Learning from Leaders. Validating Direction. Strengthening Conviction

Attending the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Delhi HR & IR Conclave 2026 was not just about attending sessions; it was about listening deeply to people who have built, led, and sustained organisations at scale.

Over the course of the day, I learned something meaningful from each of these leaders, and together, they shaped a very clear picture of what growth beyond 2035 truly demands.

From Atul Kumar Tiwari, IAS, we learned that skills are not an HR function; they are a national and organisational infrastructure. The focus on degree apprenticeships and real-world employability reinforced the idea that growth fails when skills lag behind strategy.

From Radhika Arora and Ankur Jhingran, we learned that AI must be designed with empathy and context. Not everyone needs the same depth of technology, but everyone needs clarity, enablement, and trust. AI should amplify judgment, not replace it.

From Satish Mohapatra, the lesson was sharp and practical: upskilling without relevance is wasted effort. Skills must align with where the industry is going, whether that’s EVs, batteries, or future manufacturing, not where it has been.

From Sandeep G., we learned that leadership today is no longer about control; it’s about agility, adaptability, and evolving faster than the organisation itself.

From S.Y. Siddiqui and P Dwarkanath, the reminder was timeless: content, character, credibility, simplicity, humility, and context matter more than charisma. Trust compounds quietly.

And from Harbhajan Singh, the message that tied everything together, the future is about moving from Human Resources to Human Relations. Systems matter, but relationships sustain growth.

What made this conclave especially meaningful for me as a founder was realising that these insights are not aspirational for us at Vee Group, they are already operational.

At Vee Group:

• We treat skills as a strategic asset, not a checkbox

  
  

• We deploy AI with empathy, context, and accountability

  
  

• We design leadership as a living, evolving capability

  
  

• We build culture intentionally around trust and relationships

  
  

This day didn’t change our direction; it validated it, refined it, and strengthened our conviction.

Grateful for the learning, the clarity, and the people who shared decades of experience so generously.