President's Forum with Ajay Piramal
VIEW EVENT DETAILSTransformational Business and Philanthropy in India and the World
NEW YORK, April 26, 2016 — Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran speaks with the Indian philanthropist and businessman Ajay Piramal during a President's Forum event. (1 hr., 14 min.)
Join Asia Society President Josette Sheeran for this special spring edition of our signature series “President’s Forum” - a conversation with Ajay Piramal about his remarkable journey as a business leader, philanthropist and social entrepreneur. As the leader of the Piramal Group, one of India’s largest diversified conglomerates, Piramal built the Piramal Foundation, which undertakes cutting-edge initiatives in primary education, leadership development, healthcare, potable water and women empowerment, transforming societies and uplifting the lives of millions. An initiative that has stood out is the Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership, which is focused on creating socially conscious leaders in government schools by providing training to over a thousand principals and almost four hundred thousand students. A true and genuine philanthropist, Piramal believes that he is merely a trustee of wealth and that such wealth is meant to be shared to provide opportunities for prosperity and growth, and ease the burden shouldered by the larger community.
The Asia Society’s President’s Forum series began three decades ago. Past guests have made for an eclectic mix: from Kofi Annan to Winston Lord, His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Thich Nhat Hanh, Maya Lin to Yo-Yo Ma, Arianna Huffington to Nicholas Kristof, David Rockefeller to Indra Nooyi, Amartya Sen to Joseph E. Stiglitz, and many more.
Ajay Piramal is the Chairman of the Piramal-Shriram Group, a conglomerate with operations in India, the US, UK, European Union, Japan, Asia-Pacific and South Asia, with over 76,000 employees and 10 million customers. He has held numerous positions in government councils and has received multiple global awards for his work as a business leader and philanthropist.
Josette Sheeran is the seventh president and CEO of Asia Society. In the position, which she assumed in June 2013, she is responsible for leading and advancing the organization's work throughout the U.S. and Asia, and across its disciplines of arts and culture, policy and business, and education. She is former Vice Chair of the World Economic Forum, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Undersecretary at the US Department of State, and Deputy U.S.T.R.
Asia Society's President Forum is made possible thanks to the Hazen Polsky Foundation