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by Elmo Leonard

Underscoring the importance of business schools in nation-building and economic eventuality, George W Bush became the first US president to visit a business school in India, during his visit to the subcontinent in March. In Sri Lanka last week, was Deepak Chandra, senior executive of The Indian School of Business (ISB) to sell to Sri Lankan business houses, the promise of training their executives to be on par with business executives from any other part of the world.

ISB has just completed an executive education program for the senior management of Hemas Holdings, one of Sri Lanka's leading public quoted companies. The course of study, developed by ISB was to help and guide the senior management of Hemas for chartering a growth path for the company. The strategy program held at the ISB campus in Hyderabad was intended to fulfil the ambition and vision of the organisation, Hemas' CAO Husein Esafally said.

Whetted by the success with Hemas, Chandra will come here more often, he told the media. ISB is now working with Hayleys Ltd to develop future corporate strategies for the company. ISB is attempting to spread its wings in the Sri Lankan corporate world, Chandra said. Esafully, said that the faculty for ISB's executive education programs are renowned for their role in developing management thinking and practices and working with market-leading organisations.

Prof Rama Velamuri who is one of ISB's highly acclaimed visiting faculty, was the director for this program. He had worked with the Hemas leadership team to develop this special program to offer Hemas a platform for growth alternatives, a strategy framework for mergers and acquisitions, thus giving a clear strategy and direction to the group.

The program also saw the participation of corporate strategy experts from the Birla Group and the India Advisory Partners.

The US President was accompanied by US Secretary of State Dr Condoleeza Rice and US Ambassador to India, David C Mlford. At a roundtable with a group of entrepreneurs, Bush had referred to the growing importance of the Indian entrepreneurial class by saying, "It is in the interest of the United States that an entrepreneurial class grows in this great country." Also, 25 or 30 top US professionals are of Indian origin, Chandra said.

The Indian School of Business is a research-oriented independent management institution that grooms future leaders for India and the world, ISB, senior executive - communications, Varshaa Ratnaparke said. Its association with the Kellogg School of Management, the Wharton School and the London Business School make it one of its kind in Asia.

The school offers a one-year post graduate program in management and short-duration, high-powered executive education program for CEOs and senior executives and a two-year post doctoral research fellowship program.

The ISB centre for executive education (CEE) has been offering cutting-edge programs for top and senior executives both in India and globally, it was claimed.

In four years of existence, CEE has emerged as the biggest executive learning centre in India and one of the biggest in Asia.

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