Indra Nooyi becomes 'most generous graduate' of Yale SOM

New York

60-year-old Nooyi gifted an amount, which was not made public, to the deanship of the school and inaugurated the Fifth Decade Innovation Fund, the Yale School of Management said.

With this gift, Nooyi becomes the "most generous graduate" of Yale School of Management in terms of lifetime giving to the school and she is the first woman to endow the deanship at a top business school, it said.

Nooyi said her experience at the Yale School of Management "forever altered the course of my life" and her gift "pales in comparison with the gift that Yale gave me the fundamental understanding that leadership requires an expansive worldview and a deep appreciation of the many points of intersection between business and society."

"Business issues are never just business issues, and my most ardent hope is that this endowment will teach future generations of leaders that the most successful companies of tomorrow will do more than make money. They will make a difference and create shareholder value by improving the quality of life in every market in which they operate," Nooyi said.

Nooyi joins several prominent persons of Indian-origin who have donated generously to US universities. In October last year, Nooyi's sister Chandrika Tandon and her husband Ranjan had made a USD 100 million gift to the New York University's School of Engineering, one of the largest philanthropic gifts by a member of the Indian American community.

As part of a long record of support for the Yale School of Management, Nooyi has previously made substantial contributions to the construction of the Edward P Evans Hall, including gifts to name the Nooyi Classroom and the Isaacson Classroom in memory of Professor Larry Isaacson.

Commenting on the gift, Yale University president Peter Salovey said Nooyi's "sense of purpose, deep engagement with civic life, and pursuit of excellence exemplify the kind of leadership in service to society that we hope all Yale graduates will achieve."

"The world needs skillful, purposeful, and dedicated leaders in every field and every sector, and Indra's name is synonymous with those core values of the university," Salovey said.

Edward Snyder is the inaugural dean Indra K Nooyi Dean and has led the Yale School of Management since 2011. He was recently appointed to a second five-year term as dean.

"Indra Nooyi has become a leading voice among Fortune 500 CEOs in no small part because of her willingness to take a stand on the broader purpose of the corporation, while delivering top-echelon performance," Snyder said.

The Fifth Decade Innovation Fund is named in recognition of the fact that the school is entering its fifth decade; the first class entered the Yale School of Management in 1976.