XLRI: Legacy Management School Shaping Business Leaders of Tomorrow

By: Rachita Sharma, Managing Editor | Wednesday, 20 August 2025

Tall trees have deep roots. The phrase perfectly exemplifies the legacy of India’s oldest management school, XLRI Jamshedpur. Founded back in 1949 by Fr. Quinn Enright, S.J. and Fr. Bill Tome in the Steel City of Jamshedpur, the management institution gauged the future needs of the world. It has since been successful in shaping some of the most prolific management talent to come out of India.

XLRI is today counted among one of the top management institutes in the world. It began however, with offering management-centric courses for trade unions. 1953 saw the addition of a two-year, day programme in Industrial Relations and Welfare was started, which eventually became Human Resource Management. Since then, several other courses have been added to align with the evolving requirements of the modern corporate world.

XLRI has to its credit some of the top management talents the country has seen. This edition of WER magazine brings to you the professional success stories of a few such successful women leaders. One such name is Arunima Malhotra, Managing Partner at Activos Consulting. With a diverse background spanning Operations, Sales, HR, and Talent Acquisition, Arunima has built a successful career focused on people development and organizational growth. As Managing Partner at Activos Consulting, she specializes in executive search, talent advisory, and leadership.

“My success mantra revolves around staying adaptable in an ever-changing world, embracing lifelong learning, and viewing every challenge as an opportunity for growth,” says Arunima in a conversation with team WER.

In this special edition we also feature an interview with Supria Dhanda, a Venture Capitalist and social innovator with over 25 years of industry experience. She is the co-founder and managing partner at WYSER, an early-stage venture capital fund investing in Enterprise AI startups. Supria is also the Founder of BAGGGEL Foundation, a non-profit promoting gender equity in leadership. Talking about the secret to her success, she says, “My success mantra is to take bold risks by venturing into unknown spaces and being bold and authentic in whatever you set out to achieve.”

Another prolific woman leader featured in this month’s special edition is Poonam Dhanavati, a seasoned HR leader with an MBA, who is now transitioning into entrepreneurship to craft innovative HR solutions that are customized to elevate efficiency, scalability, and sustainability of mid-size Indian companies. Talking about the recipe for her professional success, she says, “My success mantra revolves around a people-first approach. Having been in HR for so long, I firmly believe that no strategy truly succeeds unless it reaches employees and creates meaningful impact.”

For more such nuggets of wisdom read in-depth interviews featuring the aforementioned women leaders in the current of WER magazine.

Do let us know your thoughts.