"Challenge the status quo" Facebook India MD Umang Bedi at inauguration of MICA session

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Updated on July 8, 2016

MICA Ahmedabad has commenced the academic session on July 4 after the inauguration ceremony that featured a lecture delivered by Mr. Umang Bedi MD (Designate) Facebook India

MICA Ahmedabad has commenced the academic session on July 4 after the inauguration ceremony that featured a lecture delivered by Mr. Umang Bedi, who is poised to assume the office of MD, Facebook India in a week’s time.

New batch of students in the PGDM(C), CCC and FPM(C) Programmes was inaugurated on Monday July 4, afternoon. The hour long lecture that took place in MICA’s Mani Iyer Auditorium witnessed enthusiastic students across several batches and programmes, filled to the brim to listen to Mr Bedi.

During the course of the lecture, Mr.Bedi touched upon various facets of his experience in the industry and shared with the students valuable insights on several subjects ranging from technology to social issues.

Mr.Bedi emphasized upon adopting a policy of integrity without compromise, where he narrated through examples, how in some situations, not speaking up can end up being an integrity issue. “Don’t be intimidated by titles, because titles do not define who you are,” he said. “You need to constantly challenge the status quo, to usher in an environment that helps us co-create and co-learn”.

Explaining how personalization and user experience are the new brands to inspire, Mr.Bedi talked about adopting practices to make experiences that create goosebumps. “These experiences are non-linear. They need to be consistent and continuous. Consistency comes with nurturing and building relationships with customers. Continuity comes from synchronizing online and offline experiences in a seamless manner across mediums.”

Mr.Bedi spoke about the power of belief, where he quoted an example of how Adobe’s market capitalization dramatically increased with the adoption of a daring pricing strategy, which was later adopted across the globe, making India one of their top 5 markets in the world.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Complexity is easy to achieve,” he said, and advised the budding marketers to tone down the jargon and keep communication simple. “Management is a noble profession. Manage the present, create the future and selectively destroy the past,” he quipped.

Talking about the digital wave that has taken business by storm, he said,” The digital area offers opportunities to do something on our own, that we couldn’t earlier. Don’t let anyone constrain your thoughts or ideas,” he said.

Facebook MD faces long Q&A session
After the lecture, students had a long and insightful Q&A session with Mr Bedi. Mr.Bedi answered students’ queries on an array of topics ranging from philosophy, user experience, start-up culture and role of women in the corporate world. When asked to quote examples of brands that have understood India as a market, Mr.Bedi said that FMCG brands have done the best job in understanding and exploiting the cultural vastness and diversity, while technology companies still have a long way to go.

Answering a student’s question about corporate culture, Mr.Bedi said, “Set long term goals and make conscious decisions which you feel will help you attain them, while avoiding those choices that come in the way. “The strength of a network increases with the number of people on it. As more and more people are added to the network, so increases its power and reach.”

When talking about the distinction between personalization and intrusion, Mr.Bedi said,“Data should be used to gain valuable insights. What is useful, meaningful and pertinent, to me, is not intrusive.”

Thanking Mr.Bedi for the address, the dean Dr.Preeti Shroff applauded his views about the necessity of women in leadership roles. As a token of respect, Mr.Bedi was presented with a live portrait of himself painted during his lecture by Mr.Pravin Mishra.

Established in 1991, MICA, Ahmedabad is the first residential institute in the country dedicated to creating Leadership in Strategic Marketing and Communication. The B school aims to assure delivery of Strategic Marketing and Communication solutions to the industry, government and community. The institute provides specialists in the field of communications management. Its spirit lies in its grasping of contemporariness, addressing the needs of an ever-changing environment. MICA is a premier school that focuses on strategic marketing and communication.