam Narasimha, Indian aerospace scientist and fluid dynamicist, Chairman of Engineering Mechanics Unit, JNCASR, Bangalore etc will be also present at the event.

The three-day event will focus on Transformation, Business Alignment, Cross-Functional Integration, Strategic Value Creation, Impactful evolution and Change Management. So, with the time ticking, get prepared to brainstorm on the challenges you face as enterprise CIOs!