Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Distinguish".Template:Use dmy datesTemplate:Use Indian EnglishScript error: No such module "Unsubst".Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata imageAbraham M. George is an Indian-American businessman, academic, and philanthropist. He began his career as an artillery officer in the Indian Army, stationed at the Sela Pass in the North-East Frontier Agency along the China–India border. After military service, George moved to the United States and pursued careers in finance and entrepreneurship. In 1995, he returned to India and established initiatives addressing issues of discrimination and economic inequality.
These initiatives include the Shanti Bhavan,[1] which provides education to children from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, and the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, a postgraduate institution for journalism. He also established the Baldev Medical & Community Center, providing healthcare services to 15 villages across Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The George Foundation conducted studies on environmental health issues, including one on the impact of leaded gasoline in India. This study was cited as contributing to the phase-out of leaded petrol in India in April 2000.[2]
George is the author of three books on international corporate finance and two on his social work in India. He has served on the boards of Human Rights Watch and the International Center for Journalists. He has received the Hind Rattan Award. [3][4][5]
His assignment at Sela Pass in NEFA ended after ten months when George was injured in a dynamite explosion. Upon recovery, he was assigned to the Indo-Pakistan border, where he served for nearly two more years and rose to the rank of captain.[3][4]
Education and career
George joined his mother in Alabama during the era of segregationist governor George Wallace. He later described the transition as overwhelming: "I felt I had gone to another world, not simply another country."[6]
Soon after arriving in the United States, he attended New York University'sStern School of Business as a graduate student. During that time, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[3] He specialized in the fields of developmental economics and international finance. After completing his doctoral work, he accepted a position as an officer at Chemical Bank, which is now part of JP Morgan Chase.[3][6]
He worked for Chemical Bank for two years before founding his own company in 1976, Multinational Computer Models Inc. (MCM),[3] which provided computerized systems to multinational corporations. MCM subsequently formed a joint venture with the global investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston, where he served as Chief Consultant and Managing Director of its new operations. In 1998, he sold MCM to SunGard Data Systems, a Fortune 500 company, and served as Vice-Chairman for two years.[4][6]
He returned to India in January 1995 and established The George Foundation, a non-profit charitable trust focused on reducing injustices and inequalities.[6] One of the Foundation's early projects was a study on leaded gasoline in India and its health effects on children. The study indicated that 51% of children in urban areas had elevated lead levels. The Indian government subsequently banned leaded gasoline.[2]
International Finance Handbook (2 volumes), John Wiley & Sons (Template:ISBN)
Foreign Exchange Management and the Multinational Corporation, Holt, Rinehart and Winston (Template:ISBN)
Protecting Shareholder Value: International Financial Risk Management, Prentice Hall (Template:ISBN)
India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty, Writer's Collective (Template:ISBN) - Describes 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 the World Bank to governments of developing countries in 2001 for policy implementation. Based on a study by The George Foundation.[8]
