Two #IIM stalwarts Ajay Banga, Former CEO Mastercard & Vice Chairman General Atlantic and Piyush Gupta, Group CEO, DBS Bank, Singapore came together for an engaging and humor-filled tête-à-tête IIMChat organised by IIM Alumni SG on 29 September 2022.

Authentic, Camaraderie and lasting Kinship of over 4 decades the #IIMChat was filled with friendly banter and leg pulling. The quality bar of the conversation with some key messages was par excellence!

- How hard work and being at the right place & the right time are both important for success

-There is no long-term without the short-term. You earn the right to play long-term if you survive the short-term

- Phrasing the competition is important. For Mastercard - cash was the competition. As a leader, change the frame of reference for everyone. In Ajay’s case, when he started his MasterCard journey as CEO, he reshaped who they competed with. He shifted them from being a card company to a payments company.

- People are the most important backbone for support. Decency quotient - be demanding of people, but be fair. Don't be only nice.

- People, Technology, Growth, Data, People! And everything starts and ends with People!

- Tech helps scale through accessibility and affordability.

- Let the good news take the stairs and bad news needs to take the express elevator!

- As a leader, you must cut through the layers, be accessible. Find a way to listen to everyone on the team and reinforce your message patiently as many times as needed. We all know the right thing but sometimes easy to forget!

- Inequality can only be addressed by access to Education, Health and Financial Inclusion.