In a world grappling with climate uncertainty, food insecurity, and a growing need for sustainable agriculture, few crops offer the promise that sorghum does—and even fewer leaders are championing its global potential like Nate Blum. As the Chief Executive Officer of Sorghum United Foundation, Blum is at the forefront of a movement to revitalize ancient grains for a modern era. With a unique blend of grassroots knowledge, global perspective, and visionary leadership, he’s not just growing a crop—he’s cultivating a global community.

From Nebraska Roots to Global Impact: Nate, thank you for joining To start, can you tell us about the mission of Sorghum United Foundation and your role as CEO?

I always tell people this: when they hear “sorghum,” they assume we’re an agricultural organization. But we’re really a human organization. Our goal is to uplift communities and empower individuals—not only through food and nutrition security and economic sustainability—but also within the agricultural space. It all begins with food sovereignty. We know that sorghum is a win, especially in the face of challenges like climate change and drought. People are suffering.

My role, along with my team, is to identify local partners and communities—universities, governments, the private sector—around the world with whom we can collaborate to create programs that help individuals and communities thrive long after we’re gone. Another part of my role is working with these communities to build market awareness and demand for healthier products made with sorghum and millet, ensuring that products from agricultural communities have markets where they can be sold.

🌍 Why Sorghum? Why Now?: What drew you to sorghum in particular? 

Quite frankly, these are grains we’ve been growing since the beginning of history. It wasn’t until the last 100 years that they were forgotten—what we now call “orphan grains.” People used to eat them regularly, but after World War II, they were displaced by just a handful of dominant grains. And of course, we like those grains too—there’s room on the plate for everyone.

But now, because of our over-reliance on just a few grains that lack nutrient density, we’re seeing the consequences: 66% of diseases today are diet-related. We’re in an era where many people go hungry, while others battle with poor diets and obesity, caused by the limited and unhealthy options we’ve come to depend on. Stunting is also a serious issue—22.7% of children under five in the Global South are affected—and we know these ancient grains can help prevent that.

With the changing climate, especially in the Mediterranean basin, we’re seeing that staple crops like wheat, rice, and maize are failing due to extreme heat and erratic rainfall. And when rain does come, it’s often all at once – destructive and overwhelming.

I became interested in this work because I grew up on a farm in Nebraska, where we grew beans, wheat, and milo. But honestly, I didn’t know much about it back then. When I became Executive Director of Nebraska Grain, I started learning more about all the benefits of these crops. I also became deeply aware of how broken our global food systems are—and how much better we can do.

It’s not just about producing commercial quantities of food—it’s about doing it in a way that retains its nutrient value. That takes conscious thought and intentionality from the corporations making our food. If we’re losing the nutrition piece, we haven’t done any good at all.

We also aim to push beyond the traditional commodity system. We represent systemic change. And systems don’t like to change—so we must be the ones to change them.

🏛 Bridging Past and Future:  Sorghum is often called an “ancient ” How does that history play into its modern potential?

I call these heritage grains—orphan grains, ancient grains, superfoods. But most importantly, they are heritage grains because they are among the first grains ever cultivated by humans.

Recently, I was in India and had the opportunity to meet the chief archaeologist at Lothal—an ancient port city of the Harappan civilization, part of the Mohenjo-Daro territory. He showed me DNA evidence from ancient seeds that proved export was taking place as early as 6000 BC. This marks the first provable example of maritime trade in human history.

And despite all our differences—the cultural, geographic, and societal challenges we face today—there’s something deeply poetic about discovering that one common thread all our ancestors benefited from: food. Finding that connection in food is powerful. If we can use food to bridge the past and the future, that’s a truly beautiful thing.

From a sustainability standpoint, we know that since the Industrial Age, our impact on the climate has been significant. We’ve damaged soil health, worsened dietary issues, and disrupted ecological balance. But if we can address these modern challenges with an ancient solution—one that’s been here all along—then we have a path forward.

🌱 Real Change, Grounded in Community : Can you give us an example of how Sorghum United is making a difference globally?

Generally speaking, we are a global nonprofit, but our work happens at the local level. A lot of nonprofits enter communities and offer solutions to problems they don’t fully understand. It might make for a nice photo, but it can often do more harm than good. When those solutions fail, the communities are left even further behind than where they started.

Working truly at the local level takes more time and intentionality. On a recent trip to Kenya and Tanzania, we visited three different communities. With each one, the process begins the same way: we go in to listen, not to talk. We aim to understand what the real challenges are, how they’ve tried to solve them, and what opportunities exist. Then, we work alongside them to develop tailored solutions that meet their specific needs.

