January 23, 2011
School of Business, Amritapuri
 

A former Yahoo Chief for Emerging Markets visited Amritapuri last week, shortly after resigning from his position at the global firm. He is taking a few months to do seva or selfless service in India.
 

Until a few weeks ago, Mr. Gopal Krishna held the position of Managing Director for Yahoo’s operations and markets in India, Southeast Asia, Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
 

Over the years, this Harvard Business School alum built an exceptional resume, working not only at Yahoo, but also successfully running four companies. His success provided ample income and prestige, but recently Gopal decided that his skills and experience could be more valuable in humanitarian projects.
 

He chose to come to Amritapuri, where he spent a day learning about Chancellor Amma, the ashram, and the institution.
 

“The visit was beyond my imagination,” he said. “It was truly an eye-opening experience and I am very pleased to have come.”
 

Before his visit, the executive knew little about Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and its mission, but was soon moved to witness Amma’s work in the field of education. The passion of the students and faculty who were working on some of the institution’s main initiatives such as e-learning, virtual labs and haptics, caught his attention.
 

“I picked up the impression that people at Amrita work from their hearts instead of simply doing their job,” he said. “I believe this is what separates Amrita from other work environments.”
 

After learning about the Amala Bharatam campaign, he indicated that he would like to contribute. He also mentioned that Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s focus on innovation in terms of its methods of processing information and improving technology was an area that interested him.
 

“My intent is to get involved in activities that will have a positive impact on humanity and at the same time to traverse the spiritual journey with Amma’s blessings,” expressed Gopal.
 

Gopal’s visit was hosted by Prof. Jay Misra, Director of International Relations & Alumni Relations for Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Jay, also a Harvard MBA, said that Gopal wants to give back to society the knowledge he has gained and lessons he has learned.
 

While spending time with Gopal, Jay was reminded of the importance of maintaining an attitude of service.
 

“I think we’re going to have many more prominent business leaders come,” he said, referring to his project with the Amrita School of Business, wherein an initiative is ongoing, to develop case studies on global business best practices to be used as part of the curriculum.