in support of new Leadership Development Centre in Singapore
INSEAD, the world’s leading business school, has received a S$5 million donation from Indonesia’s Soeryadjaya family. The donation will contribute towards funding INSEAD’s new Leadership Development Centre building which will open on its Asia campus in January 2015. The main amphitheatre will be named ‘The William and Lily Soeryadjaya Amphitheatre’, in honour of the late William Soeryadjaya and his wife Lily.
Mr. Soeryadjaya was co-founder of PT Astra International, Indonesia’s largest conglomerate, and a passionate believer in the value of professional education – something which continues to be a hallmark of the company today. He established links with INSEAD that date back to 1972, regularly sending executives on management training programmes at the INSEAD Europe campus in Fontainebleau as well as inviting INSEAD faculty to deliver programmes in Indonesia.
INSEAD Dean Ilian Mihov said of the amphitheatre naming: “It is a great honour to permanently promote the name and reputation of William Soeryadjaya beyond Indonesia into the world. His values made him both an exceptional entrepreneur who inspired generations of leaders and a caring father and family leader. The Leadership Development Centre in Singapore, which will open in January, is a significant milestone for INSEAD in our continued growth within Asia. Naming the largest amphitheatre, at the heart of this new business innovation centre, seems a most fitting way to recognise William and Lily Soeryadjaya’s commitment to learning.”
The donation – made by William and Lily Soeryadjaya’s children, Mr. Edwin Soeryadjaya, Mr. Edward Soeryadjaya, Ms. Joyce Kerr and Ms. Judith Soeryadjaya – will help INSEAD address growing demand for a broader range and depth of global management training in Asia.
Joyce Kerr commented: “I am pleased and proud, together with my family, to participate in the inauguration of the William and Lily Soeryadjaya Amphitheatre at INSEAD Leadership Development Centre in Singapore. In building and establishing PT Astra International my parents created an organisation which would become an asset to the nation of Indonesia. Their commitment to social responsibility – supported by the continued efforts of family and staff – has to this day provided incalculable opportunities for Indonesian citizens.
She continued: “Our long association and involvement with INSEAD has done so much more than just improve the efficiency of PT Astra International. INSEAD has been extremely influential in helping to support my parents' vision to improve living conditions for Indonesians, and has undeniably improved the lives of many individuals through education. For this we are extremely grateful. Our contribution to the new INSEAD Leadership Development Centre in Singapore reflects our gratitude to INSEAD for past successes and firm belief in the benefits awaiting future generations fortunate enough to come into contact with INSEAD's exceptional culture of research and education.”
Edward Soeryadjaya, added: “Our beloved father was an entrepreneur with great vision. Above all, he valued people. In my late father’s words, transforming people’s lives, through knowledge and skills investment, is a must, and a platform to creatively think big, do big and grow big”.
Growing up in Majalengka, West Java, William Soeryadjaya was forced to end his own education at the age of 19, selling rice and paper to make ends meet. He later took himself to the Netherlands where he studied leather coating, returning to Indonesia to run a number of companies before co-founding PT Astra International in 1957. Astra grew to become one of Indonesia’s largest companies, with interests in finance, plantations, heavy machinery and automobiles.
Professor Henri-Claude de Bettignies, Emeritus Professor of Asian Business at INSEAD and a key figure in the early establishment of INSEAD’s presence in Asia, commented: “INSEAD’s relationship with the William Soeryadjaya family dates right back to the 1970s when INSEAD was one of the first international business schools to expand into Asia. The new Leadership Development Centre will allow us to continue growing in this region, providing business leaders with world-class teaching and global expertise.”
When INSEAD’s Leadership Development Centre opens in January 2015, it will mark “Phase Three” in the school’s Asia expansion, significantly increasing the number of students, executives, top scholars and practitioners on-site in Singapore.
