PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania today announced a new executive education program, in collaboration with Egon Zehnder International, will be held in Mumbai, India, from Jan. 4-6, 2006.
Governing the Corporation: Global Perspectives in the Indian Context, a joint business education presentation by Wharton Executive Education and Egon Zehnder International, was designed and developed to address the business management training needs of independent directors in India.
Corporate governance issues are in the news globally, as witnessed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the U.S. and the new Combined Code on Corporate Governance. In January 2006, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is expected to enforce Clause 49 that prescribes higher qualification criteria for independent directors in India.
"Strong independent directors are the linchpin to good corporate governance. This is the lesson from various recent governance scandals the world over. There is an urgent need for business leadership training of existing and potential independent directors in India at the present time," said Jitendra Singh, PhD, the Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management at Wharton, and academic director of the upcoming program in Mumbai, who has also been on the boards of Indian and U.S. listed companies. "Due to the limited availability of independent directors, increased scrutiny after Sarbanes-Oxley and the new Combined Code, and the fast pace of change with the advent of Clause 49, Indian companies need to provide formal business management training for their current and future directors, whether independent individuals or company executives."
In the next few years, many Indian companies will need to identify well-qualified candidates to join their boards, and Wharton has made this a strategic priority for its business education participation in India. The Wharton School, a global leader in senior executive education, and Egon Zehnder International, a firm specializing in board consulting with a long association with the Indian business community, have collaborated to design and deliver an executive education program to fill this need. Wharton has extensive experience in delivering senior executive leadership training programs in corporate governance including the Directors' Consortium in the U.S. and is pleased to bring its expertise to Indian audiences.
"With corporate scandals in the U.S. and Europe, there is an awareness that business needs to shape up and boards themselves are under intense scrutiny now," says Dan Meiland, chairman of Egon Zehnder International. "There is a much greater accountability on boards."
Joining Professor Jitendra Singh in the executive training program in India are Wharton faculty experts Harbir Singh, and Michael Useem, as well as Chris Thomas, global leader for board consulting at Egon Zehnder; and prominent Indian business leaders such as J. J. Irani, Adi Godrej, Anupam Puri, Rahul Bajaj, Som Mittal, Sucheta Dalal and others who will share global perspectives on this subject.
Governing the Corporation has been designed for the following audiences:
-- Current corporate board members of SEBI-listed companies, as
well as private companies, who would like to enhance their
capabilities as well as senior executives in India who are
likely to join corporate boards in the near future.
-- Current and aspiring board members from companies in India,
including private companies that aspire to a public listing.
Participants from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries also will find the program content relevant.
"By leveraging the Wharton School's intellectual and educational design expertise in business management training and Egon Zehnder's familiarity with issues facing Indian Boards, we are looking forward to providing an educational experience with both a global foundation and regional significance," stated Professor Jitendra Singh.
About the Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized around the world for its academic strengths across every major discipline and at every level of business education. Founded in 1881 as the world's first collegiate business school, Wharton has approximately 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral students, more than 8,000 participants in its executive education programs annually, and an alumni network of more than 80,000 worldwide.
About Egon Zehnder International
Egon Zehnder International is the largest privately-held executive search firm in the world with more than 300 consultants located in 59 wholly-owned offices in 38 countries. The firm specializes in senior-level executive search, board consulting and director search, management appraisals, and talent management.
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