In agriculture, the challenges are broadly similar—like access to markets and seeds—but the reality is that communities are vastly different. For example, in Maranga, they were already growing sorghum but weren’t doing any value addition. They understood the concept with mangos but hadn’t applied it to sorghum yet.

In another rural area of Kenya, the community was already doing value addition with sorghum on their own. They were making sorghum porridge and even a sorghum tea that was ground into a powder and mixed with hot milk—it was actually very good. They sold it by the cupful at the roadside. They already had a solution but needed help with marketing. We worked with them to refine the product, improve the flavors, develop packaging, and get it on grocery store shelves as far as Nairobi.

We also collaborate with the private sector, universities, and government agencies to advocate for systemic support. At the end of the day, our goal is not to hand communities a solution, but to help them build ownership of their own programs—solutions they’re proud of. This independence builds a sense of pride and helps young people access better education through increased economic opportunity, while also reducing crime and human trafficking.

A Vision for the Next Decade: How do you see the role of sorghum evolving in the next decade?

I think that question is best answered by market research and data. People often ask me, “What’s the market value of sorghum and millet?”—but that’s the wrong question. The current market is low because these grains are underutilized. The better question is: What is the value of the traits that sorghum and millet offer?

The average consumer might not know these grains, but they do know they want certain traits—gluten-free, non-GMO, high in fiber, drought-tolerant, and sustainable. Sorghum and millet naturally have these traits. Globally, the value of these traits runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

If you had an investment fund with a 16.5% compounded annual growth rate, wouldn’t you be happy with that return? Of course. Sorghum and millet offer that kind of potential, especially for SME businesses that are already positioned ahead of the curve. There’s an opportunity to build strong brands in this space, both locally and globally. Producing locally is an added value for these businesses, too.

The future is bright. It’s an exciting time to be working in this industry. This is a moment where the private sector can step in, make real profits, and—at the same time—help society reimagine how we approach agriculture. Commodity markets are important, but the system doesn’t always treat farmers fairly. Farmers often pay retail prices for inputs and then are forced to sell their products at wholesale—they can’t even afford to feed themselves.

If we can work alongside agriculturalists to create a mindshift, where at least some of the production includes local value addition, we can completely reimagine how agriculture can be used as a tool for prosperity—for the entire human race.

💬 Leading with Purpose: Leadership is as much about people as it is about How do you inspire and lead your team and partners?

The first thing I always remind my staff is that we don’t have “employees”—we have partners. We want every member of our team to feel like they have a real stake in what they’re doing. That doesn’t mean there’s no accountability—there absolutely is. Accountability applies to everyone. I might be the CEO, but I always joke that all it really means is I sign the checks.

We encourage open, respectful, and robust conversations. We talk through the pros and cons of ideas and actively seek out pushback. My team challenges me, and I challenge them right back. We sit in important rooms—like the newly formed community of food and agriculture—where we’ve met with ministerial heads and other high-level leaders. But when we’re with our team, it’s important to stay human and vulnerable.

We intentionally use humor to break the seriousness. Many leaders shy away from that, but I believe it puts us all on equal footing. While professional roles are respected, we’re all part of the same team, working toward the same goals.

To me, real leadership means leading with humility. It’s about confidence without arrogance—and the willingness to be wrong and embrace a better way when it comes along.

🚀 What’s Next for Sorghum United? What’s next for Sorghum United?

I’m so excited—this past 8-week trip through London, India, Dubai, Kenya, and Tanzania brought so many opportunities our way. We are on the brink of massive growth. We’re already identifying new roles and expanding our impact.

One story that really moved me was meeting a single mother running a curio shop in Tanzania. She has two young daughters, and we got to know them personally. I gave the girls a small gift—a ball and a hundred-dollar bill. Despite not having much, they insisted on giving me gifts in return. That generosity touched me deeply. I soon learned that school fees in Africa are a major burden—it can cost $1,000 per year. The mother also expressed her desire to further her own education.

This inspired us to start the Sorghum United Educational Scholarship Fund. That family is the first to receive support, and we’ve pledged to pay their annual school fees—of course, tied to academic performance and clear metrics. This aligns perfectly with our mission to uplift and empower.

We’re also launching the Sorgho Squad video game on Apple and Google platforms—a new, interactive medium that allows children to learn about sorghum and millet in the classroom and bring the message home to their parents about nutrition. But we also need to build the markets for these grains.

