CEO’s, Founders of MSMEs & SMEs take part in CEO Under Fire event at Chandigarh University; Gives leadership tips to B-School students
CHANDIGARH, India, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — To equip students with applicable insights and practical skills for crisis management, Chandigarh University (CU) hosted ‘CEO Under Fire X’, India’s first ultimate corporate crisis championship, bringing together management students from about 150 institutions across the country for an immersive platform to act as CEOs managing simulated high-stakes business emergencies designed and test their critical thinking, strategic decision-making, problem solving, collaboration, leadership and business communication skills under pressure in a dynamic corporate environment.
The dignitaries who graced the launch of ‘CEO Under Fire X’, organized by CU’s University School of Business (USB), included Sham Kumar, Co-Founder & COO – Aerial Telecom Solutions; Gaurav Malik, President, Homeland Group; Asit Prakash Sharma, Vice President – CX Capability & Presales Leader, Tech Mahindra; Zubair Chaudhary, Founder & CEO, Einstellen.AI; Vatsalya Chaturvedi, Director & CEO – MintSteer; Rohit Gupta, Director Grant Thornton; Prof (Dr) Satbir Singh Sehgal, Vice-Chancellor, Chandigarh University and Prof (Dr) Nilesh Arora, Executive Director, Management, Chandigarh University.
As a part of the ‘CEO Under Fire X’, CU’s University School of Business (USB) also hosted ‘CXO Summit 2026’, bringing together Startup Founders, CEOs, Co-Founders and Managing Directors from various business domains including finance, telecom, real-estate and human resource to share their perspectives on leadership, strategic excellence, digital innovation and measurable business outcomes. On the occasion, the University School of Business (USB), Chandigarh University, unveiled its Centre of Excellence ‘AURA’ – Centre for AI-Driven Universal Business Re-engineering & Analytics and also launched its first professional skill certification programme ‘Generative and Agentic AI for Business Applications’ in collaboration with Grant Thornton, as a part operational launch of the CoE.
The first round of ‘CEO Under Fire X’ titled ‘Shock Wave – Face the Crises’ witnessed participation from around 150 teams representing institutions across Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and other parts of the country. The prominent institutions represented in the championship included Amity University, Bennett University, Thapar Institute, Graphic Era University, Rayat Bahra University, Indira Global School of Business, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Panipat Institute of Engineering & Technology (PIET) and University of Jammu.
In second round of the championship, ‘Decision Under Pressure’ at CU Campus, top 50 teams assumed roles of various stakeholders such as investors, board members, regulators and business partners, creating a realistic corporate crisis boardroom experience before the judging panel. Top 10 teams worked on live corporate crisis situations in limited time during the final round ‘CEO Verdict: Grand Finale – CEO Hot Seat’ in which participants assumed the role of a CEO and defended the team’s decision before the judges.
On the basis of performance in rapid-fire questioning, decisive leadership, judgement and communication under pressure, Indira Global School of Business Pune team ‘Boardroom Wizards’ secured first position while the second and third position was bagged by Amity University’s team ‘Business Mavericks’ and Chandigarh University team ‘Titans’ respectively.
Participating in a panel discussion on ‘Leading Through AI, Market Disruption & the Future of Business’, Sham Kumar, Co-Founder & COO, Aerial Telecom Solutions urged the youth to embrace and learn new technologies like AI which help in resolving customer problems, reduces costs, boosts productivity. He said, “AI will affect mundane jobs, so adding AI as a skill set can also create jobs. Anyone not accepting AI may find it difficult but somebody who adds AI as a skill set to his knowledge base can definitely prosper and do better jobs. This applies both to organisations and individuals.”
Asit Prakash Sharma, Vice President, CX Capability and Presales Leader, Tech Mahindra said, “Today’s generation is fortunate to have been born in the digital era. I have witnessed three generations of technology: the first, when there was no technology or AI; the second, characterized by digitization and basic automation; and the third, the current era of Generative AI and Agentic AI. This shift is transforming consumer and buyer behavior. Companies are no longer seeking mere optimization or incremental improvements; they are asking to reimagine and transform entire processes. Whether it involves deploying 20 AI agents alongside 10 people or utilizing 100 AI agents without any human intervention, what matters to the customer is the outcome. So it’s not about increment and improvement, it’s about the leap of faith which companies are forced to take. There is no escape from AI.”
Gaurav Malik, President, Homeland Group said, “AI can enhance and accelerate the learning process but cannot replace human experience. AI can provide data, charts, and recommendations, the tasks of engaging with people in the market, making decisions, and taking responsibility for their outcomes remain inherently human. In the real estate sector, AI is being utilized to better understand and optimize market dynamics, customer needs, competitor activities, and business operations; however, the final decision rests with the customer. Building a trustworthy and transparent relationship with the customer, maintaining clarity regarding products and future goals, and fulfilling one’s obligations are aspects that cannot be fully digitized or automated. AI will prove to be extremely beneficial for the real estate industry, but it cannot fully replace years of experience.”
Zubair Chaudhary, Founder & CEO – Einstellen.AI said, “Even since AI has come into the picture, we are still catching up with the way the technology is evolving. As a startup ecosystem, technology is secondary as our main priority should be the problem that needs to be solved. So, we should not wait for technology to evolve and rather focus on what are the business problems that we are solving as a startup ecosystem. When you go out in the market, identify a problem, solve it and there is somebody that is going to pay for it.”
Vatsalya Chaturvedi, Director & CEO – MintSteer said, “AI platforms can enhance a user’s capability to provide solutions in a better way but core skills matter the most in a business. AI can only help you, you know, enjoy the dish, but you have to prepare the dish for which you should know the ingredients. You should know what your skills are bringing to the table to help the customer and how can your core skills enhance it with AI.”
In his welcome address, Prof (Dr) Satbir Singh Sehgal, Vice-Chancellor, Chandigarh University said, “Chandigarh University integrates experiential learning through hands-on workshops, industry collaborations, and real-world projects which bridge the gap between theory and practice. In line with this, ‘CEO Under Fire X’, India’s First Corporate Crisis Championship, is an excellent opportunity for management students to hone their leadership skills and put to practice all the classroom learning. I am sure the hands-on learning experience gained during this championship will equip students with applicable insights and practical skills for navigating critical moments during a real-world corporate crisis.”
About Chandigarh University
Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC.
Website address: https://www.cuchd.in/
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