In an unprecedented development that could well l propel Indian management education globally, Padma Bhushan awardee, Professor Jagdish Sheth, known globally for his scholarly contributions in consumer behaviour, relationship marketing, competitive strategy and geopolitical analysis, has lent his name to IFIM Business School Bangalore, which will now be christened Jagdish Sheth School of Management (JAGSOM).
Sanjay Padode
Dr Sheth accepted the request of the present Chairman, Sanjay Padode, to rename the school after him, making this one of those rare instances where an institution is being named to honour a globally-renowned Indian academic and is not based on the receipt of any endowment or grant. This is also a unique case where the Trustee/Promoter has relinquished his position as Chairman of the Board to propel the B-school further on its globalisation journey.
“As India gets globally integrated, it will become increasingly necessary for management schools to meet or exceed global benchmarks, global accreditations and global recognitions. I am honoured that Sanjay Padode, Atish Chattopadhyay, the Governing Board and all the faculty invited me to rename IFIM in its journey toward becoming a globally admired school and recognized as Jagdish Sheth School of Management,” said Dr Sheth.
Award-winning prof
Prof Jagdish Sheth is Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Business in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He has over 50 years of combined experience in teaching and research at the University of Southern California, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbia University, MIT and Emory University. Prof. Sheth, has been advisor to numerous companies including Whirlpool, Motorola, AT&T, WIPRO, Aditya Birla group, E&Y, Hughes Corporation, among others and has published numerous books and award-winning articles. He has been advisor to the Government of Singapore in repositioning the nation for the future. He has also been the policy advisor to the US Government about the future of the telecommunications industry. Recognising his achievements, the Government of India had conferred him with the Padma Bhushan in 2020.
“After incubating IFIM Business School for 25 years to become AACSB accredited in 2018 and a globally ranked institution in 2020, the biggest challenge ahead for us is to stay in the global rankings, as there is a stigma attached to private owner-led business schools. I felt that it is time to cut the umbilical cord and professionalise the governance of the institution. We also wanted to rebrand the institution. After considering multiple options, we decided to request Prof Jagdish Sheth to lend his name to the institution permanently and am grateful to him for his acceptance to Chair the Governing Boardsaid Padode.
Strong industry interface
JAGSOM takes off from the many recent achievements of IFIM B-School, which is well known for its focus on an employability-oriented curriculum and strong industry interface. In 2018, IFIM became only the sixthB-school in India to be accredited by AACSB International. Recently, IFIM was ranked by QS Masters in Marketing Ranking 2021 amongst the Top 100 such programmes (in 51-100 band) in the World for its PGDM Marketing programme.
Commenting on the significance of the development, Dr Atish Chattopadhyay, Director, Jagdish Sheth School of Management, said, “This is a watershed moment for management education in India which is marked by number of ‘firsts’: This is the first time that an Indian management institution is being re-named to honour a globally-renowned scholar and not based on receipt of endowments. This is also the first time that an owner gives way to an academic to make a shift from being an owner-driven institution to an academic driven institution. The renaming of the school will result in higher visibility in the global arena.”