Our growth continues—field-to-market trials are already underway. We’re working closely with local providers to teach sorghum cultivation, provide access to seeds, and develop semi-finished products that help communities build their own businesses. We’re rolling this out across Africa and plan to expand to Brazil soon—and hopefully the U.S. as well.

Just last night, we had a team wrap-up dinner with the entire Africa team. We recently brought on a grant writer from the Red Cross—our ability to attract great talent is growing. As I looked around the table, I thought about how just two and a half years ago we started 2024 bringing on staff—and now, we have people all over the world. We’ve built an incredible team that reflects the hope and power our mission represents.

As a nonprofit, every contribution helps. We’ve launched initiatives ranging from a young college fellowship program to licensing engineering designs so local fabricators can create their own equipment, fix it themselves, and generate jobs.

Whether it’s in agriculture or education, at the end of the day, it’s all about helping people and building a safer, more prosperous global community.

💡 Final Thoughts : One last question, what keeps you motivated?

My team keeps me motivated—and so do the people I meet in the communities we serve. When you’re an entrepreneur, especially in the early stages, it can feel really hard. There are moments when you want to give up. But if you persevere, and if your mission is rooted in purpose, heart, and a good idea, then you begin to realize—you’re not alone.

Just last night, our Africa Director messaged me to thank me for allowing her to be part of our mission and vision. I messaged her back and said, “It is our mission and vision.” That kind of shared purpose is what makes this work so meaningful.

As we face continued challenges—food insecurity, shifting geopolitics, economic disparity—it’s clear we need strong local food systems. Our work goes far beyond agriculture; it touches something deeper. It’s about shifting human behavior, building resilient communities, and creating lasting change.

This isn’t just a job. For us, it’s a calling. It’s humbling to be used in this way, to serve a mission we deeply believe is vital for the future.

From ancient roots to global impact, Nate Blum’s vision for sorghum is planting seeds of change that may well define the future of food.

In the dynamic world of fintech and enterprise solutions, few visionaries have demonstrated the kind of strategic foresight and entrepreneurial tenacity as Dr. Raj Narayanam, Executive Chairman of Zaggle. With an academic foundation rooted in rigorous research and a career spanning innovation-led business leadership, Dr. Narayanam has been instrumental in transforming Zaggle into one of India’s most prominent players in spend management and digital payments. In this exclusive interview, he opens up about his journey from academia to boardrooms, the core principles that drive his leadership, and how Zaggle is shaping the future of financial technology in a fast-evolving digital economy.

1. What inspired you to start Zaggle, and what was the initial vision when you began this journey?

The inspiration came from a clear gap – businesses were relying on manual, outdated methods to manage employee benefits and expenses. We started Zaggle in 2011 to digitize these processes, initially through prepaid cards. The vision was always to simplify business spends, and over time, that evolved into building a full-stack SaaS FinTech platform for smarter spend management.

2. How has your vision for Zaggle evolved since its inception?

We began by digitizing and automating business expense management. As our vision evolved, so did our mission—to become a comprehensive, full-stack spend management solutions provider. Today, we go beyond expense tracking, empowering organizations to make strategic financial decisions while adapting to the ever-changing demands of the industry.

3. Can you walk us through some of the key challenges you faced in the early days and how you overcame them?

Establishing trust in a new category was a significant challenge. Many businesses were still reliant on cash or manual processes. We had to do more than build a robust product—we needed to educate the market. It took patience, persistence, and unwavering belief in our solutions to bridge that early adoption gap.

4. Zaggle operates at the intersection of FinTech, SaaS, and expense management -how do you see this space evolving in the next 5 years?

We’re entering a phase where finance will become increasingly embedded and intelligent. The lines between payments, analytics, compliance, and operations will blur. I believe the future lies in platforms that are deeply integrated, AI-powered, and capable of delivering real-time financial insights for better decision-making.

5. How does Zaggle leverage AI or data analytics to enhance its product offerings?

We use AI and data analytics to power everything: From fraud detection to spending pattern analysis. Our goal is to move businesses from reactive to proactive finance – flagging anomalies, optimizing budgets, and offering actionable insights before issues arise.

6. What differentiates Zaggle from other players in the FinTech space?

At Zaggle, it’s the combination of breadth and depth that sets us apart. We offer a comprehensive suite that covers every aspect of business spending—from petty cash and travel to recurring expenses—while ensuring seamless integration and an intuitive user experience. Our flexibility to tailor solutions across diverse industries further strengthens our value proposition.

