Building a legacy that balances growth with governance
Parth Nagda, PGPFMB batch 37
It has been nearly 11 months since I began my journey with the Post Graduate Programme in Family Managed Business (PGPFMB) programme at SPJIMR, and the shift in my thinking has been transformational.
I come from a diversified family business with a presence across India. Our organisation, Apple Office Stationers Pvt. Ltd. operates through three key verticals: office supply and stationery (pan-India), signage solutions for branding and visibility, and commercial printing for customised business requirements. Growing up in a multi-vertical setup gave me early exposure to operations, clients, and market dynamics. But it also made me realise something important: experience is powerful, but structure is essential.
What inspired me to pursue PGPFMB at SPJIMR?
Hands-on learning from senior family members is invaluable. Yet I strongly believe that formal management education adds an edge that experiential learning alone cannot provide. The Post Graduate Programme in Family Managed Business (PGPFMB) introduced me to frameworks that challenge assumptions, faculty who push you to think deeper, and case discussions that make you question ‘the way we’ve always done things.’ The diverse cohort provided a powerful peer-learning environment, where engaging with entrepreneurs across various industries broadened my perspective and challenged me to benchmark my success against industry-wide standards rather than just my own operations.
Key highlights from the PGPFMB journey
- The transformation has been both personal and professional.
- Before joining the programme, areas such as HR policies, governance frameworks, and family constitution were either informal or absent in our business. Today, I view them as foundational pillars for long-term sustainability.
- The programme has made me more disciplined, punctual, and process-oriented. It has shifted my mindset from reactive to structured. While not every learning is implemented immediately, I am confident that its real value will unfold as the business evolves.
- The pan-India network has been another defining strength. Engaging with like-minded peers, understanding varied business cultures, and exchanging best practices has made this journey not just educational but deeply enriching.
Most defining experience was international immersion at POLIMI
Our international immersion at Politecnico di Milano, a leading university in Milan, reinforced some timeless principles of leadership and business:
- Discipline and punctuality are non-negotiable
- Legacy demands long-term thinking
- True leadership is supportive, collaborative, and values-driven
These learnings strengthened my outlook towards leadership. They reaffirmed that growth and values are not opposing forces; they must move together.
My reflections
The Post Graduate Programme in Family Managed Business (PGPFMB) at SPJIMR is not just about improving business metrics. It is about evolving as an individual, becoming more aware, more structured, more responsible.
I joined to gain management knowledge. I am now brimming with clarity, discipline, and a renewed commitment to build a legacy that balances growth with governance.
And for that, I am deeply grateful.
About Post Graduate Programme in Family Managed Business (PGPFMB)
SPJIMR’s Post Graduate Programme in Family Managed Business (PGPFMB) is designed to groom new entrants to family businesses to enable organic growth for self and their family businesses. It helps preserve and nurture the legacy of the earlier generations and leave one’s indelible mark on the family business for years to come. Conceived and launched in 1997, the programme is the pioneer in post-graduate family-managed business programmes in India. It has grown in strength, with 37 batches already having gone through the programme.
