The Virtual Meeting of the CEO FORUM – July 2021 was held on Friday, 16th July 2021 from 8 am to 9:30 am on the Zoom Platform. 

Mr. G.K. Pillai, Former Chairman & Managing Director, Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd. , was the Speaker. He spoke on the topic, “A Leader - A Catalyst for Growth in turbulent times.” 

Mr. K. Harikumar, President of the Chamber welcomed the participants and gave a quick introduction of the Guest Speaker.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Pillai said that Leaders of every single company that has survived and revived during the Covid Pandemic are a good example of how Leaders have been a catalyst for organisational growth during turbulent times. 

He emphasized the following points during his session, which he felt will help leaders to successfully manage their organisations in difficult times:

(1) Conserve cash/ Manage liquidity

(2) Reduce fixed cost/expenses

(3) Management of working capital

(4) Managing capital expenditure

(5) Banking relationships

(6) Customer Connect/ Customer Relationship Management

(7) Managing Human Resources 

Mr. Pillai urged the Chief Executives to think out of the box during difficult times, as only this will help organisations find the way forward during crisis situations. He suggested that Leaders should give their team a direction, confidence and trust which will lead to good results. 

He shared some interesting initiatives from his time with Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd and how he turned around things with the support and cooperation of his team. 

Mr. Pillai then interacted with the participants and also encouraged the Chamber Leadership to work closely with the State Government in order to develop the Industry,  thereby creating employment opportunities ably backed with strict rules, guidelines and SOP’s which will create a bright future for the State and the future generation of Kerala. 

Mr. P.M. Veeramani, the Vice President of the Chamber delivered the Vote of Thanks