7. As a founder and executive chairman, what’s your leadership philosophy?

As a founder and executive chairman, my leadership philosophy is rooted in vision, resilience, and empowerment. I believe in setting a clear direction while giving teams the autonomy to innovate and take ownership. It’s important to lead with purpose, stay grounded in values, and continuously adapt to change. I see challenges as opportunities for growth, and I strive to build a culture where people are inspired to push boundaries and create meaningful impact.

8. How do you cultivate a culture of innovation within your organization?

At Zaggle, cultivating a culture of innovation starts with fostering curiosity and encouraging bold thinking at every level of the organization. We create an environment where ideas are welcomed, experimentation is encouraged, and failures are treated as learning opportunities. By staying close to our customers’ evolving needs and promoting cross-functional collaboration, we ensure our teams remain agile and forward-thinking. As a leader, I actively support initiatives that challenge the status quo and invest in people who are passionate about building the future.

9. What advice do you wish to give to young leaders or budding entrepreneurs entering the FinTech industry?

Focus on solving real problems, stay patient, and build trust—FinTech is a marathon, not a sprint. Surround yourself with the right people, stay close to your customers, and see every challenge as a growth opportunity.

10. Zaggle has grown rapidly – what would you consider the most pivotal decision or milestone in that journey?

Our decision to become a platform rather than a single-product company was pivotal. It allowed us to scale horizontally and cater to diverse customer needs, opening doors to multiple revenue streams and long-term stickiness.

11. Can you talk about a moment when you had to pivot or rethink your strategy? What led to that decision?

There was a time when our focus was primarily on prepaid solutions. However, as customer needs evolved, we recognized the importance of offering broader spend management capabilities. It was our commitment to listening, adapting quickly, and staying agile that made all the difference in our growth journey.

12. What’s next for Zaggle? Are there any new product lines, markets, or innovations on the horizon?

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do. We’re continuously enhancing our AI capabilities, strengthening integrations with ERPs, and expanding into adjacent areas like procurement and working capital solutions. We also see significant potential in developing vertical-specific offerings tailored to industries such as logistics, healthcare, and retail.

13. Do you foresee global expansion, and if so, which regions are of interest?

Yes, absolutely. We’re exploring opportunities in North America to tap into the growing demand for scalable spend management solutions. The region’s mature digital ecosystem and focus on efficiency align perfectly with Zaggle’s capabilities, allowing us to help businesses optimize financial operations and drive smarter decision-making. Our focus will be on adapting our platform to meet local needs while maintaining the flexibility and scalability that has driven our success.

14. What keeps you motivated every day as an entrepreneur?

What keeps me motivated every day is the opportunity to make a real impact. Seeing how our solutions help businesses streamline operations and make smarter decisions drives me. I’m also inspired by the challenges and the constant need to innovate, adapt, and evolve in a fast-paced industry like SaaS FinTech.

15. How do you balance long-term vision with the pressures of short-term execution?

It’s about clear focus and effective communication. The long-term vision serves as our guiding compass, while short-term goals keep us moving forward. I make sure the teams stay aligned on the ‘why,’ even as we tackle the ‘now.

16. Is there a quote or mantra you live by that has helped guide your journey?
 
I live by the mantra, ‘Success is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.’ It reminds me that resilience and continuous learning are key to long-term growth.

 As Dr. Raj Narayanam reflects on the milestones that have shaped Zaggle’s growth, one thing becomes clear: success is not just about technological innovation, but about vision, resilience, and a deep understanding of customer needs. His leadership continues to steer the company toward new horizons, blending agility with long-term strategy. With a sharp focus on value creation and continuous transformation, Dr. Narayanam exemplifies what it means to lead with purpose in an era of disruption. Zaggle’s journey, under his guidance, is not just one of corporate success—it’s a testament to the power of strategic entrepreneurship in redefining the future of finance.

‘Payday’ ,the word that rings a bell to every ear! Work is celebrated the way it is paid . The way you pay, you create an experience to work with you. In a post-Pandemic world, where the work is getting delivered in an entirely new format. ‘Virtual First’ or the ‘3-2-2’ work design reinforced an entirely new pay culture. Absence of face-time ensures productivity at a whole new dimension. Would the system of yesterday still be relevant to run the Payroll for tomorrow? 

New World, New Challenges

The Next-Normal have an entirely set of Employee-experience rules. Work is result oriented, hence the pay.  In this changing world how fast can your payroll adapt? Would it acknowledge the nuances and avoid the human error too?

