Event Overview

On October 1, 2026, the University School of Business (USB) at Chandigarh University hosted "CEO Under Fire X", billed as India’s first ultimate corporate crisis championship. The competition brought together management students from roughly 150 institutions across the country, providing an immersive platform where participants acted as CEOs handling simulated high‑stakes business emergencies.

Competition Structure and Rounds

The championship unfolded in three stages. The first round, titled "Shock Wave – Face the Crises," featured around 150 teams representing institutions from Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and other regions. In the second round, "Decision Under Pressure," the top 50 teams convened on the CU campus and assumed stakeholder roles such as investors, board members, regulators and business partners, creating a realistic board‑room crisis scenario before a judging panel. The final round, "CEO Verdict: Grand Finale – CEO Hot Seat," narrowed the field to the top 10 teams, who tackled live corporate crisis situations within a limited time and defended their decisions under rapid‑fire questioning.

Winners

Based on performance in rapid questioning, decisive leadership, judgement and communication, the podium was as follows:

  • 1st Place: Indira Global School of Business, Pune – team named "Boardroom Wizards".
  • 2nd Place: Amity University – team named "Business Mavericks".
  • 3rd Place: Chandigarh University – team named "Titans".

Dignitaries and Keynote Contributions

The launch was attended by senior executives who also delivered leadership insights:

  • Sham Kumar, Co‑Founder & COO, Aerial Telecom Solutions, urged youth to embrace AI, stating that AI will affect mundane jobs and that adding AI to one’s skill set can create new opportunities.
  • Asit Prakash Sharma, Vice President – CX Capability & Presales Leader, Tech Mahindra, described three generations of technology and emphasized that the current era of Generative and Agentic AI demands a leap of faith rather than incremental improvement.
  • Gaurav Malik, President, Homeland Group, highlighted AI’s role in accelerating learning while stressing that final decision‑making in real‑estate remains a human responsibility.
  • Zubair Chaudhary, Founder & CEO, Einstellen.AI, cautioned startups to focus on solving business problems rather than waiting for technology to evolve.
  • Vatsalya Chaturvedi, Director & CEO, MintSteer, likened AI to a seasoning that enhances a dish, but the core cooking skills remain essential.
  • Rohit Gupta, Director, Grant Thornton, participated in the panel discussion.
  • Prof (Dr) Satbir Singh Sehgal, Vice‑Chancellor, Chandigarh University, emphasized experiential learning and the value of the championship for developing crisis‑management capabilities.
  • Prof (Dr) Nilesh Arora, Executive Director, Management, Chandigarh University, also addressed the gathering.

Parallel Initiatives

Alongside the competition, USB organized the CXO Summit 2026, convening startup founders, CEOs, co‑founders and managing directors from finance, telecom, real‑estate and human‑resource domains to discuss leadership, digital innovation and measurable business outcomes.

Launch of Centre of Excellence and Certification Programme

During the event, USB unveiled the AURA – Centre for AI‑Driven Universal Business Re‑engineering & Analytics. Simultaneously, it launched its first professional skill certification programme titled "Generative and Agentic AI for Business Applications", developed in collaboration with Grant Thornton as part of the CoE’s operational rollout.

Institutional Participation

Prominent institutions represented 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, among others.

Significance

The press release positions the championship as a novel experiential learning initiative that bridges theory and practice, equips future managers with crisis‑management skills, and showcases the university’s commitment to AI‑driven business education.