Dilip Puri’s Indian School of Hospitality Secures First Round of Funding
The Indian School of Hospitality, founded by industry veteran Dilip Puri, former Managing Director of Starwood Hotels & Resorts South Asia, today announced that it has raised Rs 25.2 crores in its first round of funding from a group of HNI investors in India and overseas. The funds will be used to develop the first phase of its first campus located in Gurugram, Delhi NCR scheduled to open in August, 2018. Client Associates were the investment advisor to the transaction.
ISH envisions its curriculum design to be a global benchmark of hospitality education in the near future, and in order to do so has entered into a strategic partnership with Lausanne Hospitality Consulting (LHC) for curriculum development and faculty training. ISH has partnered with LHC in preparation for an academic certification by Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), the world’s oldest and top ranked hospitality management higher education institution worldwide. In addition to the Four Year Hospitality Management Program, ISH will offer several long and short-term programmes in both culinary and executive education.
Commenting on the investment, Founder & CEO Dilip Puri said, “I am delighted to have an investor group comprising of some of the best known names in the hospitality and real estate industry. International hospitality education has significant opportunities in India and other regional markets, given the growth of the tourism and hospitality industry. Our academic partnership with the leading Swiss hospitality education brand will give us a distinctive edge in the market. The business has tremendous scalability and expansion opportunities across hospitality management, culinary and executive education as well as skill development and online education.”
Talking about the rationale for investing in a hospitality education business, Patu Keswani, Chairman, Lemon Tree Hotels said: “Indian School of Hospitality’s offering is well-timed with the rapidly increasing demand for talent solutions in our industry. We are happy to invest in and support a team of professionals led by Dilip Puri who are committed to bringing international standards of hospitality education to India. ISH’s unique approach to education and its association with one of the world’s best known hospitality education brands will definitely set a new benchmark for hospitality education in India.”
The core academic programmes being offered at ISH are a Four Year Hospitality Management Programme and a Four Year Programme in Culinary Arts. The education structure at ISH is aimed at providing the ideal foundation for managerial and leadership development, strategic thinking- leveraging both macro and micro perspectives- as well as building emotional and intellectual intelligence.
The institutes’ core management and academic team comprises of thought leaders and varied industry veterans with global experience and knowledge.
ISH has also set up an Advisory Council comprised of leaders from the hospitality and other service sectors who will provide strategic input, guidance and mentorship to the faculty and students, as well as support ISH in terms of internship and placement opportunities in India and overseas.
The Advisory Council is headed by Frits van Paasschen, Former CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and author of Amazon Bestseller ‘The Disruptors’ Feast’. Other members include Yateendra Sinh - Chief Executive Officer Lausanne Hospitality Consulting; Nirupa Shankar, Director, Brigade Hospitality; Ingo Schweder, Founder & CEO, GOCO Hospitality; Neeraj Govil, Area Vice President - South Asia Marriott International; Kapil Chopra, President, The Oberoi Group; Jean-Michel Cassé, Chief Operating Officer, India and South Asia, AccorHotels; Rajiv Kaul, President, Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts; Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels; Ragini Chopra, Vice President (Corporate Affairs & Public Relations), Jet Airways; Rohit Khosla, Senior Vice President Operations, Taj; Bibhor Srivasta, Group Publishing Director - ITP Publishing India Pvt Ltd.
ISH plans to expand the campus within the next 2 years and will finally have a capacity to house 1000 students. It also intends to develop further campuses in South and West India. Future plans include the setting up of skill development centres for tourism and hospitality across Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets in India, as well as the development of an online education platform.
