Conclave highlights M’luru’s potential as growth hub

Mangaluru: The Vertex CXO Conclave 2026, hosted by Vertex Workspaces, recently brought together industry leaders, policymakers and senior executives to examine opportunities for business expansion beyond Bengaluru. The discussions held at Dr TMA Pai International Convention Centre focused on positioning Mangaluru as a viable destination for enterprise and technology-led growth.Top executives from the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) and Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) outlined policy frameworks to promote investment in non-metro regions. Rahul Sharanappa Sankanur, managing director, KITS, along with Samir Venugopal, Bharath Chandra BK, and Vaishak Pai from KDEM, highlighted incentives related to infrastructure, talent development and regulatory support to encourage companies to expand beyond established urban centres. Vinayak Palanakar, CMO, Vertex Workspaces, said the company is looking to move beyond its role as a workspace provider to support business growth. He emphasised that Vertex aims to play a key enabler role by supporting companies operating from its premises to seamlessly avail govt grants and incentives, while also addressing critical business challenges such as hiring and talent acquisition. Speakers during the conclave pointed to Mangaluru's strengths, including its strong educational base, improving infrastructure and a growing presence of IT and global capability centres (GCCs). They also noted that talent retention, ecosystem maturity and industry collaboration remain areas that require sustained attention. Offering a perspective on workforce trends, Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, observed that while the Mangaluru-Udupi region has a steady supply of entry- and mid-level talent, availability at senior levels continues to be a constraint. He emphasised the need for structured hiring strategies and stronger local ecosystems to address migration to larger cities. Gurudatta Shenoy, managing partner, Vertex Workspaces, said the initiative would extend beyond the conclave through leadership forums, hiring platforms and policy engagement efforts aimed at supporting companies entering emerging markets.