From India business schools to top of world's boardrooms - Print Version - International Herald Tribune

From India business schools to top of world's boardrooms - Print Version - International Herald Tribune

"There is a huge demand for Indian executives," said Rana Talwar, the former chief executive of Standard Chartered in London who runs Sabre Capital, a buyout firm. "The quality of the education is very good. And Indians can adapt to any environment. When we grew up, we got used to adverse conditions."

Part of what makes Indian graduates desirable is their willingness to move for a job, said Ajay Banga, chief executive of Citigroup's $18.3 billion Global Consumer Group International in New York. Banga should know. He has relocated 10 times in 25 years. [DR Note: Reminds me of Peter Drucker saying that the only country having a US comparable internal labor migration flexibility was India]

The attitude complements the rigorous education, much of it American-inspired, at the IIT and IIM schools. One in 50 applicants to the IIT schools is accepted, and at the IIM management college in Ahmedabad, the rate is one in 532, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit rankings. At the Stanford Graduate School of Business, one in 13 is accepted.