Cyril Shroff, IIM Ahmedabad Launch Leadership Academy for General Counsels
Ahmedabad, Aug 8 (TNT): Cyril Shroff and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) have joined hands to establish the Cyril Shroff–IIMA GC Leadership Academy, a leadership and executive development initiative aimed at preparing General Counsels (GCs) for growing responsibilities in business strategy, governance, technology and risk.
The Academy was formally launched at the IIMA campus on Saturday following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Shroff and IIMA.
It will serve as a learning hub for the GC community, focusing on executive education, research, knowledge products and thought leadership.
The initiative comes amid the evolving role of General Counsels, who are increasingly expected to move beyond traditional legal advisory functions and contribute to enterprise-wide decision-making and leadership.
The Academy will focus on four key areas — boardroom and enterprise leadership; business, finance and strategy integration; technology, AI and emerging risk readiness; and global peer learning and thought leadership.
The programme will seek to equip GCs with strategic judgement and decision-making skills for boardroom engagement, while strengthening their understanding of finance, strategy, governance, risk, organisational behaviour and business transformation.
It will also prepare legal leaders to navigate Artificial Intelligence, digital transformation, cybersecurity and governance challenges arising from emerging technologies.
A curated community of senior GCs will provide opportunities for peer learning, international exposure, certification and knowledge creation on the future of legal leadership.
The Academy has been conceived in response to the growing need for specialised executive education as General Counsels increasingly take on roles involving strategic judgement, commercial understanding, technological awareness and ethical leadership.
IIMA will bring its expertise in case-based pedagogy and academic disciplines including strategy, finance, marketing, human resources, negotiation, organisational behaviour, decision science, AI and public policy to the initiative.
IIMA Director Prof. Bharat Bhasker said the Academy would address the evolving needs of General Counsels and foster leadership at the intersection of law, business and governance.
Cyril Shroff, Founder and Managing Partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said the initiative was aimed at institution-building for the legal profession and the long-term development of the in-house counsel community.
He said the role of General Counsel had evolved from legal advisory to enterprise leadership, with responsibilities spanning governance, strategy, technology, risk and business transformation.
Prof. Sandip Chakrabarti and Prof. Ranjan Ghosh, who are leading the Academy at IIMA, said the initiative would combine legal leadership with management education and draw on IIMA’s strengths in case-based and interdisciplinary learning.
Paridhi Adani, Founder Family and Partner (Head–Gujarat), Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said the Academy was conceived as a long-term commitment to the legal profession, combining leadership education, certification, peer learning and global exposure.
The Academy will be co-created with and established at IIMA and will provide executive education and a peer network to help General Counsels strengthen their leadership capabilities and contribute more effectively to their organisations and the profession.
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