Social sector must adopt corporate best practices

Vijayawada: Department of Business Administration of PB Siddhartha College of Arts & Science, organised an invited alumni lecture by R Pavithra Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of JSW Foundation, Mumbai, and a distinguished alumnus of MBA Department, on Friday.

Pavithra Kumar, who completed his MBA at the college during 1994-96, drew upon his rich experience in both corporate and social sectors to share valuable insights with students and faculty. He emphasised that professionalism, structured thinking, and accountability are critical to effectively addressing the complex challenges confronting society today. He noted that the social sector can no longer rely solely on goodwill and must adopt corporate best practices to achieve sustainable and scalable impact.

During his address, Kumar cited the takeover of VSNL by the Tata Group as an example of how strategic focus, disciplined execution, and a strong value system can create long-term opportunities. He further explained how Tata Trusts transformed their approach by treating every initiative as a business case, ensuring measurable outcomes, institutional strength, and financial sustainability.

Pavithra Kumar also stressed the importance of fostering risk-taking, innovation, and scalability within institutions to remain socially impactful and strategically relevant.

The programme was facilitated by Dr Rajesh C Jampala, Dean, and Dr Meka Ramesh, Principal, along with faculty members, who felicitated the distinguished alumnus. The lecture was well received and proved highly enriching for both students and faculty.