Bala V Balachandran, management guru, passes away of illness

CHENNAI: Management guru Bala V Balachandran, founder of Great Lakes Institute of Management, passed away in Chicago after a brief illness late on Monday. He was 84. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Bala, as he was referred to, was J L Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Accounting & Information Management (emeritus in service), Northwestern University. A passionate teacher, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 2001 for his contribution to education.
Born in Pudukkottai, Bala completed his college education at the Annamalai University, Chidambaram, served in the Army briefly before heading to the US for Doctoral studies.From there, began an illustrious career as professor, consultant, mentor, author, entrepreneur and life coach. He helped recruit the first set of faculty members to IIM Bangalore in the late 1960s, set up the management department at the MDI at Gurgaon through a joint collaboration with UNDP, Wharton and Kellogg.
Working closely with N Chandrababu Naidu when he was chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Bala’s vision for a one-year-fast-track MBA program for working professionals was realized with the ISB in 2000. In 2004, he set up Great Lakes Institute of Management which today has another campus at Gurugram.
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin expressed grief over the passing of Bala Balachandran and conveyed his condolences to the family.
N Srinivasan, MD of The India Cements Ltd, said, "I am really saddened by the loss of my good friend, Bala Balachandran. I consider him an outstanding thought leader and management guru. In the early 2000, when Chennai was emerging a top investment destination, Bala made Chennai and TN proud by establishing the premier B School, Great Lakes institute of Management. It will remain his landmark contribution to the city he loved the most.”