On January 26, ESSEC took part in a triple celebration in New Delhi with one of its oldest and most prestigious partners, the Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad. The event marked ESSEC’s Centenary, 25 years of collaboration with IIM-A, and the awarding of the French Legion of Honor to Mr. Narayana Murthy (founder and Chief Mentor of Infosys, and President of the Indo-French Alumni Network).

Pierre Tapie is presented with an official gift by Dr. Samir Barua

Towards awareness and education

The India Habitat Center provided the venue for the public event, featuring a round table discussion on the theme “Corporate Global Responsibility: from awareness to education”. Master of Ceremonies Dr. Ashok Som (an IIM-A alumnus and currently Professor of Management at ESSEC) moderated the session, which included contributions from the following:

• Dr. Samir Barua, Director of IIM Ahmedabad
• Mr. Richard Descoings, Director of Institute of Political Science, Paris
• Dr. Vijay Kapur, Dean of International Affairs, Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University
• Mr. Prashant Lahoti, Curator of Krishnakriti Foundation
• Mr. Arun Maira, Chairman of Boston Consulting Group and Member of the International Advisory Board of ESSEC
• Mr. Pascal Morand, Director of ESCP-EAP
• Mr. Narayana Murthy, Founder and Chief Mentor Infosys, President of IFAN
• Mr. Gilles Pelisson, Managing Director and CEO of ACCOR and President of the International Advisory Board of ESSEC
• Dr. Pierre Tapie, President & Dean, ESSEC Business School

Celebration and agreement with IIM-Ahmedabad

Discussions were concluded with a symbolic celebration and presentation between ESSEC and IIM-A. This was followed by the signing of University Cooperation Agreements in the presence of the French Minister of Higher and Research Education, Mrs. Valérie Pécresse, and then the decoration of Mr. Narayana Murthy with the Legion of Honor.

Valérie Pécresse and Narayana Murthy,
following the awarding of the French Legion of Honor

Worthy recognition of Narayana Murthy

The event provided a fitting tribute to the great work of Mr. Murthy and, more generally, to the outstanding achievements of ESSEC and IIM-A over the 25 years of close academic partnership. For Pierre Tapie, this close collaboration is, above all, a consequence of “shared values: we [ESSEC and IIM-A] try to educate young business men and women with concerns for Business in Society”.