~
Third edition examines how businesses can build resilience through innovation,
technology, talent and stronger partnerships ~
Mumbai : Godrej Industries Group (GIG) hosted the third edition
of the National Chemistry Day Summit. Building on the success and
momentum of the previous two editions, this joint initiative by GIG companies,
Godrej Industries (Chemicals) and Astec LifeSciences, brought together leaders
from across the chemical industry under the theme “Staying Resilient in a
New Age World,” to examine how businesses can adapt, innovate and build for
the future.
The Indian chemical
industry finds itself in a period of major transformation, with changing market
dynamics, evolving supply chains, technological disruptions and a shifting
sustainability landscape reshaping the way businesses operate. Against this backdrop,
the summit explored how organisations can move beyond responding to change to
anticipating it, strengthening their capabilities and creating long term value.
Reflecting on the summit Vishal
Sharma, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, Godrej Industries
(Chemicals) and Chairperson, Astec LifeSciences, said: "Resilience
today is no longer just about managing disruption; it is about anticipating and
being prepared for what comes next. As our industry navigates geopolitical
uncertainty, evolving customer needs, and a rapidly changing environment,
agility will define the winners. But no company can build that future alone. In
the chemical industry, each of us is simultaneously a competitor, a supplier,
and a customer. If we want to take this industry forward in the right direction
for India, we must move beyond operating only as individual companies and work
together as the Chemical industry. That is the spirit behind National Chemistry
Day and our commitment to building it as a permanent platform for
collaboration. Together, we can create an industry that is more innovative,
more agile, more sustainable, and most importantly, future ready and resilient.”
The first panel, “Resilience
Beyond the Enterprise: Building a Future-Ready Chemical Industry,” was
moderated by Vishal Sharma, and brought together Murali Krishna
Duvvuri, Senior Managing Director, Life Sciences, Asia and Region India, Croda;
Alexander Gerding, Managing Director, BASF India; and Bankim Patra,
Country Head (Lubes), Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
The discussion highlighted
the need for a more integrated approach to strengthening India’s chemical
ecosystem, with greater collaboration across the value chain, stronger
technology and R&D partnerships, enabling infrastructure and policies, and
faster project execution emerging as key priorities for future growth. These
priorities underscore the importance of building a stronger ecosystem that can
support investment, innovation and scale.
The second panel, “Resilience
for the Enterprise: Driving Growth, Competitiveness, and Agility in a Changing
Market,” was moderated by Sandeep Arora, Chief Commercial Officer, Godrej
Industries (Chemicals) and brought together Raj Tiwari, CEO, SUPERFORM
and Whole-time Director, UPL Limited; Ajith Kumar, Chief Operating
Officer, Birla Opus; and Vimal Bhola, Co-founder and Chief R&D
Scientist, Innovist, formerly Onesto Labs.
The conversation brought
out the importance of building organisational strength through people, a strong
product proposition, customer understanding and a culture that enables
innovation, with the discussion highlighting talent development, long term business
design, customer centricity, faster innovation and the balance between short
term execution and long-term R&D as important considerations for businesses
seeking to remain agile and responsive to change.
The summit also featured
two focused sessions examining emerging priorities for the chemical industry.
“Preparing for the Next Decade: AI in the Chemical Industry” featured a keynote
by Sambit
Patra, Senior Partner, Chemicals Practice, Bain & Company,
while a fireside chat around “The Talent Imperative: Attracting, Developing,
and Retaining Talent in a Rapidly Evolving Chemical Industry” featured Shefali
Kohli, CHRO, Global Chemicals, Fashion Yarn and Insulators, Aditya Birla Group
and Poonam Burman, Chief Human Resource Officer, Godrej Industries
(Chemicals).
The event highlighted the
industry's shift toward green chemistry, the transformative power of AI, and
the urgent need to attract new talent to the sector.