Gig economy scaled up during the pandemic. How does your system suddenly include billable talent at any level based on the number of hours spent on the delivery of the services?

Each time you associate with any billable talent across geographies, how would your system accommodate that?

The Compliance requirements would have to tally the changes initiated by the authorities. Would your system keep updating every change to calculate the monthly payment? 

True to life situation

Let’s take the situation which a Product company had in March 2020. The sudden announcement of lock-down put their revenue in red, with several cancellation from clients. One of their products  which received cancellation, was ready to be shipped in a week’s time. The team brainstormed and created a Beta-version to pilot with other firms. Interestingly the pilot was successful. The companies they could pivot the product with, signed up for a deferred payment. In a few months the revenue was back in green. 

Now let’s a closer look at how the payment of the salaries might have been managed. For the first few months, part payments were made to the employees. The amounts were regularized once the revenue was back in green. This automatically had tax implications on the amount disbursed. To make sure employees don’t bear the taxes for the deferred payment, the employer regularized it at their end. 

Now imagine a robust payroll system that can seamlessly handle this kind of challenge. Every change that the revenue of the company directly impacts the pay to the employees. Pandemic sped up the process , there can be many more situations that can disrupt the economies. What would you keep in mind when choosing your payroll software to manage frequent changes such as this? 

In a Nutshell

As an employer, you are best trying to create an employee experience. ‘Payday’ will always remain the primal of it. Your employees may not see the entire hard work and fire-fighting that goes in the back-end. But the smooth process for sure will create far higher job satisfaction than any other program that you can run.

Are you managing a business in this Pandemic Era ? As you manage your business what is your focus ? What capabilities are you building? This is beyond the e-learning program and training events that your HR is managing for you. Through your business focus and process what are the capabilities are you developing on an individual basis and or the org level?

We understand efficiency is a focus. How far are you stretching to build Resilience? The processes that you are creating are the habit-building programs that are setting you up for the next business cycles.

Here’s an article where employers are investing on the technology to supervise. Managing scale and standard operating procedures require uniform practices across every large organization. What is your focus as you are measuring your employees? How are you forming the HR Governance for this new Boundary-less organization for the Hybrid workforce? Would you agree to this Tete-a-tet

However, Org owners differ in terms of building capabilities through culture irrespective of the looming culture of ghosting at work!

On a lighter note, just as Employers can implement Bossware to Supervise, employees can install Fake Mouse program to ditch the surveillance ! To each their own we guess !

If you are interested to understand how HR governance is evolving in this Post-Covid World, do follow us as we release more articles and idea sessions on this !

f you have any HR Query or any query on Future of Work, Employee Engagement, Talent management, Women Empowerment, Retention or Business Strategy please write to me in here. Looking forward to learn more while finding solutions for you.

Nabomita is the Founder to Nabomita.com. She is the Top 100 Women Achiever Awardee, awarded by Government of India , TEDx Speaker, Quoted on ForbesUS, one of the Top 20 HR Influencer in Social Media as declared by SHRM India and one among the Top 100 Technology Influencer in India. Connect with her on @nabomita_smiles  Facebook Page

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi!!!

As you all know, Confederation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is an organisation which always aims at handholding and supporting entrepreneurs.

This festival season, let’s take a step ahead and aim to support each and every member of our community.

Businesses of all sizes have been hit hard in this challenging new age of social distancing and self-isolation, but the blow has been catastrophic for small operations that rely on in-person transactions.

We have always received support from you, and now we are writing this personal message to seek your help once more.

We have 55-60% micro, small entrepreneurs from Textile, Fashion, Artists, Artisans, Gifts, and others.

A new survey of CIMSME found that 87 percent of small business owners say they are struggling due to the coronavirus.

In addition to state and central government aid, small businesses need our support right now. Here are 8 ways consumers can help.

1. Buy a Rs. 500/- or 1000/- gift card for a friend — and encourage them to buy for someone else

Purchasing gift cards is a great idea for businesses that you are going to use anyway. “It gives [businesses] like salons, hand made dress, gift and food some cash to support employees and reassures them that they will still have customers.”

If you have the means, think of approaching gift cards like you would a chain letter. Send a Rs. 500/- or Rs. 1000/- gift card to your favourite business to a local friend, and then ask them to do the same for another business.

If every customer purchased a Rs. 500/1000 gift card to give to a friend that didn’t have any prior awareness of the business before, that person who received the gift card is more likely to purchase at least one time, then depending on their experience and satisfaction, become a repeat customer over time. This can create a ripple effect on customer acquisition and retention over time. Confederation will be issuing gift coupon for smeglocal.com to promote micro, small enterprises through it.

