The Indian School of Business launched the Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise on Saturday.
Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group and Chairman of the ISB Board, Dr Thomas Schmidheiny, Chairman, Spectrum Value Management, Ajit Rangnekar, Dean ISB, Dieter Spaelti, Managing Partner and CEO - Spectrum Value Management Ltd, Zurich and Professor Kavil Ramachandran, Executive Director, Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise participated in the opening ceremony.
The inauguration of the new Centre coincided with the Fifth Asian Invitational Conference on Family Business being held at the ISB. The Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise is funded and supported by Dr Thomas Schmidheiny.
The new Centre is an expansion over the Thomas Schmidheiny Chair for Family Business, which was established in 2006. Over the years, the Chair has contributed significantly to the growing body of research on various aspects of family business, such as governance, leadership, professionalisation, role of women in family businesses and entrepreneurship. Encouraged by the impact of the work done by the Chair, Dr Thomas Schmidheiny has extended his support to ISB in setting up this Centre, says a press release from the B school.
The Centre has been established with the objective of creating sustainable family enterprises and institutions, strengthening the custodianship role of business families and other stakeholders which in turn will create value for the economy and the society. Some of the new areas that the Centre will focus on, are wealth management, philanthropy, developing mentors for family businesses, managing family business boards, and research on global family enterprises. The ongoing activities will include research, case studies, training, teaching, external engagement and institution building.
In addition to setting up the Centre, the ISB offers a Management Programme for Family Businesses (MFAB), conducts short duration executive programmes, and has recently started the Family Business Forum that allows alumni and students from family businesses to engage with heads of leading family business groups and learn best practices.
Several international delegates from Singapore, Indonesia Sri Lanka Bangladesh, Oman and Switzerland besides India, are participating in the Family Business Conference. Several leaders such as Dieter Spaelti, Managing Partner and CEO - Spectrum Value Management Ltd, Zurich, Jamil Ali Sultan, Director - W.J. Towell & Co. (LLC), Oman, Husein Esufally,Chairman - Hemas Holdings PLC, Sri Lanka, Shanti L. Poesposoetjipto, Chairman - PT Samudera Indonesia Tbk, Indonesia Chairman - PT Asuransi Bintang Tbk, Indonesia, Feroz Rahim, Group Managing Director- Rahimafrooz (Bangladesh) Limited, Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director -TVS Capital Funds Ltd, Sajjan Jindal,Chairman and Managing Director, JSW Group, Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, G V Prasad, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, Anil Rai Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Havells India Ltd, M G Geroge Muthoot, Chairman, The Muthoot Groupare participating in the two day conference.