Conversation
Leadership, Growth &
The Inner World
Career choices, M&A strategy, and leadership in an AI-driven world.
Imperial College London
Fireside Chat · Imperial College London · English
The Core Context
In this fireside chat at Imperial College of London, Manoj Gupta draws from his leadership journey across organizations like TCS and HCL Technologies to share practical insights on career growth, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic leadership.
Blending real-world business experience with reflections on science, spirituality, and inner well-being, he presents a holistic view of leadership that is increasingly relevant in the age of AI and rapid change.
Key Ideas
Deep Dive
Highlights from the conversation
Beyond titles and compensation, one must assess role clarity, autonomy, KPIs, learning opportunities, and the organization’s culture—especially transparency, positivity, and customer-centricity.
M&A is not just about financials. True success depends on integrating people, processes, technology, customers, leadership mindset, intellectual property, and cultural compatibility.
It was a blend of art and science—understanding the current state of the business, refining go-to-market strategy, reshuffling teams, focusing on strategic accounts, and exiting low-value contracts.
Science helps manage the outer world, but spirituality is essential to manage the inner world. Sustainable leadership emerges when inner clarity and outer execution are in harmony.
Future leaders will be defined by inside-out qualities like empathy, ethics, creativity, compassion, vulnerability, and the ability to create psychological safety for innovation.
The unit of life is experience. By shifting from “recept and react” to “recept and respond,” leaders can create better outcomes, relationships, and personal well-being.