Indra Nooyi: Alma mater matters

PepsiCo?s Indra Nooyi could be pitching in with brand-building tips, while Harvard Business School?s Krishna Palepu suggests changes in the curriculum? The best of old boys and girls are back to boost the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC).

Keen to cash in on its illustrious alumni network, the Joka campus has decided to involve ex-students with their alma mater in more ways than one. A 50-member committee, Golden Circle, has been set up boasting some of the most successful and renowned alumnus of the oldest IIM in the country. From Nooyi to Palepu, the team has a mix of academicians and corporate honchos, recent pass-outs and old timers, local and global achievers.

?We are bouncing off ideas and seeking their advice while revamping the academic curriculum or planning brand-building initiatives for the institute,? said Anup Sinha, dean, programme initiative, IIMC.

According to Sinha, the response from the B-school?s old brigade has been ?very encouraging? and the institute is eager to use their expertise to usher in improvements on campus.

?We have not been very active on the alumni relationship front, but now we want to step up the scope of interaction with former students of the institute as they are a very critical resource for us,? explained Sinha. The IIMs in Ahmedabad and Bangalore have various forums for regular interaction with former students.

As adding value to the current crop of budding managers tops the agenda, IIMC has also finalised another initiative, Distinguished Alumnus Lecture Series. M. Suresh Sundaresan, Chase Manhattan Bank professor of finance of economics at Columbia University, will kick off the series on July 5.

The Wall Street-acclaimed expert on international finance and an eighth batch pass-out from Joka, will speak on Consumer and Corporate Defaults: Lessons from Asia and Western Hemisphere, besides participating in an open house with the students. ?These talks immensely benefit students and we will try to organise at least two such lecture sessions annually,? added Sinha.

A host of other plans are also being worked out by the programme initiative cell, which has recently been entrusted with the responsibility of alumni relationship. A complete database has been prepared and a roster of events involving the alumni drawn up. To keep the interaction structured and regular, the IIMC authorities are also in the process of setting up a trust, which would be an umbrella organisation of various alumni networks across the globe.