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FINANCIAL EXPRESS: Food caFe: My
network is my networthनिवल मूल्य, says Bala V Balachandran
Dr Bala V Balachandran, the JL Kellogg Distinguishedविशिष्ट Professor (Emeritusजो सम्मानपूर्वक सेवामुक्त हुआ हो in Service) of Accounting and Information Management, is about
to receive an award at the ITC Grand Chola, Chennai.
He has lost count of the
awards he has received in a career spanningफैले over five decades. I suggest we meet at Cafe Mercara Express,
the coffee shop at the hotel, before he leaves for the function. Prof Bala, as
he is known, is the founder, chairman and dean of the Great Lakes Institute of
Management in Chennai. In a matter of 11 years, under his stewardshipपरिचारक का पद, the school
has grown into one of the top management institutions in the country. Great
Lakes received global accreditation from the Association of MBAs (AMBA, UK) in
June 2014 for its postgraduate programmes, becoming the youngest business
school in India to receive this top international accreditationमान्यता and one of the youngest to
globally too.
The professor orders good strong South Indian coffee. I go by
the waiter’s recommendation and settle for hot chocolate. We ask for the
temptingमोहक tiny pizzas.
The coffee arrives and the professor tells me about his journey as a teacher
and an academic entrepreneurव्यवसायी, which began
in 1960. “I have been with the Kellogg School of Management for 42 years,” he
says.
Prof Bala began his teaching career in 1960 at the Annamalai
University in Tamil Nadu. In 1967, he moved to the University of Dayton. In
1971, to the Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught management courses
while working on his doctorate. In 1973, he joined the Kellogg School of
Management faculty. His work has earned numerousकई अर्जित scholastic
honours, awards and fellowships. He has provided consultancy and executive
education for various companies and governments in the US and across the world.
Prof Bala’s association with setting upकी स्थापना business schools in India began in earnest बयाना after the economic
liberalisation in early 1990s. He wanted to present India’s new economic
policies to the American corporate world. “I planned on organising an India
business conference through the Northwestern University and create a platform
for government officials, entrepreneurs and trade associations in India to
showcase their potential.”
The conference was conducted in 1992, supported by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP). One of the key participants was Dr
Manmohan Singh, the then finance minister. “Dr Singh wanted IAS officers to be
trained by management professors from leading American universities, to deal
with foreign investments and MNCs.”
Prof Bala was chosen for the assignment. “I was given the
responsibility of creating and executing क्रियान्वितthe national management programme at the Management
Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon. As a first step, 20 professors were
trained at the Kellogg School of Management. In India, the training sessions
were conductedसंचालित under my
direct supervisionपर्यवेक्षण. I was able to
pull $1 million funding for this project from the UN.”
Prof Bala was instrumentalसहायक in designing MBA programmes at MDI. At the same time, he
started toyingखेलना with the idea
of captains of Indian industry joining hands to create a world-class business
school in India. This was his dream and it came true in the early part of the
20th century. He started discussing his ideas with Rajat Gupta, who was his
neighbour in Chicago. “Gupta thought it was a great idea and started working on
the project immediately. He was confident that he could get the support of the
Indian government and investments from American and Indian corporations. I was
given the task of craftingशिल्प the business
school programme.” Prof Bala is generousउदार in his praise for Gupta. “Without him, there could not have
been an Indian School of Business. Gupta created a fund of $35 million.”
Now we are served almond croissants. I am washing down all these
delicious, but high-calorie snacks, with lemon tea. Prof Bala, while having
some more coffee, tells me how the ISB—which was established in 2000—was set up
in Hyderabad. Initially, it was supposed to come up in Mumbai, the commercial
capital of the country. Most of the senior industrialists committing to the
business school came from Mumbai. However, when a senior politician demanded
that 39% seats must be reserved for Maharashtrians, the project got shelvedहटाया हुआ. At that point, Tamil Nadu government did not show sufficient
interest.
On the other hand, the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N
Chandrababu Naidu, saw the potential and offered land and facilities to set up
the ISB near Hyderabad. Prof Bala knew Naidu quite well as he had been
consulting with his government. When the ISB became functional, Prof Bala took
the first class on the first day. The institution had to raise additional
funds, which did not happen because of the economic slowdown and the dot.com
burst. The tuition fees had to be raised steeplyतेजी within three years of inceptionआरंभ, which was not acceptable to Prof Bala.
In 2002, he had to undergoगुज़रना quintupleपंचगुना bypass surgery
when he was thinking of ending his association with the ISB. “My wife wanted me
to slow down. I couldn’t. My good friend, A Mahendran—the former CEO and
managing director of Godrej Sara Lee—who was attending a management programme
at Kellogg, had sowed a seed in my head. He had suggested that I start a
management school in my home town in Tamil Nadu. He called me brand Bala and
said I could attract talent and students to make a success out of it.”
In spite of his family’s misgivingsगलतफहमी, Prof Bala went ahead. Although
J Jayalalithaa—who was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu then—was most
supportive of the project and offered government land at subsidised rates,
there were delays in clearing the land. Prof Bala sold the huge house he owned
at the upmarket East Coast Road (ECR) in Chennai and raised funds for the
institution. Great Lakes was set up in 2004. “Everyone was worried about the
placement prospects of the new school. As it happened, companies such as
Infosys and TCS recruited our students on par with their other hires from IIMs and
the ISB. The 100% placement record in the very first year attracted even more
students.” Great Lakes’ flagship PGPM is now among the top-ranked one-year
executive programmes in the country. Its faculty includes many management
professors from top American universities who, in fact, are Prof Bala’s
friends.
The institute’s Business Advisory Council consists of 46 Indian
business leaders, including Ratan Tata, Jamshyd Godrej, NR Narayana Murthy,
Rahul Bajaj, Indra Nooyi, S Ramadorai, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Deepak Parekh.
“I have worked with all of them at one time or the other. My network is my
networth.”
It is time for him to go receive the award. I ask him for how
long can Great Lakes remain a one-man show. “I am 78-years old and have been
seriously working on successionउत्तराधिकार planning. I am
taking in two partners but will retain 51%,” says the professor.
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