Cyril Shroff and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) have joined hands to establish the Cyril Shroff–IIMA GC Leadership Academy, a new initiative focused on leadership development for General Counsels and senior in-house legal professionals.

The partnership was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the IIMA campus in Ahmedabad on August 8. The academy is envisioned as a dedicated platform for executive education, research, knowledge creation and thought leadership for the global General Counsel community.

The initiative reflects Shroff's long-standing focus on strengthening leadership within the legal profession, while IIMA brings its expertise in management education and research to the evolving demands placed on senior legal executives.

Preparing GCs For The Boardroom

The role of a General Counsel has expanded significantly beyond providing legal advice. Today's GCs are increasingly expected to participate in corporate strategy, risk management, governance, technology decisions and business transformation.

The new academy will focus on four broad areas:

• Enterprise and boardroom leadership: Developing strategic decision-making and leadership capabilities for greater involvement at the board and enterprise level.
• Business, finance and strategy: Helping legal leaders gain a stronger understanding of financial management, corporate strategy, organisational behaviour, governance and business transformation.
• AI, technology and emerging risks: Preparing GCs to deal with artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital transformation and the regulatory and governance challenges arising from emerging technologies.
• Global peer learning: Building a community of senior General Counsels through peer interaction, international exposure, certification and research into the future of legal leadership.

The academy will combine IIMA's management curriculum and case-based learning approach with practical insights into the changing responsibilities of in-house legal teams.

Why IIM Ahmedabad?

IIMA's expertise across areas such as strategy, finance, human resources, negotiation, organisational behaviour, decision sciences, AI and public policy is expected to complement the legal expertise of practising professionals.

The collaboration aims to give General Counsels exposure to disciplines that extend beyond traditional legal training and are increasingly relevant to senior corporate leadership.

Prof. Bharat Bhasker, Director of IIMA, described the initiative as an effort to develop leaders operating at the intersection of law, business and governance.

Professors Sandip Chakrabarti and Ranjan Ghosh, who will lead the academy at IIMA, said its executive education offerings would draw on the institute's interdisciplinary approach to address subjects including strategy, finance, technology, governance and leadership.

Cyril Shroff: Leadership Must Go Beyond Legal Expertise

Cyril Shroff, Founder and Managing Partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said the initiative was intended as a long-term institution-building effort for the legal profession.

He said the General Counsel's role had evolved from that of a legal adviser into one involving enterprise leadership, with responsibilities extending across strategy, governance, technology, risk and business transformation.

The academy, he said, is intended to help develop the next generation of GCs who can take on these responsibilities with greater strategic judgement and leadership capability.

A Long-Term Platform For In-House Counsel

Paridhi Adani, Founder Family and Partner (Head–Gujarat) at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said the academy had been conceived as a long-term commitment to the profession.

The programme is expected to bring together structured executive education, certification, peer learning and international exposure, while giving participants access to IIMA's academic resources and CAM's understanding of the changing General Counsel role.

Shroff's Four-Decade Legal Career

Shroff, who heads Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, has spent more than four decades in the legal profession. His work has included corporate law, governance, regulation, AI and business risk.

He has received several industry recognitions, including the FT Law 50 2026 AI Enablers award, Managing Partner of the Year at the 2026 ALB India Law Awards and the Asian Law Firm Leader of the Year Award at the 2025 Asia Legal Awards.

IIMA's Global Management Education Network

Founded in 1961, IIM Ahmedabad is one of India's leading management institutions, with a network of more than 80 international academic partners and a Dubai campus.

The institute offers a range of management and executive education programmes spanning business leadership, policy, technology and other specialised areas. Its alumni network includes more than 47,000 professionals across sectors.

The new Cyril Shroff–IIMA GC Leadership Academy is expected to build on these academic capabilities while addressing a growing need for specialised leadership training among senior in-house legal professionals.

The partnership ultimately seeks to prepare General Counsels not merely to advise businesses on legal matters, but to participate more deeply in strategy, governance, technology, risk and enterprise-wide decision-making.