Enframed

Centre for Executive Education: Lessons in Leadership



A walk around the academic quadrangle is all you need to understand the extent of the executive education programme at ISB. This month temporary metal detectors indicated that the MLAs were back for another round of leadership session. Last month, celebrating their successes in the auditorium were several senior executives who had graduated from the Certificate Programme in Strategic Retail Management (CSRM) offered jointly between Coca-Cola and ISB.  

The centre has witnessed a meteoric rise from its initial years when just a handful of HR Managers attended the inaugural sessions ten years ago. Since then, the centre has expanded over seven times with revenue exceeding Rs 50 Crores. Companies such as AREVA, SKF, Caterpillar, Suzlon, Coca Cola, and Ericsson with far-flung offices are flying their executives to ISB to be part of the CEE advantage making the centre the largest provider of executive education in India. Last year the centre provided training to over 3366 managers and entrepreneurs through 114 programmes.

Much of this growth can be attributed to the effective administration of multi-disciplinary programmes that have clearly benefitted a broad spectrum of executives. Over 90% of executives from Accenture felt that the CEE programmes had helped them “enhance their delivery management skills.” The deep involvement of world-renowned faculty in the development and execution of the programmes is the main draw for many participants. Dr P K C Bose, Managing Director and CEO of Saertex India and a CEE alumnus feels the research inputs by the faculty give the participants an “insight into future trends. It’s almost like looking into the crystal ball of business.” 

The programmes offered by the CEE cover topics such as leadership, general management, strategy, marketing, finance, operations and IT – the entire gamut of skills that can help executives transform their companies, and themselves in the process. In a business environment that is constantly in a state of flux, it pays to be nimble and knowledgeable about the current trends and the centre is performing an important task of filling the knowledge gap in executives so that they are prepared to meet their challenges with confidence.

The courses are classified into short -term open, general management, and customised executive programmes according to the requirements. The clientele for the programmes have expanded to include MLAs, IFS officers, women entrepreneurs, IPS officers, LIC personnel, and Indian Railways officers.

The future looks promising with the centre reaching out to SAARC nations, Europe, UAE and Singapore in order to train the next generation of thought leaders.