EThames hosts India’s first Teen Corporate Leadership Challenge, to build a leadership mindset from an early age and announces winners

Hyderabad, Feb 10: EThames Business School (EBS), Hyderabad’s futuristic business management institution, today announced the successful organisation of the Teen Corporate Leadership Challenge (TCLC) — a never-before-seen and highly unusual leadership competition for teenagers, designed to introduce school students to corporate leadership and business thinking at an early age. 

Conceived as an experiential leadership and business immersion programme, TCLC is a first-of-its-kind inter-school career-readiness initiative for school and plus-two students. The programme moves beyond conventional academic competitions by placing students in simulated corporate environments, where they role-play as CEOs (Chief Executive Officers), CFOs (Chief Financial Officers), CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers), CTOs (Chief Technology Officers), and CHROs (Chief Human Resource Officers). 

Through these simulations, students made strategic decisions under pressure, analysed business scenarios, pitched ideas, worked in teams, and received structured feedback from industry professionals. Speaking at the press briefing, Kali Prasad Gadiraju, Chairman, EThames Business School, said, “Leadership is no longer a skill to be learned after graduation. It must be nurtured early, and TCLC is our effort to start that journey at the school level.” 

The Challenge was open to students from Class VIII to Intermediate (Plus Two) across Telangana. Over 3,000 students from more than 30 government and private schools participated in the initial rounds, out of which 300 students were shortlisted for the finals, and 12 emerged as Teen Corporate Leaders. 

The winners of the inaugural edition were: Teen CEO & Teen CHRO – Ms Saanvi Mahakala (The Vista School); Teen CFO – Mr Mohammed Adil Raza (The Vista School); Teen CMO – Ms B. Sai Vaidehi Reddy (Gyanville School); and Teen CTO – Mr Anirwin (St. Andrews School). 

Addressing the larger objective of the initiative, Kali Prasad Gadiraju said TCLC was designed to create early awareness of corporate career opportunities, especially as India emerges as the world’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) capital. “The career landscape has changed, but our guidance systems have not. While engineering and medicine remain important, today’s world needs leaders who can think strategically, communicate effectively, collaborate, and solve complex problems — skills that cannot be automated,” he said. 

He added that artificial intelligence is already disrupting low-end and routine technical jobs, while organisations worldwide are struggling to find people with leadership and decision-making capabilities. “Teenagers are far more capable than we give them credit for — if we provide the right exposure, structure, and challenge. That belief led us to create the Teen Corporate Leadership Challenge,” he said. 

Emphasising that TCLC is not an academic competition, Gadiraju said, “This is an immersive, real-world corporate simulation. Participants stepped into decision-making roles, communicated under pressure, and experienced how leadership actually functions in organisations. The objective was to build a leadership mindset and sharpen problem-solving skills.” 

At the event, EThames Business School also announced the launch of three focused two-week foundation bootcamps aimed at helping teenagers explore career paths early: TeenCEO Foundations (for corporate careers such as management and finance), TeenPro Foundations (for professional services such as law and audit), and Teen Founder Fundamentals (for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators). 

“These bootcamps are not about teaching subjects. They are about helping students understand themselves and make informed, intentional career choices,” Gadiraju said. 

Speaking on the occasion, VV Laxmi Narayana, IPS (Retd.), said initiatives like TCLC help build confidence, accountability, and responsible leadership long before students enter professional life. “Our education system is exam-oriented, not creativity-oriented. Creativity is essential for a nation’s growth. The only nation that survives is the one with imagination,” he said. 

He cited alternative education models such as School Without Walls in Maharashtra and the Business Blasters programme in Delhi, which encourage experiential learning and entrepreneurship, transforming students from job seekers into job creators through initiatives like earn-while-you-learn. 

The Teen Corporate Leadership Challenge was conducted in three progressive stages, beginning with a school-level written quiz focused on leadership awareness, logical reasoning, and business fundamentals, followed by advanced rounds at the EThames Business School campus involving case analysis, scenario-based challenges, and strategic thinking exercises. 

Members of the TCLC organising team, Dr Sahera Fathima and Dr Naga Laxmi, said the initiative goes beyond competition, focusing on holistic student development, early exposure to corporate roles, improved confidence, clearer career pathways, and strong academic and extracurricular profiles. They added that TCLC will be an annual feature, with plans to scale it significantly in the coming years.