An Appointment Announcement From Schulich Dean Dezsö J. Horváth
I am proud to announce that Dr. Viswanathan Raghunathan (Raghu) has been appointed as the Director of Schulich’s campus in Hyderabad, where the first year of the Schulich MBA in India program is offered.
Dr. Raghunathan brings years of valuable experience and expertise to the role of Director of our Hyderabad campus and has strong ties to the Indian and global business communities. Recently ranked as one of the top 50 Global Indian Management Thinkers, he has had a long and highly accomplished career as an academic, corporate executive, author and columnist. Dr. Raghunathan was a Professor of Finance at IIM, Ahmedabad for nearly two decades and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, and at the Schulich School of Business. In 2001, he switched careers and moved into the banking sector, serving as the President of ING Vysya Bank in Bangalore. Since January 2005, he has also served as the CEO of GMR Varalakshmi Foundation. He is a well-known author and a popular columnist with The Economic Times and the Times of India.
Schulich’s campus in Hyderabad has 45-50 students enrolled in the first year of the school’s two-year program, with another 45-50 students completing the second year of the MBA in India Program at the School’s York University campus in Toronto. Approximately 150 students from four cohorts have so far graduated from the Schulich MBA in India program and are now pursuing successful business careers around the world.
The new Hyderabad campus, which features a videoconferencing link to Schulich’s Toronto campus, is part of a twinning arrangement between the Schulich School of Business and GMR School of Business, an educational initiative of GMR Varalakshmi Foundation of the GMR Group, India’s leading infrastructure major. The Schulich MBA in India program has government accreditation through the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
The 20,000-square-foot facility and grounds is located near the airport in Hyderabad, India’s fourth-largest city and home to thriving financial services, IT, manufacturing and pharmaceutical sectors.
Schulich School of Business faculty members teach all of the courses in Hyderabad as well as in Toronto. The Hyderabad facility has space to significantly expand the size of Schulich’s MBA in India program in future years.
In September, 2014, about 400 government and university officials as well as business leaders from across India attended the official opening ceremony of Schulich’s Hyderabad campus. Also in attendance were several members of Schulich’s India Advisory Council, which includes Council Chair G.M. Rao, the Group Chairman of GMR Group; Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons; O.P. Bhatt, Independent Director with Tata Steel Limited; Uday Kotak, Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.; R.K. Krishna Kumar, Trustee, Tata Trusts; and Bahram Vakil, Founding Partner, AZB & Partners.
Schulich previously offered their MBA in India program in partnership with the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) in Mumbai. The Schulich MBA in India, which launched in January 2010, was the first MBA program to be delivered in India by a leading international business school.
Schulich’s ties to India go back more than 20 years. The School has had exchange partner agreements with a number of India’s leading management schools, including the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. In 2005, Schulich opened an international satellite centre in Mumbai that recruits talented students; provides career placement services to Schulich students and alumni seeking career opportunities in India; offers Executive and Leadership Development programming for Indian executives; supports Schulich’s alumni chapter in India; and manages local media relations.
We are fortunate to have an academic and business leader of Dr. Raghunathan’s caliber to help us meet India’s growing demand for world-class management training. Please join me in welcoming Raghu to our School and wishing him success in his new role.