ET’s 40 under Forty: Young leaders and philanthropy

As movers and shakers of India Inc, they have more than enough on their plates to keep them busy. Notwithstanding that, several high-profile professionals from The Economic Times 40 Under Forty Class of 2020 make it a point to take time out of their packed schedules to give back to society.Take Vikram Rai, country head (India and Indonesia) at GE Aviation, for instance. Rai is working on setting up a trust that pays for the education of children who have lost both their parents or the family’s sole breadwinner to Covid-19. Rai, who has taken up the initiative in his individual capacity, is looking for like-minded people who could be a part of this effort. Rai is not new to the cause of doing good. He is providing a family environment and education to two underprivileged girls. “One of them is appearing for Class X boards (and aspires to be a pilot) and the other is in Grade III who wants to serve the defence forces,” says Rai from the ET class of 40 Under Forty for 2020.Like Rai, Chirag Negandhi, coCEO at Axis Capital, is closely associated with philanthropic initiatives. Negandhi runs the Bhanu Ranjit charitable trust for underprivileged girls — mainly to sponsor their education and meet medical needs. “The trust is funded entirely by me, there are no external donations,” says Negandhi. “We started with children of house helps, office peons, etc. Now it has expanded beyond their chawls.” He has been helping 40-50 students a year.Leaders who display understanding and compassion for the community are also the ones who can set a similar tone in their organisational leadership, say experts.Compassion gives leaders the licence to drive and demand more and philanthropy is one channel for leaders to experience, not just display compassion, according to leadership expert K Ramkumar. “Leaders with compassion humanise leadership,” says Ramkumar, who is the founder of Leadership Centre. “It is compassion that makes leaders relatable and trustworthy.”Shirish Barwale, managing director, Mahyco, says: “Covid has given us an opportunity to re-think and build a more caring society with much higher regard for life.” Mahyco has been contributing to various relief efforts to fight Covid including contribution towards medical equipment, providing beds and financial support for procurement and installation of oxygen tanks in remote areas such as Jalna and Latur in Maharashtra. Nandini Khaitan, partner at law firm Khaitan & Co, has been associated with IDIA, a trust which works on making legal education accessible to underprivileged students. Khaitan has been involved with relief efforts after Cyclone Amphan, as also with a pilot project in rural areas to fight Covid-19. “Compassion through identifying is the only common factor that has the power to unite all and move together to greater goals,” says Khaitan.For Shreya Deb, director, strategy and investments at Karkinos Healthcare, a life well lived is one where she has made a positive impact in the lives of people around. For Deb, who was earlier director, investments, at Omidyar Network India, her core work has been a part of the social cause — be it for the uplift of tribal communities, working in the area of women and Dalits or to help integrate backward communities.The A-listers of ET 40 Under Forty 2020 will be felicitated at a virtual event on July 2.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3vRL5Lk