MaggieSpeak - Nurturing Responsible Leadership through Ethical Discourse 4th Fr McGrath Memorial Program - Technology Companies and AI Governance An initiative of XLRI and its Alumni

Corporations and Responsible Leadership

Fr. McGrath, the loved and admired Founding member of XLRI Jamshedpur, championed responsible leadership for the greater good among generations of leaders graduating from XLRI. His philosophy left a lasting impression on the students he interacted with and, today, his legacy lives on through the Fr. McGrath Memorial Program. The program hosts an annual event that carries his messages to not only XLRI students but MBA graduates across the board, the upcoming business leaders of today and tomorrow. Known as MaggieSpeak, it has become a platform to underline  responsible leadership, ethics, and the pursuit of the greater good.

MaggieSpeak encourages MBA students across the nation, to apply thought, exchange ideas and generate answers on emerging and current governance challenges.  The event features a debate competition for MBA students across multiple rounds and a Panel discussion bringing industry thought leaders to pool their views. With carefully chosen themes such as ‘Corporations, Media, and Governance – the need for a Better Tomorrow’ and ‘Corporations and Investors can do Great while doing Good’, it leads young minds to delve into pressing issues, echoing Fr. McGrath’s commitment to responsible leadership.

The Birth of MaggieSpeak

In 2021, during the challenging pandemic times, the Fr. McGrath Memorial Program took shape. A bunch of XLRI Alumni reminiscing about XLRI days agreed, Fr McGrath aka Maggie left lasting learning’s across most of us. We all saw relevance even today in Maggie’s values of “Responsible Leadership”and this was the start of institutionalising a program to carry  Maggie’s messages to the upcoming business Leaders of today and tomorrow – the MBA graduates entering the workforce! We started off, amidst Covid, with an online debate, open to students across all MBA schools and got considerable participation. This encouraged us to move to a LIVE mode and the next 2 editions were held at Delhi, broadcast on YouTube live and telecast on CNBC. The format also evolved and from the second edition onwards, a Panel discussion was added, engaging experts from multiple streams sharing their insights on the chosen topic. ‘MaggieSpeak’ became institutionalised and today we are rolling out the 4^th edition !

Gaining Momentum

MaggieSpeak has come a long way since its inception, the 1^st Edition had 36 participating B-schools and winners were IIM Kozhikode, Runners Up S P Jain School of Global Management. The 2^nd Edition saw participation from 64 BSchools and MDI Gurgaon were winners, Runners Up IIM Kozhikode. In the 3^rd Edition,  participation grew to 91 BSchools,with MDI Gurgaon retaining the Winners crown and IIM Kashipur dislodging IIM Kozhikode. The dedicated efforts of the XLRI Student Committee, along with the support of Fr. George, Director of XLRI Jamshedpur, have played a pivotal role in building up momentum and success for MaggieSpeak.

The Journey Continues – 4^th Edition of MaggieSpeak

Now MaggieSpeak is gearing up for its 4th edition, which will be held on November 29, 2023, at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur. The theme for the 4^th edition of MaggieSpeak is ‘Technology Companies and AI Governance’, and the Panel discussion focuses on ‘AI will reshape Society and Industry – How Should Businesses Navigate the Impact of Generative AI Responsibly?’

The theme reflects the contemporary relevance of Generative AI, which is poised to transform businesses and contribute trillions to the global economy annually. While excitement surrounds this transformative technology, the panel discussion will delve into issues associated with it, including risks, misinformation, privacy concerns, job displacements, and more. With the rapid proliferation of generative AI technology, the need for a unified regulatory approach also becomes crucial to mitigate potential harms and ensure responsible development and deployment.

Dynamic Discussions

In the 4^th Edition we have had 70+ BSchools’ participate and in the final rounds, competition is among yes MDI Gurgaon early years winners, and IMT Ghaziabad, XIME Bangalore and XLRI Jamshedpur. All the best to the teams for the finals !!!!!

In the expert Panel discussion on the day of the event, Industry leaders are expected to discuss a spectrum of issues from the impact of generative AI on business operations and economic productivity to the potential risks that can arise in development or deployment of Gen AI solutions and the role that governments and industry bodies could play to ensure responsible adoption of AI at scale, amongst other critical themes. The Expert Panel includes Ankit Bose, NASSCOM Head AI,  Fathima Sait Standard Chartered Executive Director Technology Partnerships, Subhabrata Debnath Co-Founder NueralGarage, Sarayu Natarajan, Founder Aapti Institute.

MaggieSpeak – 4th Fr McGrath Memorial Program promises to continue the stimulating legacy of debate on ethics and leadership for the greater good. Addressing the challenges posed by Generative AI and fostering a meaningful dialogue on the theme, its takeaways will transcend the boundaries of time and technology.

This is a Partnered Post.