Elephants and Cheetahs: Systems, Strategy and Bottlenecks

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, India

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) was established in 1961 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, as a public institution of national importance under the Government of India, developed in early collaboration with Harvard Business School. Founded with an explicit mission to professionalise Indian management at a moment of post-independence industrialisation, IIM-A adopted the case method as its pedagogical spine — a practice it has sustained and indigenised over six decades, building one of the largest repositories of India-focused business cases in the world. Today the institute operates as an autonomous body under the IIM Act of 2017, granting it the status of an Institution of National Importance with degree-granting powers, and its academic philosophy continues to centre on analytical rigour, independent thinking, and evidence-based management practice.Accreditations and RankingsAccreditationsEQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) — accredited since 2019AACSB — accredited since 2022AMBA — accredited (Triple Crown status achieved)RankingsFinancial Times Executive Education Open Programmes — ranked among the top 25 globally (2023)Financial Times Executive Education Custom Programmes — top 30 globally (2023)QS World University Rankings: Business & Management Studies — ranked in the top 50 globally (2024)Consistently ranked the #1 business school in India across domestic and international rankings, including the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) — 1st among management institutions (2023)Executive Education at a GlanceIIM Ahmedabad's executive education arm, delivered through its Management Development Programmes (MDPs) unit, is one of the most established in Asia, having run short programmes for working executives since the early 1970s. The school offers more than 100 open-enrolment programmes annually alongside a significant portfolio of customised company-specific interventions — custom work accounts for a substantial share of revenue, with clients drawn from Indian public-sector enterprises, multinational corporations, and government bodies alike. Core topic areas include strategic management, finance and accounting, leadership and organisational behaviour, supply chain and operations, family business governance, and public policy — with the last reflecting IIM-A's unusually strong relationship with the Indian government and regulatory institutions. Programmes are predominantly delivered in-person on the Ahmedabad campus, with a growing catalogue of online and blended formats introduced after 2020 that have since become permanent fixtures. Duration ranges from two-day workshops to year-long part-time programmes such as the Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPX), and fees for open enrolment MDPs typically range from INR 50,000 to INR 5,00,000 (approximately USD 600 to USD 6,000) depending on programme length and level.Campus and FacilitiesThe IIM Ahmedabad campus is an architectural landmark in its own right — designed entirely by the American architect Louis Kahn between 1962 and 1974, it is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of modern institutional architecture in the world, with its interlocking brick structures and play of light through geometric voids drawing architects and scholars to Ahmedabad specifically to see the buildings. For executive participants, the campus offers dedicated residential facilities in the Louis Kahn campus, seminar rooms equipped for case discussions, a library with one of the richest management collections in Asia, and the IIMA Case Centre which produces and archives thousands of India-specific teaching cases. The city of Ahmedabad itself — a UNESCO World Heritage City since 2017 and the commercial capital of Gujarat — provides direct access to one of India's most dynamic entrepreneurial and industrial ecosystems, home to conglomerates including the Adani Group and Torrent, giving field visits and industry interactions a weight that campus-only settings cannot replicate.Faculty and ResearchIIM Ahmedabad has a faculty body of approximately 100 full-time professors, many of whom hold doctoral degrees from institutions including Harvard, MIT, London Business School, and IIM-A's own Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) — which is itself regarded as among the most selective doctoral programmes in Asia. Research strengths with direct relevance to executive education include corporate governance, agricultural and rural management (through the affiliated Centre for Management in Agriculture), entrepreneurship, public systems, and behavioural decision-making. Faculty are notably prolific in case writing and applied research, with a culture that prizes policy relevance as much as journal publication — several faculty members have held advisory roles with the Reserve Bank of India, SEBI, and various ministries. The school hosts specialist research centres including the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE.CO), which has backed over 500 startups and gives executive participants a live window into venture creation at scale.Student Body, Alumni, and Career OutcomesExecutive cohorts at IIM-A are predominantly Indian, which is itself a distinctive feature — participants come from across the country's industrial geography, from Mumbai-based financial services professionals to public-sector managers from tier-two cities, producing cross-industry peer learning that is difficult to engineer elsewhere. The broader IIM-A alumni network numbers over 40,000 graduates globally, with particularly deep concentrations in financial services, consulting, consumer goods, technology, and the Indian Administrative Service. Notable alumni include Vikram Pandit (former CEO, Citigroup), K.V. Kamath (former MD, ICICI Bank; first President, NDB), and Raghuram Rajan (former Governor, Reserve Bank of India) — a roster that reflects the school's historical role in producing India's economic leadership. For executive participants completing longer certificate programmes, IIM-A alumni status confers access to this network, which remains one of the most influential professional communities in the Indian subcontinent.