Industry leaders reflect on leadership in times of chaos, disruption and volatility

Industry leaders at The Hindu Huddle 2026, shared candid reflections on leadership must adapt to chaos, disruption, and volatility. At the 45-minute session titled ‘The Architecture of Leadership: Designing blueprints for a volatile world’ was moderated by L.V. Navaneeth, CEO of The Hindu Group. The panellists including R. Ganesan Senior Vice President, L&T; Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital; Praveen Someshwar, MD & CEO, USL and Member, Global Diageo Executive Committee; and Shailendra Katyal, MD, Lenovo India, shared their experiences on how they reflected the leadership in times The Hindu Huddle 2026 Day 1 | Live updates Opening the discussion, Mr. Ganesan emphasised the value of a structured approach: “I activate what I call ‘pause, reflect, and then act. It’s a regression of wisdom acquired over time, and it works,” he addressed. Sharma added that listening to stakeholders is critical.“Dashboards and analytics are abundant, but leaders must hear the noise of the industry. What keeps CXOs awake at night is understanding that noise,” she observed. Middle management bottlenecks Speaking at the session, Mr. Katyal stressed clarity and focus. “Chaos is always the short term raising its hand. You must drown out the noise but keep an eye on the North Star. Fewer, bigger, better decisions matter most,” he said and also warned against middle management bottlenecks. “Create pilots, fail fast, and explain the ‘why’ to the frontlines. Radical simplification and clear communication are essential,” he remarked. Katyal also cited Lenovo’s supply chain challenges stating that “tariffs change daily. Memory shortages doubled laptop prices. We had to prioritize commercial over consumer markets. There’s no perfect solution.” Mr Ganesan recalled the COVID‑19 crisis stating that L&T mobilised more than 120,000 skilled workers to build hospitals and oxygen facilities. “Structure and capacity allowed us to respond,” he said. Referring to the geopolitical shocks, he elaborated: “Conflicts in the Red Sea, Ukraine, and the Strait of Hormuz disrupted supply chains. We started putting up algorithms knitting multiple variables - logistics, suppliers, raw material sources, and geopolitical events - to see how much uncertainty we can convert into structured decisions.” The ability to say no Reflecting on consumer behaviour and adaptability, Mr. Someshwar said: “Are consumers drinking differently? Do they want local crafted provenance or global experiences? Change is the reality. The ability to say no is the single biggest challenge — choosing what we will not get into is as important as what we will.” Sharma highlighted the permanence of disruption pointing out that most retailers thought e‑commerce was temporary. “But they missed the early signals and lost huge market share. Likewise, AI is a permanent disruptor. Leaders must redraw structures, talent maps, and skill sets,” she warned. Further she said: “Chaos is always temporary, but since COVID‑19 we have gotten used to permanent chaos.” Navaneeth himself reflected on the media industry’s upheaval: “We thought search traffic would remain stable, but when Google integrated Gemini, everything changed. Plans must adapt to reality. Don’t get married to plans, get married to context,” he said. In conclusion he reminded that while AI reveals patterns, technology scales intelligence, but leadership scales judgment. The Hindu Huddle is presented by the Sami-Sabinsa Group as the Presenting Partner. The event is co-powered by the Government of Telangana and held in association with Khaja Bandanawaz University. The event is further supported by Bank of Baroda, Larsen & Toubro, Apollo Hospitals, IIM Sirmaur, ICFAI Group, TAFE, Wizzmon, Uttarakhand Government, Associate Partners; Casagrand, Realty Partner; Toyota, Luxury Car Partner; Amity University Bengaluru, University Partner; Harrow International School Bengaluru, Education Partner; Meghalaya Tourism, State Partner; and NDTV 24x7, TV Partner.