3 months ago
1
Professor J. Philip, the Founder and Chairman of Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME) passed distant connected Saturday (February 21, 2026). The Institution profoundly mourns the eminent absorption educationist’s passing.
Prof. J. Philip was precise overmuch the country’s foremost savant successful the tract of absorption education. Commencing with the favoritism to person been the youngest Dean of XLRI, Jamshedpur successful the precocious nineteen sixties and becoming an eminent instauration builder arsenic the laminitis Chairman of Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME) Bangalore for 3 decades till his past days, his vocation successful work to absorption acquisition spanned for implicit sixty 5 years, a singular grounds successful the past of Indian absorption education.
At XLRI, 1 of the pioneers of concern acquisition successful the country, the young J. Philip won his spurs successful the precocious 1960s arsenic decorator of its ground-breaking station postgraduate people successful management. Equally lauded was the exceptional competence helium had displayed arsenic its Dean successful sustaining the institution’s precocious standards connected a par with those of the best, not lone successful India but overseas.
It was his stellar grounds astatine XLRI combined with a creditable stint astatine Harvard that led to his enactment by the Government of India to caput the unit assemblage of the Steel Authority of India successful Ranchi. J. Philip’s flair arsenic a person and innovator was successful afloat travel successful the mode helium performed astatine the helm of that premier nationalist assemblage grooming establishment, leaving a durable imprint connected it.
It is fixed to fewer absorption educationists to person their timbre tested successful a demanding enforcement presumption successful firm business, overmuch arsenic it constitutes the focal constituent of their vocation. J. Philip’s well-acclaimed occurrence successful teaching absorption arsenic an world subject and successful employing its tools successful grooming of executives for the nationalist assemblage filled the measure for him to beryllium chosen by the Oberoi’s, 1 of the country’s premier edifice groups as Vice President for Human Resource management. His tenure determination was singular for the transformational stimulus that it brought into the captious HR functions of the enterprise.
J. Philip’s consequent prime arsenic the Director of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) successful Bangalore successful 1985 was assuredly owing to the government’s designation of his bonzer calibre arsenic a absorption educationist with a proven way grounds successful respective functional areas of absorption some arsenic an world subject and arsenic an creation and profession. And his tenure successful that enactment presumption was marked by the turnaround helium accomplished for that instauration from a worrisome parenthesis of disarray and organisational drift to restoration of its archetypal stature of globally recognised excellence.
After his status from IIM, Bangalore, J. Philip turned his sagacious energies to founding a absorption instauration of his own. Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME) successful Bangalore was the sentimental fulfilment of the committedness of founding a exemplary concern schoolhouse that helium had made to his girl soon earlier her decease successful a tragic accident. It’s constitution successful 1991 with his ain idiosyncratic savings arsenic the humble superior basal and it’s maturation and enlargement into awesome further campuses successful Kochi and Chennai successful consequent years testified to his redoubtable but lightly worn enactment and entrepreneurial skills.
His latest acquisition task was the trendsetting Xavier International School helium established successful a agrarian country successful his autochthonal Kerala implicit the past 2 years, adjacent arsenic helium devoted his precise past days to program a assemblage consisting of the 3 XIME campuses and adding 1 much successful different confederate Indian state. Alongside these were his plans to acceptable up a younker improvement centre successful Alleppey, Kerala.
Besides being portion of the guardant question of Indian absorption acquisition implicit the years, J. Philip was the laminitis President of Indian Management Schools Association and of the Association of BRICS Business Schools (ABBS). His efforts to beforehand India arsenic location to the largest yearly cohorts of MBAs successful the satellite were manifest successful these efforts arsenic good arsenic successful the yearly planetary conferences, helium utilized to big astatine his Institute’s ain disbursal till precocious to curate planetary themes for the payment of Indian absorption acquisition community.
The crowning constituent of his beingness and vocation was the honour of Chevalier conferred connected him by the Pope successful aboriginal January this twelvemonth successful designation of his distinguished service.
In Prof. J. Philip’s passing, India has mislaid what The Hindu had termed arsenic “Doyen of Indian absorption education”.
(The author, C.P. Radhakrishnan is simply a erstwhile Indian envoy to respective countries and present Chairman, XIME, Kochi.)
