The inauguration of the 2nd International Conference on Business and Management (ICBM 2019), hosted by Brac Business School (BBS), Brac University, Bangladesh began with a solemn note as the Master of Ceremony, Adiba Naoshin requested all participants and attendees to observe a minute of silence for Fahmida Haque Labannya, a student of the Computer Science and Engineering department of Brac University whose life was tragically cut short due to a road accident on the 25th of April.

Prof. Dr. Vincent Chang, Special Guest and Vice Chancellor of Brac University, respected Guest of Honor Mr. M. Anis Ud Dowla, Chairman of ACI Group; Prof. Dr. Mohammad Mahboob Rahman, Session Chair and Dean of Brac Business School, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Md. Mamun Habib, Program Chair and the 3 keynote speakers Prof. Dr. Hui-Ming Wee (Taiwan), Prof. Dr. Tzong-Ru Lee (Taiwan), Prof. Dr. Razamin Ramli (Malaysia) graced the inauguration on April 26, 2019 at The Westin, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Program Chair of ICBM, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Md. Mamun Habib spoke first and welcomed everyone to ICBM 2019. Dr. Habib reminisced about the inception of ICBM and how his idea had grown into this unique platform. He also hoped that ICBM 2019 would provide a much needed bridge between the corporate and academic worlds. The growth and progress of ICBM was also noted and applauded. ICBM 2017 had 150 papers and 180 participants. Within a short span of 2 years the conference had widened its reach. ICBM 2019 had initially received more than 260 papers, out of which 170 were selected. The number of participants had also grown to around 300 and there were more than 40 foreign delegates present at the conference.

Special Guest and Vice Chancellor of BRAC University Prof. Dr. Vincent Chang talked about the importance of an initiative like ICBM. About the significance of ICBM 2019, Prof. Dr. Chang said, “Particularly from Bangladesh’s perspective I think it is a) timely b) relevant and c) a useful platform”. He also implored the international guests to explore the city of Dhaka and remarked that the people of Bangladesh were some of the most hospitable he had ever met.

In his short speech the Chairman of ACI Group and Guest of Honor Mr. M. Anis Ud Dowla introduced the concept of “Industry 4.0” and lauded the efforts of ICBM 2019 to bridge the gap between academia and industry. The future will be full of challenges and opportunities, he said, and everyone would need to work together to tackle them. In his closing remarks he reinforced the importance of collaboration and said, “In this era of globalization 4.0 it is inevitable for us to collaborate and share ideas to harness the potential of the emerging technology of the industry 4.0”.

In the closing statement of the inauguration, Session Chair Prof. Dr. Mohammad Mahboob Rahman spoke about the importance of being relevant and to design and conduct all business activities in a way that ultimately leads to global prosperity. He hoped all participants would take away something of value from the conference. Finally, Prof. Dr. Rahman expressed his special gratitude to the Platinum sponsor ACI Limited, Gold sponsors Brac Bank, Runner Automobiles, IPDC Finance and Abdul Monem Ltd, Silver sponsors Mutual Trust bank and bKash and the hospitality partner The Westin, Dhaka.

The conference proceedings was launched by the guests in the stage during the inaugural session. This proceedings has two versions, book format (hard copy) and soft copy format in USB drive, consists of ISBN 978-984-344-3540.