Talk CXO Life

Now which is that one sport that we take to almost as soon as we start to walk? Why Running of course! This segment is dedicated to rediscovering that first joy! We have with us Praful Uchil, Co-Founder and Core Trainer at Striders Miles offering arguably one of the best training programs in the country for Running. Praful has been a former national-level middle distance runner, was absorbed by a large insurance corporate before he quit to wholeheartedly follow his passion whilst helping others run! 

In this podcast you will hear from Praful his journey of starting Striders, how bagging Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as their corporate client set the ball rolling and how even though anyone can take to running, it is much of a science that needs to be understood. So, get set to learn how to run better, faster and lighter without that 'bag'gage! You are limitless!

The Bombay Howrah Dining Car is about to depart and passengers are requested to take their seats! In this gastronomical journey, our captains, the very lovely Maharashtrian Mulgi, Priya Barve, Head of BrandLab APAC at Google and the suave Bengali Babu, Aniruddha Ganguly, CEO & Co-founder of NegoBot will take you through a delectable fare comprising nutritious and generous dollops of inspiration as they share savoury tidbits of their experience on starting a supper club in Singapore, bitter-sweet moments of trying to manage it all, the zesty flavours that go into making an energetic partnership, especially, if you are a married couple working together mixed with some rather entertaining masala procured from spices and herbs, cultivated rather delicately, over years of trust, camaraderie, respect, love and patience! 

Enjoy the second part of our conversation with Priya and Aniruddha!

You may listen to the first part of the conversation and know more about this lovely couple - how they met, their formative years, career milestones, views on success, leadership etc. here -

 https://cxolife.com/priya-barve-head-of-brandlab-apac-at-google-aniruddha-ganguly-ceo-and-co-founder-of-negobot-on-home-dining-cooking-traveling-partnerships/

Meet the graceful and creative Priya Barve, Head of BrandLab APAC at Google and the suave and knowledgeable Aniruddha Ganguly, CEO and Co-founder of Negobot. With nearly two decades of experience working in cross functional teams, Priya has crafted a rather unconventional career path from advertising to shopper marketing to consumer marketing. Remarkably, She has been among the finalists in Masterchef Asia season 1. 

Aniruddha, is an IIM-A alumnus whose love for problem solving, always being on the go led him to seek his calling in financial consulting, wealth and change management. This financial wiz who was until recently Heading the Financial Intermediaries arm at UBS in Singapore has just turned entrepreneur. Apart from being a food connoisseur, he is obsessed with historical trivia and is according to his wife like any pie dish which may not be quite what you expect it would be. While Aniruddha likens Priya to a Cheese toast (her favourite comfort food btw) which warms your heart, is always there for you and is worth those calories! 

Now, yet again we have this conversation in two parts where the hors d’oeuvre/appetizer (knowing Priya and Aniruddha individually and their story as a couple) will be served with the dessert (the CXO fun facts of course) while the entrée or the main course - their food journey with the Bombay Howrah Dining Car - will be served in our next podcast. Happy listening!

CXO Life presents this special series of interviews in its KeepitAlive podcast segment which will bring forth stories of people who are not only living their passion but helping others keep their dream alive by enabling them to aspire for that elusive balance in some way or the other!

Our first guest is the distinguished Dr. Nikhil Latey, who is the go-to person for top-performing athletes in the country from Mary Kom to Saina Nehwal. Nikhil heads the sports science division at SportsMed Activ, a one stop junction for athletes with imaging, orthopedics, physiotherapy, osteopathy, rehab and sport science support. Now, Nikhil is probably among less than a handful of such unique practitioners in the country, who specialise in Exercise physiology, physiotherapy, athlete assessment, treatment and recommendations to improve performance. Among his notable achievements, Nikhil had headed the medical team of the Olympic Gold Quest, was the Personal physiotherapist for Mary Kom in the lead up to and at London Olympics 2012\. And had also Attended National boxing camp for Commonwealth games 2010 and Asian Games 2010.

Nikhil will help us decode the science behind not only the sport but the human body. In this conversation, he shares how anyone can build up their performance by being diligent, more self-aware and following some very basic tips which go a long way in improving performance. So, this is for all you aspiring marathoners, triathletes, sportsmen and women and for others who are dreaming of targeting that next marathon or milestone! So, Let’s move it! As Nikhil puts it – Motion is Lotion!

We are back with the second part of our conversation with Venkatesh Maheshwari, Sr. Vice President, Aditya Birla Fashions! So, what does it take to climb the highest peak in the world? How do you manage it with a full-time job and that too at a leadership position? Where do you start? When can you start? How late is too late? How close does one get to giving it all up? How lonely does it get at the top or not? How easy is it to attend nature’s call amidst nature at its inaccessible best? What about the climb down? What do you do when death stares at your face? Are there forces on the Mountain that beckon you, that let you in? Why would one risk it all and how does every minute of oxygen matter when you are on that mountain!