1. Order takeout — it’s deemed safe by experts

Ordering takeout is one of the best ways to support restaurants right now, and provided you wash your hands thoroughly before and after eating, there is no added cause for concern over COVID-19 contamination. Partners will be advised to create their advertisement on smeglocal.com for promoting gift card driven takeout.

1. Social media shoutouts are free. Give them generously.

“With more businesses going digital and needing to build traction, ‘liking’, commenting, reposting, tagging us in your purchases and unboxing videos [on social media] really helps with engagement, which, in turn, leads to more visibility and sales,” says Nabomita Mazumdar, National Chairperson, CIMSME. Digital Transformation cluster will be leading this.

Social media plugs are a free way to show your support and the payoff is almost instantaneous.

1. Need soap, sanitizer? Visit a local artisan’s site

Remember: You don’t have to visit a physical store to shop at a local business, says Praveena Thota, National General Secretary, CIMSME. Many small stores have websites that take online orders. Mega-retailers like Amazon are struggling to keep up with demand for important items like soap, sanitizer so check in with local artisans in your area. You have to wash your hands more often anyway, so why not treat yourself to handmade soap?”

1. Shop at niche groceries and sign up for a CSB to support local farms

If you’re finding empty shelves and long lines at big retailers, please think about whether there is a small niche market nearby that you could support instead — especially if it’s a local market that supports local farms,” says Ms. Anju Bajaj, President, CIMSME. Smeglocal.com vendors and nisttha.cimsme.in users will be part of the CSB.

A lot of farms rely significantly on business from restaurants, so getting more orders from the local grocer will help to offset some of the setback. One practical way to give back and support the farms is to sign up for a CSB, or community supported businesses on smeglocal.com. We are offering our customers the opportunity this year to sign up for a CSB which will provide them with local and seasonal food throughout the entire summer and fall and in turn guarantees many small farmers a source of revenue throughout the growing season. It also supports our business as a small grocer in the community.

1. Donate your expertise with a free consultation

Business owners need legal, accounting and insurance help negotiating issues, outstanding debts and granular disputes,” Amit Singal, Vice Chairperson, says. If you are a CEO, CFO or in-house lawyer stuck at home, try calling your favorite local businesses to simply consult with them, help answer pressing questions and alleviate fears.

1. Been meaning to leave a positive review? Now’s the time to do it.

“People have more time to leave positive reviews and personal testimonies on amazon, Google and other online platforms,” Santosh Ganesh. “That can help to direct new clients to [the business].
Love adds that a glowing review also “helps us business owners stay sane by putting a smile on our faces”.

1. Be patient. We’re all adjusting to this new normal.

“The pandemic has disrupted nearly everything for businesses — including supply chains, vendor reliability and employee productivity,” says Mukesh Jagwani, National Joint Secretary. “Much of the business world is scrambling to keep things together and adjust to this new normal. It’s always uplifting and morale boosting when we hear from customers who are empathetic to what we’re going through.”

As Mahatma Gandhi said, let’s be the Change we want to see in the world.

We as a community have To Be The Change.

Let’s rewrite history.

As the GDP, it inspires us to understand our Economic Growth Story. Large corporates and companies that are changing the economy have the best of the leaders and rainmakers who are spearheading this economic growth. To understand how these leaders are impacting this change, BizIntegration successful concluded the India CFO Summit 4th Edition on 22nd February at Radission Blu GRT Chennai. Top CFOs across the nation brainstormed the evolving role of CFOs and solutions to top the challenges faced in their Business.

Over the past few years, the responsibility of the CFO has evolved extensively. CFOs are now expected to build strategic judgments on critical decisions on the outsourcing of back office functions and transformative projects. To deal with this, high-performing Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) have to play a more active role within the organization. They will have the responsibility of strategic personnel planning and continuous forecasting. They have to think beyond the stipulated perception of planning a workforce with respect to headcount budget.

CFOs are known to bring with them their expertise and analysis, and combine external and internal data in a way that helps the business strike the right equilibrium in building, obtaining and deploying talent to support the corporate strategy. This summit addressed all the challenges facing a modern CFO and the opportunities they have to lead their organizations.

