Pune is referred to as the cultural capital of Maharashtra, dubbed as the "Oxford of East". But beyond, the amazing educational institutions, Pune is also a centre of manufacturing and information technology. Being at the forefront of innovation, there could hardly be a better choice of a city to kick-start the India Business Summit - Leaders Speak, an initiative by ICICI Bank and CNBC-TV18. On February 20, the pan Indian summit was launched at the Conrad Hotel in Pune.

The theme for this summit was centred around technology-led disruption: how Indian companies are embracing the new wave of Industrial Revolution and coping with the ever changing dynamics in the marketplace. The tone for the event was set well by Latha Venkatesh, Executive Editor, CNBC-TV18, who spoke about how technologies like artificial intelligence is disrupting our day to day lives and how businesses are coping with it.

Vishakha Mulye, Executive Director, ICICI Bank, elaborated on the theme, "Technology disruption: staying relevant in a globalised world" by sharing instances of how technology is impacting all aspects of our lives, right from the way we book movie tickets, to how internet banking has become ubiquitous.

The highlight of the evening was an invigorating and enlightening talk by acclaimed innovator and entrepreneur Sonam Wangchuk, who spoke at length about how he was working with the student community in Ladakh, to make disruptions a common place. This was followed by a session with renowned businessman Dr. A Velumani, Founder, CEO, CMD, Thyrocare Technologies, who inspired the audience with his incredible journey, highlighting the importance of using disruption to build a successful business.

Post the guest sessions, there was an interesting panel discussion on the topic of technological disruption and staying relevant in a globalised world. The eminent panelists were Vijay Chandok, Executive Director, ICICI Bank, Dr. Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation, Andreas Lauermann, President & MD, Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd., Viren Joshi, CEO and President, Sigma Electric Manufacturing. The discussion was moderated by Latha Venkatesh.

All in all, the event in Pune has set the tone for the other summits to follow.