Come, listen to our concluding segment with Venkatesh where he takes us through his journey of scaling Mount Everest and lists moments filled with awe, fear, love, trust, humour, gratitude and most importantly, humility. As Venkatesh puts it, one can conquer anything with not just one’s feet firmly on the ground but also one’s head on the ground! No, not the clouds! :)

Happy Listening!

We are excited to welcome Atul Daga, CFO, Ultratech Grasim. Now Atul‘s running journey is quite unique. Though he has been running the marathon since the very second year the Marathon was launched in 2004, Atul plunged into half marathon from the third year onwards and has kept the tempo going since then, participating in almost every half-marathons across the country and a few in Asia as well. Atul shares with us how his early morning run gives him peace of mind, how it is okay to not really want to keep upping the game as long as one is enjoying oneself and how there are plenty of places to run in Mumbai if one rises early! So now, Let’s strap it on!

We are delighted to have with us once again, Venkatesh Maheshwari, Sr VP at Aditya Birla Fashions and Retail who is also an avid mountaineer and has the distinct accomplishment of climbing the Everest last year. While Venkatesh has participated in several marathons, he hadn’t been able to push himself for a full marathon until now to safeguard himself from any possible injury which would have deterred his dream of conquering that peak. Listen to Venkatesh share how it is all about getting past the first 2 km to discover the true joy of running. And so off we go now!

We are proud to present the dynamic Vaishali Kasture the first Indian woman to have completed all the six major world marathons. She has over 25 years of banking and financial services and was until very recently the MD and country head at Experian. She is the co-founder of Sonder Connect. Listen to this leader, marathoner and mother share how 24 hours are good enough to slay it in the boardroom, at home and on the road! So, let’s hit it!

Welcome to our first TalkCXOLife edition within our latest Keep it Alive series wherein we will get you podcast shots through which we will get you short, inspiring nuggets of first-hand experiences by individuals and leaders who have run that extra mile, conquered that peak, painted that dream and played those cards dealt with, creating their own music!

 With the Mumbai Marathon just around the corner, we kick start this series with three business leaders who have been running the marathon for years now. Now what is really interesting is that they took to running for different reasons and also view running very differently but what is common is the passion for strapping on those shoes and hitting the road with a vengeance.

We are proud to present the dynamic Vaishali Kasture the first Indian woman to have completed all the six major world marathons. She has over 25 years of banking and financial services and was until very recently the MD and country head at Experian. She is the co-founder of Sonder Connect. Listen to this leader, marathoner and mother share how 24 hours are good enough to slay it in the boardroom, at home and on the road! 

We are delighted to have with us once again, Venkatesh Maheshwari, Sr VP at Aditya Birla Fashions and Retail who is also an avid mountaineer and has the distinct accomplishment of climbing the Everest last year. While Venkatesh has participated in several marathons, he hadn’t been able to push himself for a full marathon until now to safeguard himself from any possible injury which would have deterred his dream of conquering that peak. Listen to Venkatesh share how it is all about getting past the first 2 km to discover the true joy of running. 

We are excited to welcome Atul Daga, CFO, Ultratech Cement Now Atul‘s running journey is quite unique. Though he has been running the marathon since the very second year the Marathon was launched in 2004, Atul plunged into half marathon from the third year onwards and has kept the tempo going since then, participating in almost every half-marathons across the country and a few in Asia as well. Atul shares with us how his early morning run gives him peace of mind, how it is okay to not really want to keep upping the game as long as one is enjoying oneself and how there are plenty of places to run in Mumbai if one rises early!

A brand new year has begun and amidst this resolution-making, goal-setting season we couldn’t think of getting to you’ll a better story than the inspiring journey of this gentleman who scaled the highest peak at the age of 46 whilst being at the peak of his career too. But hey age is just a number to Venkatesh Maheshwari, Sr. Vice President at Aditya Birla Fashion who made headlines last year when he climbed Mount Everest, becoming arguably the first Indian corporate leader to have done so. 

Even though mountains fascinated Venkatesh since childhood and he began trekking in his early 20s, for a middle-class lad who had grown up in the suburbs of Mumbai in a traditionally pragmatic financial-oriented Marwari community, the childhood dream of climbing the Everest seemed within grasp only after having done several treks to the base camp of Everest. And when it did, it consumed him with such a sense of urgency and temerity that it took a gruelling 18-month training ingrained within his daily regime to help him realise his dream. 

We bring to you this awesome tale of grit, perseverance, passion and even mysticism in two parts – in the first, we get to know Venkatesh, his philosophy and aspirations and in the second we will dive deep into his entire journey and experience. So, get set. We get you enough motivation to show you how a detailed, structured, methodic plan goes a long way into conquering that peak you have chosen for yourself! Remember! It is never too late to Identify and Seek your Everest! Happy Listening!