China’s port city of Dalian hosted the World Economic Forum’s seventh Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as Summer Davos, from 11-13 September 2013.  At this event, QI Group Executive Chairman, Vijay Eswaran was invited to be part of an important panel discussion about strategic shifts in the consumer ecosystem. The session turned out to be a lively and interesting discussion on key areas influencing consumer behavior today and the important changes that are taking place as a result of that.  Sharing the panel with Eswaran was Scott Price, CEO of Walmart Asia, Gordon Orr, Chairman of McKinsey Asia and Aaron Cramer, CEO of Business for Social Responsibility.

A brief overview of the discussions redefined the important role of technology and social media in helping companies re-invent themselves. This is an exciting time for the consumer industry and with the rise of the digital natives – generations Y and Z that are oblivious to the pre–internet era, there is a demand for greater transparency and a huge shift in the expectations of brands. Companies and consumers are looking for sustainable products like never before.

At the Summer Davos, Eswaran also had the opportunity to meet with Chief Minister of Karnataka, Hon’ble Mr. Siddaramaiah , with whom he shared a friendly chat about the current focus of Education, Healthcare and the Agro business in Karnataka. Also present during the meet was Siddaramaiah’s professional team, that was keen to understand pain points for foreign investors and identify ways to help address them. To read a full report of the Chief Minister’s meetings in China, that also features a summary of Eswaran’s meeting with him, please click here.