SHIV Shivakumar, renowned management guru, former CEO of PepsiCo and Nokia India, and currently Operating Partner at global private equity firm Advent International, will be the keynote speaker at the Central India Management Conclave 2026 (CIMCON’26). His address on the theme ‘Thinking Big, Acting Bold’ promises to be a masterclass in leadership, transformation, and 10X growth thinking. An engineer from IIT Madras, with management education from IIM Calcutta and The Wharton School, Shivakumar is a distinguished alumnus of both IIT and IIM. With an illustrious career spanning over four decades, he has held leadership roles in marquee organisations including Hindustan Unilever, Nokia, PepsiCo, and the Aditya Birla Group, and was among the youngest CEOs in corporate India. He has worked across more than 60 brands and led multiple large-scale business turnarounds and transformations. Currently an Operating Partner at Advent International, he also serves as Non-Executive Chairman of Burger King India and is on the Customer Advisory Council of Meta. His contributions to management and leadership have been widely recognised, including the KPMG–AIMA Award for Outstanding Leadership and the Asia Leadership Award from the Asian Association of Management Organisations. A passionate educator and mentor, Shivakumar has served on the Boards of Governors of IIM Ahmedabad, XLRI, XIMB and IIM Udaipur, and has delivered over 25 convocation addresses at leading business schools. He is the author of three best-selling books – Reflections, The Right Choice, and The Art of Management. At CIMCON’26, his keynote will connect the dots between leading self, leading teams, and leading organisations for exponential growth. The core takeaway: Learn. Unlearn. Grow. Because thinking big and acting bold is the pathway to sustainable 10X success.