The day started with Welcome note by Nabomita Mazumdar , Founder Nabomita.com followed by a keynote by Kannan R Head, Corporate Performance Monitoring & Research, Hinduja Group

Pranay Ramkrishnan,Country Head – Indian Subcontinent, Kyriba delivered a speech on The World’s #1 Cloud Platform for Finance and Treasury . He said, “Most corporate treasury departments know when the time is right to implement a treasury management solution (TMS), and it’s no longer feasible to rely on spreadsheets as their primary treasury tool. After all, experts and analysts agree that a TMS provides significant benefits by improving overall efficiency, timesavings and control. However, the challenge lies in building the case internally to prove the benefits of adopting a TMS, and this often requires hard dollar figures in terms of either savings made or incremental added value achieved.”

Pranay further reflected, “If you need help understanding the specific ROI that a TMS can deliver, you can sign up for a free online business case with us.”

Swapnesh Patel, CEO & Co-founder, Omniscient Software Pvt. Ltd addressed the Automating Working Capital & Liquidity Management, approach taken by CFO’s of Top 40 Indian Corporates.

This was followed by a Panel Discussion on the ‘Evolving Role Of The CFOs’

Moderated by Nabomita Mazumdar, Founder Nabomita.com. The panel hosted R Kannan, Head, Corporate Performance Monitoring & Research, Hinduja Group , Jayaprakash Kalappan, Chief Financial Officer, Panasonic Appliances India Company Limited , Ganesh S, CFO , Parry Sugars Refinery India Private Limited, S Kathir Kamanathan ,Chief Financial Officer ,Lanco Tanjore Power Co. Ltd.

ALD Automotive spruced up with an interesting streak of launching cars including Toyota Yarris .Big wheels and budget-friendly plans to own them got every delegate thinking about their existing Car Leasing Plans at their organizations.

And a Tailorman added the glam quotient with their presence !

Finance Function Transformation – CFO’s Lens in the Digital Era was discussed on the second panel by Giridhar Janardana, Partner, BlueRidge Consulting Services Aparna Gopalakrishnan, Director Finance at Automation Excellence Pvt Ltd , V G Suchindra, CFO, Veritas Finance , Pranay Ramkrishnan, Country Head – Indian Subcontinent, Kyriba, Sripathi Chakkravarthi, Regional Sales Head – SAP Concur, Sangeeta Sumesh, High-Performance Coach (Credentialed from ICF) | ED & CFO, Independent Director, Board Adviso, Author,Speaker, Prashant Ganti, Head of Global Accounting, Compliance and Payroll Solutions, Zoho.

The day concluded with a heartwarming speech on ‘A Story of a Successful Entrepreneur’ by CK Kumaravel,Co-founder of Groom India Salon & Spa Pvt. Ltd.

His words on echoed in the minds of the delegate as he shared, “Entrepreneur is not someone who has a lot of money or great power, it’s anyone who can see a problem and solve it with using minimum resource.” He shared how his dad created Velvets Shampoo Sachets to what led him to create Groom India Salon.

The new age is here with new collar jobs. Yes, the ones that bots are creating for us!

Meaning at work gets redefined with such evolving job types! The easiest representation can be found in the way work is treated at new age offices.

What are these new age offices? Are they all about colorful walls and beautiful chairs? Why does a visionary who starts a firm spend so much to design every inch of it? More importantly when everything is destined to turn into a hygiene factor, no sooner, then why did leaders like Steve Jobs invest so heavily in creating Spaceship, which is not just a work space but work of art! Why do the firms in Silicon Valley take workplace design so seriously?

Elon Musk in a tour of his office space shows how open and connected is the engineering floor. The senior management shares the same work space along with rest of the team.

How does this impact? Let’s take a step back and reimagine the old offices that were more about maintaining hierarchy with opaque walls between each work space. Birth of the industrial revolution has placed every work flow in a batch-processing manner. Machines or people are neatly placed in rows separated by walls, cabins and cubicles. With the era of sophistication these walls were replaced with glass which brought in more light to the rooms.

As we drew closer to the end of the industrial era and more into the age of bots, the paradigm shifted from cubicle to commitment. Work is no longer about “how” but “how soon”! When result remains the only measure to work, the speed at which the work is delivered gets completely redefined.

Well these are not just mouthful of theories but action-oriented formulas that are changing organizations. With the future of work being redefined, let’s see how and where it is being developed. And this is all happening in India, right in the business district of Mumbai!

