At TEDxMDIGurgaon, Girish Aivalli reveals how an early rejection turned into a career-defining moment. What began as a twist of fate in FMCG sales evolved into leadership roles in banking, procurement, and impact investing - alongside a passion for writing. His story isn’t just about climbing the ladder, but about the courage to change paths, embrace regret, and reinvent oneself. This talk is for anyone who has faced setbacks and wondered if rejection might actually be the beginning of something greater. GIRISH AIVALLI is the Chief Executive Officer of Impact Investors Council (IIC), India’s preeminent industry body for impact investors. Girish brings with him a range of diversified experience having worked in Agri Supply Chain, Banking ( Agri-Advisory & Project Appraisal ) Start Up and Developmental roles with reputed Indian and multinational companies, in his close to three decades of work experience. Girish has been in leadership roles having headed Cargill's Indian Agri Supply Chain, ADM's Indian Grains , been MD & CEO for Yes Bank Family Office Company and Chairman & CEO for a USAID Project, prior to joining IIC.Girish was an active Member of the CII’s National Council on Agriculture, and member of sub-committees on Food Processing, Dairy, Cold Chain and Indo-Israeli Forum. He was also a Jury Member of CII’s NAVI ( a platform to accelerate agri-start-ups ) and Ag-Hackathon as well as of IIM-Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship for Agribusiness.Girish has authored six books - Yes Sir, Mehek, Courage to Continue, Char Chinar, The Spy Who Went Into The Cold and Our Man In Balochistan.Girish has an MBA from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Anurag Batra reflects on the mix of decisions, serendipity, and destiny that shaped his journey - from losing a job to becoming a shareholder in multiple businesses. He introduces ideas like the “theory of the burned toast” and “introduction capital,” showing how success is built not just on hard work and skill, but also on opportunities. With honesty and humor, he emphasizes kindness, silence, health, and relationships as anchors for managing life and work. A talk blending wisdom, resilience, and perspective. Annurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur, media mogul, a journalist and an eternal optimist rolled into one. He is a B. Tech in Computer Sciences, a degree, which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute MDI Gurgaon (Now its Gurugram), one of India's leading Business School. He is a first generation entrepreneur and after acquiring the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld. a 45 year strong media brand as well as most respected business media platform and 360 degree media brand and publication in the country.Since taking over BW Businessworld 11 years back Mr. Batra has expanded BW Businessworld into digital, events and BW communities and has taken into its fold www.digitalmarket.asia, a leading website on digital marketing, www.everythingexperiential.com India’s leading experiential marketing website and launch BW Hotelier in partnership with hotelier international. BW Smart Cities an editorial platform in a 360 degree format is to be launched in mid February 2015. Mr. Batra is building the BW Businessworld business aggressively.Mr. Batra also founded the exchange4media group and he serves as the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com – India’s leading media industry website, PITCH – India’s only Advertising, Marketing and Media Magazine, IMPACT – The Marketing Weekly, Franchisee Plus – Business Opportunity Magazine, Realty Plus – India’s leading monthly real estate magazine and samachar4media.com/ – leading media industry website in Hindi. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Nitin Arora, an MDI alumnus and seasoned banker, redefines success in his talk on challenging boundaries. Using the acronym "BANKING," he presents a powerful framework for personal growth, highlighting principles like Boldness, Kindness, and Innovation. Through inspiring stories of resilience, from his own life to leaders like Ratan Tata and M.S. Dhoni, he encourages the audience to challenge limiting beliefs and find purpose beyond corporate titles. Arora emphasizes that consistent, small actions and a mindset of perseverance are the keys to creating a lasting and meaningful impact. Nitin Arora is a Corporate Banker with over 17 years of work experience. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Mohit Gang, in his TEDx MDI talk, shares a gripping journey from managing wealth at Citi through the chaos of the 2008 crisis to becoming a fintech entrepreneur. He distills lessons on resilience, diversification, and the power of being good at more than one vector. With insights like “the unexpected always happens” and “when things go bad, become better,” his message is clear - crises are not just obstacles but opportunities to evolve. This talk is a must for anyone looking to invest smarter and grow stronger in uncertain times. An investment professional with over 15 years of experience in product, strategy and managing UHNI portfolios across a myriad of investment tools like mutual funds, stocks, bonds, alternate assets, etc. He has managed and formulated investment strategies for large networks of private wealth managers, working for MNC banks like Citibank and HSBC. For him, innovation is the norm and he strives to achieve qualitative and quantitative perfection in everything he does. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Ritwik Bhowmik's talk offers a unique perspective on embracing one's identity as an "outsider". As a lead actor in the Indian film industry, he redefines this label not as a disadvantage but as a source of strength. Drawing from his personal journey of moving between different cities in India, he emphasizes the importance of acceptance, purpose, and perseverance. Bhowmik encourages the audience to break through self-imposed boundaries and find power in empathy and resilience. He concludes by highlighting how a strong will and belief in oneself can overcome any perceived limitations. Ritwik Bhowmik is a versatile actor from India. He started his career as a teatre (play) actor and eventually expanded to screen acting.He is most known for his role as "Radhe" in Amazon’s Bandish Bandits (2020), followed by a compelling performance as Dr. Sanket Bhadoria in SonyLIV’s The Whistleblower (2021). and appeared in Anand Tiwari’s feature film Maja Ma (2022). Recent highlights include Bandish Bandits Season 2 (2024) and Khakee: The Bengal Chapter (2025).He considers himself as a lifelong learner who aims to deliver impactful performances to his audiences. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Amit Boni, a leader and entrepreneur, delivers a compelling talk on finding your purpose and building a lasting legacy. He shares powerful lessons on the importance of passion and execution, drawing on his own journey and his unconventional career path from Motorola to Smartron. Boni challenges the audience to define their personal brand based on their assets such as integrity and empathy rather than on corporate titles. He emphasizes that true power comes from resilience, the willingness to take ownership, and the determination to make a meaningful impact. Amit Boni is a distinguished, award-winning leader celebrated for his transformative impact across multiple industries and his visionary approach to driving business turnarounds. Renowned for his strategic acumen, Amit has a proven track record of accelerating ambitious enterprises with agility, boldness, and innovation. His expertise spans the global consumer-tech, sensors, and semiconductor sectors, with a strong emphasis on customer-centric innovation. Amit serves as a trusted Board Advisor and Member at Manentia AI, Healthquad, and several early-stage startups, playing a pivotal role in shaping their strategic trajectories.Currently, Amit is powering his entrepreneurial venture as Founder of Ensuredit Technologies to revolutionize the global insurance ecosystem. Backed by the global insurtech for embedded protection, Cover Genius, he has already scaled the business to be the largest players in its domain within 5 years. Ensuredit is leading the future of insurance today by delivering innovative, customer- first, hyper-personalized experiences that build trust and security with exceptional experiences on AI-based platforms. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx