Professional CEO careers are limited in a boundary, and retirement happens. But paintings of the same CEOs are timeless. They?ll never become old or the past. Dauntless when orchestrating diverse corporate functions, from nitty-gritty internal happenings to juggling the multifarious outside environment, CEOs have something extra which made them CEOs. That?s ingenious imagination. To capture that as lasting recognition value beyond corporate work, we?ve created an exclusive club for sensitive painter CEOs (www.painterceo.com). Thirty six CEOs have to date spontaneously held colour in a brush to let their mind?s eye take over a canvas.

Let?s look at how the 2012 painter CEO club entrants painted their thoughts. Reaching Delhi?s office-cum-residence of Priya Paul, chairperson of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, I?d started arranging brushes, colours, palette, when suddenly a big dog breezed in, pounced at a tube of paint, and strode off challengingly like lion king who?s got what he?d wanted. ?Don?t bother with him,? Priya said walking in. ?He just wants to attract attention.? Watching a tree in her garden Priya displayed her fabulous perspective of colours, ?Painting today made me happy, fulfilled and excited to do more.? Soon enough the dog quietly returned the paint in exactly the place he?d taken it from. ?Seeing these beautiful colours and your colourful shirt Shombit, I feel compelled to paint you,? smiled Hari Bhartia, Jubilant Group?s co-chairman. His brother chairman Shyam Bhartia walked in and looked appreciatively at Hari engrossed in painting. ?Business is also creativity,? said Hari. ?You need to create something all the time, make it work, make it sustainable.? Travelling next to Thane, I found Aniruddha Deshmukh, president Textiles of Raymond, reflecting on his travels: ?While I cannot put actual shape to thought, as I was painting I could visualise the outdoors I love, the sea, the forests. I?ve never done this, but I really felt it?s one of my most pleasurable moments.? Rajesh Jejurikar was chief executive of Mahindra’s Automotive Sector when he literally devoured the paints, giving life to nature and corporate promise, Mahindra RISE. ?Our vehicles go through multiple terrains, greenery, water, dust and mud, to a destination close to the sun which enables people to rise.? Now president, ZEE Ltd., Rajesh said he enjoyed ?expressing the spirit of freedom, energy and upliftment.?

?I want to capture the radiance of Om,? said Gunender Kapur, CEO, TPG Wholesale. ?The beginning of everything is Om. I had just these two letters in mind. It’s been a fantastic experience.? For Sambhu Sivalenka, CMD, Amrutanjan HealthCare, ?Painting is a primeval urge in human evolution. Heck, the caveman did it!? He reminiscences, ?Connecting brush to canvas, some old memories came rushing back. Just like life, these involutes I?m making have a beginning and end. Painting challenges you to lose the security that comes with definition and rote, the finite numbers and cash flow statements CEOs spend time with.?

?Shombit I know you could be upto something crazy, but I didn?t think you?d go even to this length of getting me to paint,? laughed Guy Goves, president, agri business, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals. ?My painting is an expression of finding yourself in nature?s beauty, a great gift to mankind. You learn from it, gain from it, share it. To keep nature intact for our children to enjoy is of paramount importance to me today.? Geometric light is what Bijou Kurien, president, lifestyle, Reliance Retail drew, ?This is a huge learning experience to use brushes, contrasting geometrical shapes, experiment with flowers, put paint on paint. Having never dabbled with paints, once you figure it out, you feel a sense of satisfaction of doing something original. There?s a parallel with the way you build companies and start businesses.?

?There?s always a storm brewing,? said Vivek Mehra, MD/CEO, Sage Publications India. ?One goes away, another is waiting to happen. The question is about knowing you have the courage to ride it.? Deftly painting a mysterious purple storm he said, ?I?ve not held a brush since eighth standard. It?s surprisingly like riding a bicycle, you really don?t lose touch.? Ashish Dikshit, president, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, tried escaping this painting session since one year. As luck would have it, I had a meeting with Anuradha Narasimhan, category director, Britannia, and discovered in conversation she?s married to Ashish. Anuradha sportingly collaborated with me, accepted my dinner invitation at home. Ashish was spellbound when I put colours before him, he painted wonderfully. ?My expression was all about freshness, vibrancy, beautiful things, young and exciting. The experience was like any normal meeting with Shombit, unexpected, surprising, full of challenges, creativity into areas I?ve never ventured into.?

?Question mark is my favourite symbol. It?s the ovum in the womb here,? said Dileep Ranjekar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation. He marveled at how easily paints rolled out creativity from his fingers. His wife Nandini said his circle was imperfect. While still painting Dileep explained that learning comes only when we interrogate, so the non-idyllic circle. Their husband-wife love and affection relationship was itself coming through like a painting. ?More inquisitive people should be born, rebelling against the establishment, current fundamentals, seeking knowledge, change. The black spot here is like a mistake that happens and you live with,? said Dileep. ?For DP Singh, CMD, Punjab & Sind Bank, this was his first attempt at painting, ?I had carpentry classes in school.? His memories returned to Giverny, France, ?Remember that arched bridge? I?m interpreting where Monet lived, where nature grows its own way, giving you a feeling of freedom unlike organized gardens anywhere in the world.?

Every painting of the 36 Painter CEO Club members is priceless. It arrests the CEO?s state-of-being in the most productive time of his/her professional life. Freezing these unique pieces of art into corporate memorabilia, future generations can appreciate how each CEO handled this complex, heady, industrious period. The Painter CEO Club is helping CEOs expose their embedded creative streak, so they can lead their companies towards differentiation to meet the challenges of global competition.

Shombit Sengupta is an international Creative Business Strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com