Building a 23000 people startup

Alfian Sharifuddin, Managing Director , Head of Technology & Operations – DBS Bank India, reflects, “Being deeply rooted in the traditional banking system remained time-tested and it made the transition into a 23000 people startup, even more interesting! We had to scale up not only with strategies but also with visible cues including modern workspaces” That hits the target as excel sheets, pie-charts and rising graphs comes and it starts with what we see around us! The speed of work depends on how we treat urgency. Cutting across layers remains an understatement when you are building an aircraft, while it’s flying in the air

Work happens in the white spaces and it is no longer a cliché. Open work areas that promote collaboration. Hence, why mull on an idea endlessly when you can get it resolved at the speed of thought!

Activity-based-work station in DBS Bank India headquarters at Nariman Point not just encourages a free flow of communication amongst employees but also the decision-making authority.

The transition to the ’23000 people start-up’ began with the old version of office that was replaced with thought oriented spaces, which could be accessed by employees at any level. The silos were targeted to be broken to an extent where even the CXOs weren’t allowed to personalize their office only to ensure that this doesn’t build any boundaries. Often the aura of a room portrays the impact of the discussion that is taking place in it. The presence of a leader in his/her personalized office impacts anyone entering it Much as it may help the one who might be allocated the room, it can effectively act against the one walking into it.

The thoughtfulness of the design is highlighted when the noisy area graduates to silent zones for people to focus and work on projects that require zeroing down of attention. The noise meter, put on every work zone, interestingly resembles a traffic signal that can blink in color to show the decibel level. This takes the cake on managing a healthy noise level at work, which works for all!

The fun zone has been designed with Apple TV and arena to encourage relaxed moments and celebrate lighter team moments. This spirit of enjoyment flows into work with colorful pods and phone booths.

The fish theory comes alive when the concept of fun at work doesn’t just remain restricted to the HR initiatives but is included in every day moments through fun-filled, meaningful interactions in a relaxed environment.

Open and free work spaces allow for greater interactions with the freedom to operate from any corner as deemed fit for the departments to interact. Alfian points out, “The marketing team and digital banking team interact all day long, that’s how, they are placed in the same zone just as the ground floor hosts the cash transaction team and the operations team as the documents from the bank is passed directly from the retail branch in the same building and floor. The work space is designed for the future to accommodate bots and drones. The tables would be soon enabled with wireless charging station and meeting rooms manned by Alexa or any other AI for the enterprise.”

Future of work holds gig economy and geographically based talent to its core. Hence, a meeting room with two large screens allows multi-locational video-conferencing.

How about a work space that can be transformed into a large auditorium for town halls without making any changes? Just walk up those stairs and you have a stage, as shown in the picture attached below! Would such openness to connect, allow free flow of communication on a daily basis?

Meaning@Future of Work

Dr.Brent Rosso, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Management at Montana University, defined some of the elements ingrained behind the design philosophy of such workplaces, best aligned to the Future of Work:

1. True calling: You needed a new disruptive and authentic one to accommodate your growth.
2. Make a difference: Every day you are allowed to be a part of not just the idea generation and implementation but also a part that solves the problem of your customers and you see the change in progress!
3. We are all in this together: An open work space that breeds belonging!
4. Feel valuable: Self-efficacy is synonymous with what we deliver at work. Empowerment evolves from the choice and responsibility to excel. A conducive environment that inspires authenticity creates leaders for tomorrow
5. Sacrifice to a greater cause: Imagine the CEO of your firm, who has worked all his life to get there, treats himself as an equal and not the stature he has achieved! Not only is the door to his office open but also his office space, which is available for others to access in his absence!

Now take a moment and look at this picture, imagine this is the work space for all that you are chosen to deliver, that builds not just your self-efficacies or your bank balance, but also the future of work that you are part of!

Yes, a job like that defines every moment with the meaning at work, a gorgeous sea view and pays you as well!

Live de vivre!

Gig Economy is on the rise with IT skills requiring professionals to work on project for shorter duration. As reported by Livemint, the IT flexi staffing market in India, worth $3.04 billion in 2016-17, is expected to grow 14-16% annually to become a $5.3 billion industry by 2021, [Source: Indian Staffing Federation Report].

Most of the skills that are turning into jobs were not grouped as a job so far. Tenured jobs are giving way to gigs.

As experts to the HR Compliance and Audit how would you manage this for an employer? The emerging skill groups do not have a clarity in terms of jobs. They are mostly work-based than designation or even salary-band based roles! Hence, which are the areas critical to Compliance that an employer must care for while hiring the Flexi-Employee?

Would the retirals be managed by the employee? If so, how ? How would the benefits be managed?

Join the discussion in here: Comply4HR