Events

The Post Graduate Programme in Family Managed Business (PGPFMB) batch- 34 had the opportunity to travel to Chandigarh, one of the few master-planned cities in India known for its urban design and architecture. Buzzing with rapid modernisation and cultural growth, the city offered wide-ranging exposure to our participants.

SPJIMR partnered with Chitkara University and appreciates the B-school’s efforts to provide warm hospitality and infrastructural facilities to the SPJIMR team and students during sessions conducted at their campus.

The immersion started with a stimulating fireside chat with the Hartek Group, Founder & Chairman, Mr Hartek Singh and Founder & CEO, Mr Simarpreet Singh (PGPFMB Batch 16 Alumni), moderated by Prof. Tulsi Jayakumar, PGPFMB Chairperson and Executive Director of Centre for Family Business and Entrepreneurship (CFBE). The session was marked by the business leaders sharing their invaluable takeaways and Hartek Group’s success mantra. Mr. Singh also emphasised the key aspects a young business owner should focus on, to be aligned to one’s business. Topics like work-life balance, understanding one’s skills and channelling in the right direction with correct mentorship are the key points of discussion.

Next, our participants had the opportunity to interact with Mr. P J Singh, MD and Director Mr. Abhaynoor Singh, both from Tynor, an orthocare solution brand. The session was moderated by Prof. Tulsi Jayakumar, PGPFMB Chairperson and Executive Director, CFBE.

Mr. Abhaynoor shared three important pillars of his success: learning from his mentor, professionalism, and personal and professional discipline in life. The session then got the students to brainstorm together and understand how these things affect day-to-day activities and develop a family business owner mindset.

The regional immersion also included multiple industry visits around the city including following reputed industries:

• Swaraj Tractors- The first indigenous tractor brand to provide a wide range of agricultural tractors
• Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Unit- A multinational brand building complex and custom engineering solutions for a wide domain of industries
• Akzo Nobel- A Dutch multinational company manufacturing paints being a key supplier to brands like Dulux, Hammerite, Cuprinol, Polycell
• Tynor- Ortho care solution provider for over three decades.
• Active Clothing Co Ltd- Textile group founded in 1997, dealing in retailing, wholesaling, and designing of apparel with Reebok, Lee, Wrangler, Celio, Jack and Jones, Skechers, Adidas, and Guess being their key vendors from many.

In addition to stepping out of the classrooms to experientially gain perspectives from local industry giants, participants also visited local markets as an assignment to explore local businesses and understand how they have been building their businesses for years.

Regional immersion in the PGPFMB programme holds an important place as a mandatory component, helping students to explore local businesses, study in a different city, explore business opportunities lying to their family businesses, build networks and most importantly, learn and adopt the key takeaways from them for one’s family businesses.

Also the events like fireside chat, one to one interaction with business owners at the industry visits and gives students a different perspective and opens new horizons for them to connect and look for avenues of developing and diversifying their businesses.

Regional Immersions are meticulously planned to offer our participants a complete understanding of diverse business environment and emerging markets. This enables them as business owners to drive expansion and growth. A regular day in the regional immersion includes academic sessions; interactions with the family business owners, trade associations and alumni; industrial visits; and city exploration.

Regional Immersion is conducted in Phase II, the advanced phase of the PGPFMB programme. It offers PGPFMB participant an opportunity to explore emerging markets in tier two /tier three city of India. These emerging markets are attracting more and more attention from investors because of their more affordable living and operating costs, expanding infrastructure, and encouraging government policies.

Regional Immersion is a vital component of the PGPFMB programme. The immersion brings unparalleled exposure for a participant to understand the underlying benefit these cities and regions bring to the table for a family-managed business. The prospect of higher return, understanding the business opportunities lying in that region, and networking with peers and alumni are some of the key takeaways which a participant brings back.

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 leaves one’s indelible mark on their 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.

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