>Chris the speller at 17:39, 11 April 2021

2021-04-11T17:39:48Z

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{{Multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=June 2020}}
{{Peacock|date=June 2020}}
{{COI|date=June 2020}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Abraham M. George
| image =Dr. Abraham George.jpg
| caption =
| birth_place = [[Thiruvananthapuram]], [[Kerala]], [[India]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Founder, The George Foundation
| spouse = Mariam George
| website =[http://www.shantibhavanchildren.org/ shantibhavanchildren.org/]
| footnotes =
| children = 2
}}
'''Abraham M. George''' is an Indian-American businessman, academic, and philanthropist. He is the founder of The George Foundation (TGF), a non-profit organization based in [[Bangalore]], [[India]] dedicated to the welfare and empowerment of economically and [[socially disadvantaged]] populations in India. His foundation has initiated numerous projects in poverty alleviation, education, healthcare, lead poisoning prevention, women's empowerment, and press freedom.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.shantibhavanonline.org/our-mission/our-team/dr-abraham-m-george/|title=Dr. Abraham M. George {{!}} Shanti Bhavan Children's Project|website=www.shantibhavanonline.org|access-date=2016-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708191048/http://www.shantibhavanonline.org/our-mission/our-team/dr-abraham-m-george/|archive-date=2016-07-08|url-status=dead}}</ref> He founded the [[Shanti Bhavan|Shanti Bhavan school]] to help provide free education to socially disadvantaged kids from age 4 through college.

George is an Adjunct Professor at [[Stern School of Business]], [[New York University]].{{cn|date=June 2020}} He has also been recognized as one of the world's leading [[social entrepreneur]]s.<ref name="The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century">{{cite book|
title =The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century|
isbn =0-374-29279-5|
year =2006|
publisher =Farrar, Straus and Giroux|
last=Friedman|
first=Thomas}}</ref>

==Early years==
George was born and brought up in the seaside city of [[Trivandrum]], [[Kerala]], at the southwestern tip of [[India]]. He is the second son of Mathew and Aleyamma George, one of four children.

[[File:The George Foundation - Abraham George Army1.jpg|thumb|Dr. George during the army days|275px|left]]

At fourteen, George was admitted to the [[National Defence Academy (India)|National Defence Academy]] in [[Khadakwasla]]. He subsequently went on to graduate as a second-lieutenant in a medium artillery regiment of the [[Indian Army]]. George's first posting in 1966 was to the Northeast Frontier that borders [[China]], following the [[Chinese invasion of 1962]].{{cn|date=June 2020}}

The assignment in Se La in Northeast Frontier of India ended abruptly after only ten months when George was injured in a [[dynamite]] explosion. Upon his return from convalescence, he was assigned to the Indo-Pakistan border, where he served for nearly two more years and rose to the rank of captain.<ref name="India Untouched">{{cite book|title =India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty|isbn =1-59411-122-7|year =2005|publisher =Writers' Collective|last=George|first=Abraham|location=Cranston, RI}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=May 2016}} "George has spoken of his time in the army as formative experience: "There is, I suppose, some stage in each one’s life that has a greater impact on his future than all others. For me, it was these army experiences that helped shape much of my outlook on life."<ref name="India Untouched"/>{{primary source inline|date=May 2016}}

In 1968, the third year of George's service, he suffered a [[Hearing (sense)|hearing]] disability. At the time, [[physician|doctors]] in India were not trained to tackle his medical condition; it required specialized [[surgery]]. By this point, his mother was already in the [[United States]], teaching physics and working for [[NASA]] as a research scientist. His mother's position afforded him the opportunity to come to America where he could have his surgery and start a new life.{{cn|date=June 2020}}

==Education and professional life==
George joined his mother in [[Alabama]] during the heyday of the [[segregationist]] governor, [[George Wallace]]. He found the transition to be overwhelming, later writing of it: "I felt I had gone to another world, not simply another country".<ref name="India Untouched"/>{{primary source inline|date=May 2016}}

