Abraham George

Not to be confused with Abraham George (politician).

Abraham M. George
Abraham M. George, Indian-American businessman and philanthropist
Born
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Occupation(s)Founder, The George Foundation
SpouseMariam George
Children2
Websiteshantibhavanchildren.org

Abraham 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 being honorably discharged from military service as a Captain[1], George moved to the United States and pursued careers in finance and entrepreneurship, obtaining an M.B.A. in Economics in 1973 Stern School of Business at New York University[2]. In 1975 he obtained a Ph.D. in International Banking from the same University[2]. In 1995, he returned to India and established initiatives addressing issues of discrimination and economic inequality.[3]

These initiatives include the Shanti Bhavan,[4] which provides education to children from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, and the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, a postgraduate institution for journalism based in Bangalore. 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.[5]

George is the author of five books. Three are 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. [6][7][8]

Early years

George was born in Trivandrum, India. He is the second of four children born to Mathew and Aleyamma George.

At age fourteen, George was admitted to the National Defense Academy in Khadakwasla. He subsequently graduated as a second lieutenant in the 34th Medium Artillery Regiment of the Indian Army. George's first posting in 1966 was to the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), bordering China.

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.[6][7]

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."[9]

Soon after arriving in the United States, he attended New York University's Stern School of Business as a graduate student. During that time, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[6] 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.[6][9]

He worked for Chemical Bank for two years before founding his own company in 1976, Multinational Computer Models Inc. (MCM),[6] 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.[7][9]

He returned to India in January 1995 and established The George Foundation, a non-profit charitable trust focused on reducing injustices and inequalities.[9] 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 blood lead levels. The Indian government subsequently banned leaded gasoline.[5]

Shanti Bhavan is featured in the four-part Netflix documentary Daughters of Destiny.[10]

Publications

  • 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)
  • India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty, Writer's Collective (ISBN 81-88661-18-X) - 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.[11]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "About the founder - The George Foundation". www.tgfworld.org. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b "SternBusiness". w4.stern.nyu.edu. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  3. ^ "SternBusiness". w4.stern.nyu.edu. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  4. ^ Epatko, Larisa (28 July 2017). "At a school for poor children in India, price of attendance is paying it forward". PBS. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b Nichani, Vikram (15 June 2006). "Blood lead levels in children after phase-out of leaded gasoline in Bombay, India". Pubmed. Vol. 363, no. 1–3. pp. 95–106. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.06.033. PMID 16181659. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
  6. ^ a b c d e Gross, Daniel (Fall–Winter 2006). "Return of the Native Son". STERNbusiness. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  7. ^ a b c "In search of the poor, with his own money". Indialife. Fall–Winter 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  8. ^ Friedman, Thomas (2006). The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 630–634. ISBN 0-374-29279-5.
  9. ^ a b c d George, Abraham (2005). India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty. Cranston, RI: Writers' Collective. ISBN 1-59411-122-7.
  10. ^ Hale, Mike (28 July 2017). "Review: 'Daughters of Destiny' on Netflix Explores Caste Struggles in India". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  11. ^ Nichani, Vikram; Li, Wan-I; Smith, Mary Alice; Noonan, Gary; Kulkarni, Milind; Kodavor, Mohan; Naeher, Luke P. (June 2006). "Blood lead levels in children after phase-out of leaded gasoline in Bombay, India". Science Direct. Vol. 363, no. 1–3. pp. 95–106. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.06.033. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
  12. ^ "The Alumini magazine of NYU Stern". Fall–Winter 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  13. ^ "Awards & Achievements". 2000.
  14. ^ "GOPIO News Special Bulletin". January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  15. ^ "GOPIO 2017–Community Service Awards". January 2017.
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