India Inc. at Harvard: Top bosses cheer their children at graduation

Three corporate bosses, Uday Kotak, Chanda Kochhar and Sanjay Nayar, cheered their children on their big day — the day they got their MBA degrees.

Many leading names from corporate India have had first-hand experience of the pomp and pageantry of the Harvard Business School’s (HBS) graduation ceremony.

But this year’s ceremony, hosted on Thursday, was a special one. Three top corporate bosses and their families sat in the audience, watching their young ones accept their degrees.

Jay Kotak ( son of Uday Kotak, executive vice-chairman, Kotak Mahindra Bank), Aarti Kochhar (daughter of Chanda Kochhar, MD, ICICI Bank) and husband Aditya Kaji, and Adwaita Nayar (daughter of Sanjay Nayar, CEO, KKR India) were a part of the 2017 graduating class of HBS.


Uday Kotak is a proud father. (Image: BCCL)

“It is a very proud moment for us. [Over the past two years] We’d chat often and she’d pick my brains about people management or building long lasting business ventures,” Nayar said, as he prepared to board a Boston bound flight from Tokyo.

The moment will be even more special since both of Adwaita’s grandmothers will be a part of her big day. “I’m glad that both the octogenarians will be present,” Nayar said.

As for her plans post-Harvard, Adwaita will return home to work with her mother Falguni’s e-commerce platform. The one advice that Nayar would like to give his daughter: be patient for results in whatever she does do and keep expectations in check.


Adwaita Nayar is the daughter of Sanjay Nayar, CEO, KKR India. (Image: BCCL)

Kotak and wife Pallavi were present for Thursday’s ceremony. As were, Kochhar and husband Deepak. The three-week long US visit has been a mix of business and leisure for Kochhar. She also used the opportunity to spend time with her younger son, Arjun, who is studying at Yale University.