Soon after arriving in America, George attended [[New York University]]'s [[Stern School of Business]] as a graduate student. During that time, he [[naturalization|became an American citizen]].<ref name="Stern">{{Cite news | last = Gross | first = Daniel | title = Return of the Native Son | newspaper = STERNbusiness | date = Fall–Winter 2006| url =http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/sternbusiness/fall_2006/nativeSon.html | access-date=2007-04-13}}</ref> He specialized in developmental economics and international finance, and soon after completing his [[doctoral]] work he decided to enter the [[teaching]] profession. Later, [[Chemical Bank]], now part of [[JP Morgan Chase]] Bank, offered George a job as an officer in the bank which he accepted.<ref name="India Untouched"/>{{primary source inline|date=May 2016}}

George had worked for Chemical Bank for two years when he decided in 1976 to start his own company, [[Multinational Computer Models]], Inc (MCM), which would offer computerized systems to large multinational corporations to enable them to deal with their international financial risks. MCM subsequently formed a joint venture with the global investment bank [[Credit Suisse First Boston]] where George served as the Chief Consultant and [[Managing Director]] of its new operations. In 1998, George sold MCM to [[SunGard Data Systems]], a Fortune 500 company, where he served as a Vice-Chairman for two years.<ref name="India Untouched"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=India Untouched|last=George|first=Abraham}}</ref> He was on the boards of Vellore Christian Medical College & Hospital, International Center for Journalists, and Human Rights Watch.

==The George Foundation and Shanti Bhavan Educational Trust==
George returned to India in January 1995 after a long absence. His intent was to reduce the injustices and inequalities of which he had become aware and to this end he established The George Foundation, a non-profit charitable trust.<ref name="India Untouched"/>{{primary source inline|date=May 2016}} One of his initial projects, Shanti Bhavan Residential School, offers world-class education and care to children from the poorest segment of India who are also from the dalit or "untouchable" castes. As of 2017, after 20 years of the school's operations, the first four batches have now graduated from college and are employed by global companies like Mercedes Benz, Goldman Sachs, Ernst & Young and others -- an accomplishment that has no parallel in India's social history. The Shanti Bhavan story is told by the life-journey of five of its girls in a four-part NETFLIX documentary, Daughters of Destiny.{{cn|date=June 2020}}

==Writing==
George has authored several books and articles on international finance

* ''International Finance Handbook'' (2 volumes), John Wiley & Sons ({{ISBN|0-471-09861-2}})
* ''Foreign exchange Management and the Multinational Corporation'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston ({{ISBN|0-03-046641-5}})
* ''Protecting Shareholder Value: International Financial Risk Management'', Prentice Hall ({{ISBN|0-7863-0439-1}})

Since becoming a full-time [[philanthropist]], George has written several articles and has published two books:
* ''India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty'', Writer's Collective ({{ISBN|81-88661-18-X}}) - A description of Dr. George's initial 10 years of social work in rural India.
* ''Lead Poisoning Prevention and Treatment: Implementing a National Program in Developing Countries'' --distributed by World Bank to governments of developing countries in 2001 for policy implementation.{{fact|date=May 2016}}

==Awards==
{{BLP sources|date=May 2019}}
* NYU Stern School of Business' Stewart Satter Social Entrepreneurship Award, USA<ref name=":0" />
* Spirit of India Award, [[American India Foundation]], USA
* Hind Ratna Award, Non-Resident Indian Association, [[Delhi]]
* Millennium Awards, Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center, USA
* GOPIO (Global Organization of People of India Origin) 2017 Community Service Award
* Lifetime Achievement Award for contribution to social projects by Kerala Samaj, New York.

==References and footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tgfworld.org The George Foundation]
* [http://www.shantibhavanonline.org Shanti Bhavan Residential School]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100514172159/http://www.nrclpi.com/ National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India]
* [http://www.iijnm.org Indian Institute of Journalism New Media]
* [http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/sternbusiness/fall_2006/nativeSon.html NYU Stern Alumni Magazine feature]
* Blog: [http://www.abrahamgeorge.blogspot.com Uncovering the truth about poverty]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928231350/http://media.www.whartonjournal.com/media/storage/paper201/news/2005/04/18/News/Net-Impact.And.Wivp.Welcome.Dr.Abraham.George.To.Wharton-927959.shtml Net Impact and WIVP welcome Dr. Abraham George to Wharton]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Abraham}}
[[Category:Businesspeople from Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:Indian philanthropists]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Rural community development]]
[[Category:Agrarian politics]]
[[Category:New York University Stern School of Business alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1946 births]]

Abraham George - Revision history

>Chris the speller at 17:39, 11 April 2021