Col Ashok Mor, the Officer In charge NCC at IIT Kanpur introduced the guest speaker and gave small introduction about Mr Sudhanshu Vats, Managing Director and CEO of EPL Limited. Col Ashok Mor told that Mr. Sudanshu Vats is an alumnus of MNSS Rai. Mr Sudhanshu Vats did his B.Tech (Mechanical) from NIT Kurukshetra, PGDM from IIM Ahmedabad.

In his address to the students of IIT Kanpur Mr. Sudhanshu Vats said that “IIT Kanpur is one of the helloed institution’s and one of the best IIT’s. I did not get an opportunity to get into IIT and did my Engineering from NIT Kurukshetra. I was born in a small town that time Kota, Rajasthan.

I will talk to you about Values in life and profession. First thing I will talk to you is about Belief and Conviction. When I was 10yrs, I developed a problem in my leg, everyone one started thinking that it was Polio, and my parents, Naana and Nani started taking the opinion and advise from doctors and everyday my leg started developing a complication. Some doctors said he will not be able to walk etc. My Amma (my Naani) said that “Beta don’t worry the way it has come it will go away”. In a very sudden way the pain started in the same sway in two or three weeks it went away. My Naani who taught me a lot in life also taught me Belief and Conviction.

Next is Trust and Faith . Have trust in others and yourself. I was traveling from My college to my home, the buss broke down and I could reach the next bus stop. As I was sitting at the bus stop at 10.30 pm at Rohtak, a young man came to me and said that what was I doing, I said that I has to go to Jhajjar and there is no bus and I will stay on the bus stop. He asked me to come to his home. He too me to his home and we cycled together to his home and we reached late night to his home. His wife prepared dinner for both of us an di went to sleep. I got up in the morning and thanked them and left. The amount of trust and genericity that man had on me and I on him was a lot at that stage. I want you to have trust in people, relatives, your organization that you join and yourself.

It orders to win in life you need to have a mix of Aptitude and Attitude. All of you have enough Aptitude so you are at IIT. Your ability to mix, this ability or IQ with Attitude or values, that will make you a winner in real life. Aptitude and Attitude are two wheels of a bicycle and you need both two succeed in life and profession.

In life take steps that are wright and you should feel from your heart that the decision is right. The good companies deliver through People and your ability to get people along makes you a leader.

The key msg’s are Belief, Trust, Carrying and Generosity. Remember Generosity, Generosity doesn’t take you much. You can be generous by just smiling at each other. You can be generous by wishing some one or acknowledging some one. By Helping, by donating or giving. Generosity gives us happiness and no amount of success be it material or professional success, tiles all are important, but what all of us chase is Happiness and it comes from Generosity.

In a reply to one of the questions, he said that Brands come from people and not otherwise. He said that family run organizations and totally run by professionals have its own plus and minus but all need good people and can only win as a Team.Together everyone actives more its WE the Fist is always more powerful as compare to a finger.

Running is a way of living and I run marathons around the world. Life is a marathon and not a sprint. As you run you develop stamina, Running is a life lesson. Marathon is the power to run longer just like life. You have got into IIT but there is a long journey ahead to have to keep running and though you are running with others but actually you are running your own race, how you are running, its about getting better, improving your own timing. Same analogy as life,Am I running too fast, will I burn myself too fast. Society sees in their window some will see you from 25 km to 30km and they will act or form a view accordingly but you have to complete the full marathon.

When asked why did he change over from a company he was working for 20 yrs. Mr Sudhanshu Vats said that to get to a post of CEO in HUL it would have wanted him to take a assignment abroad and would have taken 5 yrs . He said he wanted to stay in India and it was a time when he wanted to steer a ship in his own way and in the same spirit. He took over Viacom- 18 and expanded it from 6 to 54 channels and that too in 20 countries. when he joined, the company was 1200 cr company and loosing 200cr. When he left in 2020 it was a 4000 cr company and delivering 600 cr in profit.

What I learnt in Leavers I applied here. Fundamentals of organizations, building management systems and culture are common it’s the business model that is different and the skills that you need to run it. So as a Leader you need more Leadership skills than anything else.

Life is a story that you have to tell it to yourself like any Advertisement or a Film so make it well and as you want it. With this he wished luck to the students and asked them to stay safe in the pandemic times.