The All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation’s (GJF) first ever Leadership Summit for the Gems & Jewellery industry offered the members of the trade some interesting insights on the challenges they face. It also provided some perspective on the process by which their businesses could be transformed into more professionally-managed, corporate entities. The day-long session at the Hotel Hyatt Regency in Mumbai was attended by over 200 delegates from different parts of the country. %% In the morning the Summit was inaugurated by Suresh Jain, MLA from Jalgaon, one of the key centres of gold jewellery manufacturing in Maharashtra with the Keynote Address being delivered by B.S. Nagesh, vice president, Shoppers Stop. Nagesh presented an overview of the modern retail sector in the country, cautioning the audience, however, that it still constituted a very minuscule part of the overall retail business. He said that the jewellery industry too was as ‘organised’ as the overall retail sector, and there was no basis to think of it as ‘unorganised’. He also said that his observations had been that staff of jewellery companies had a low attrition rate and hence developed greater experience and maturity. %% GJF Chairman, Vinod Hayagriv also addressed the Inaugural Session, presenting an overview of the need for change, the urgency of developing uniform procedures, policies and systems across the country to boost consumer confidence, and the rationale for conducting the summit. Past Chairman Ashok Minawala also elaborated on a similar theme. %% Sessions conducted by motivational speaker, the internationally renowned management guru Vijay Batra, were extremely well received by the delegates. He presented his thoughts on the need for thinking and acting positively and developing commitment towards one’s business along with the self-confidence to grow it aggressively. %% Other sessions saw the speakers discussing various issues of interest to the industry including trends in gold prices and its impact on the business, as well as some key questions related to the diamond industry.