Chairman and Managing Director of the Ramoji Group, Ch Kiron, on Friday reflected on the management philosophy of his father, Ramoji Group founder, late Sri Ramoji Rao, during an event held at the newly constructed Ramoji Auditorium at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.
Recalling his father’s views on education, Kiron said Sri Ramoji Rao never placed excessive faith in conventional management education, despite being an avid student of management principles.
“He would tell us, ‘Go to any institution in the world. We will send you. But when you return, leave behind everything you learned there and study again at my university — Ramoji University.’ We followed the same approach,” he said.
Kiron noted that Sri Ramoji Rao extensively read the works of management thinkers such as Dale Carnegie and Peter Drucker during the late 1950s and continued applying management principles throughout his life.
The event marked the first programme hosted at the auditorium, which was built by the Ramoji Foundation with a contribution of Rs 30 crore. Equipped with world-class facilities and seating capacity for 450 people, the auditorium has been designed to host international conferences, research seminars, lectures and academic programmes.
Jointly organised by the Ramoji Foundation and ISB, the event featured a performance by Suranjali Sangeetha Vibhavari, India’s first all-women instrumental symphony ensemble. The programme was attended by members of the Ramoji family, ISB founder Rajat Gupta, ISB faculty members and US Consul General Laura Williams, among others.
In his address, Kiron said he aspired to study at ISB someday and expressed admiration for its students.
“If ISB accepts me, I would like to become a student here soon. If I were 30 years younger, I would not have thought of graduating from anywhere other than ISB,” he said.
Kiron also expressed hope that the association between ISB and the Ramoji Group, strengthened through academic collaborations, would continue to grow in the coming years.
Earlier, ISB founder Rajat Gupta felicitated Kiron during the inaugural programme. Gupta described Sri Ramoji Rao as a self-made visionary whose contributions extended far beyond business and media.
The evening concluded with a musical performance by Suranjali. The performance received an enthusiastic response from the audience, and members of the Ramoji family later honoured the artists for their contribution.
