C-Suite executives to focus on this yr as recession looms large

There is a growing legitimacy for esports in India, comparable to traditional sports at grassroots (school and college championships) and global levels (international events). With the introduction of more mobile-first gaming titles over the next year, the gaming population in the country is expected to swell further

C-suite executives from all around the world are concentrating on the current year. This creates a valuable picture of how the corporate story will develop in 2023 and paves the way for creatingstrategies and plans that produce results.

According to a survey by the Conference Board, the majority of chief executive officers and other C-suite leaders around the world predict that their region will experience a recession by the end of the year.

Despite the fact that 2022 concluded amid uncertainty, competition for senior talent remains fierce for most firms.

Bizz Buzz interacted with some of the stakeholders of the industry to understand the crucial business-related economic, leadership and executive search themes that are likely to emerge over the next six to twelve months.

Edtech sector

Aparna Prasad, founder ofKnowledgeum Academy, says, “2023 looks more promising for ‘Internationalization of Education’. In an ever-changing world, global awareness and interconnectedness through educational internationalisation play a significant role in shaping the next generations of learners. Whether it is adapting a globally acclaimed curriculum or improving a national curriculum to global standards, Indian educational institutions have ample opportunities.”

As the Indian education sector is expected to grow over $225 billion by 2025 and the National Education Policy 2020 aims to increase GER to 100 per cent in preschool to secondary level by 2030, we need more empowered and equipped educators through intensive capacity-building programmes enabling a much-needed revolution in the education sector to shape these learners, she said.

In an attempt to accredit young minds with the autonomy to realise, assess and implement their prowess effectively, the Indian education system must incorporate the readiness to let students attempt, review and execute their learning to excel. With international boards like International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge International programmes supplementing the NEP framework, the students of today will be better equipped to take on the world tomorrow!

Travel sector

Elia San Martin, VP & GM of Asia Pacific at KAYAK says, “2023 will be a big year for Indian travellers as suggested by search data from KAYAK.co.in, which has analysed flight searches for the 2023 travel period. The data shows flight searches from airports in India (April - November 2022) have increased by about 204 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. For international flights, searches increased by about 168 per cent while those of and domestic flightsby about 257 per cent.

Dubai remains the most searched preferred destination for travel in 2023, while Bangkok, Bali and Maldives also figure high on the list. Goa was the most searched domestic destination, followed by Andaman & Nicobar Islands and New Delhi.

Searches for international hotels by Indian travellers increased by about 82% compared to 2019, with domestic hotel searches increasing by about 54 per cent.

Gaming sector

Piyush Kumar, founder & CEO, Rooter says, “Today, India is home to nearly 450 million gamers cutting across demographics and geographies. The market has grown exponentially owing to a younger population base, higher purchase propensity of gaming consumers, introduction of new gaming genres, better internet infrastructure and emergence of decentralized and interoperable gameplay experiences underpinned by Web3 technology.”

Consequently, this has also birthed a strong content ecosystem driven by e-sport players, gaming content creators and live streamers. In tandem, there is a growing legitimacy for esports in India, comparable to traditional sports at grassroots (school and college championships) and global levels (international events). With the introduction of more mobile-first gaming titles over the next year, the gaming population in the country is expected to swell further. Sitting at the macro trends of gaming and content creation, we, at Rooter, find ourselves poised to strongly ride this wave on the back of our focus on content, creator, and commerce. 2022 has been the year of many firsts - we strengthened our industry-leading creator tools, introduced multiple content formats (streams, videos on demand and reels) and became the first gaming content platform to monetize actively.”

He added that “In 2023, we expect to play the lead role in driving India’s gaming creator economy. We are actively working on adding more content categories, developing a robust commerce ecosystem and expanding our brand partnership portfolio beyond the 100+ brands we’ve engaged with in the past. We strongly believe that 2023 is going to be a definingyear for this sunrise industry and we’re in a pole position.”

HR sector

Sumit Sabharwal, CEO of TeamLeaseHRtech, says, “I think the great resignation and record high attritions were the most challenging trends in the industry. Organizations understood the importance of employee engagement and retention. HR technology came out as thesaviour during this tough phase. As a result, the demands for cloud-based HCM,zero-touch ATS, one-touch payroll and employee engagement SaaS platforms skyrocketed on the back of remote and hybrid working models. We have successfully sustained a strong pace of growth by adding several clients to our portfolio.In 2023, AI, Meta, VR and ML will play stellar roles in the evolution of HR tech.

“Facebook’s $10 billion investment in the metaverse point towards an upcoming buzz in the VR space. We’ll see many HR tech companies leveraging metaverse, AR, VR and overall employee well-being including wearable devices to deliver an unparalleled employee experience and engagement in the coming years,” he said.