BANGALORE, India , Jan. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME) is proud to announce that Prof. J. Philip, Principal Founder of XIME has been honoured by the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, with the title of “Commander of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great.”
On receiving the honour, Prof. Philip said, “I am deeply aware that this distinction is not a recognition of my own merit, but rather a testament to the boundless mercy of God, whose will I have sought to follow in all my endeavours. This honour serves as a reminder of the mysterious ways in which God reveals His plan. The passing of my beloved daughter Maria in 1986 was a moment of immeasurable sorrow, yet I have come to see it as a sign that my life’s path must be devoted wholly to His service. In accepting this title, I do so not as a personal achievement, but as a solemn responsibility to continue serving the community faithfully through the XIME institutions.”
Born into the devout family of the late Mr M.O. Mathew and Mrs Mariamma in 1936 in the backwater village of Pulincunoo in Kerala, he charted a journey that would quietly reshape Indian management education. Educated at XLRI Jamshedpur and later at Harvard Business School‘s International Teachers Programme, he treated the classroom not as a career but as a calling.
At XLRI, he broke tradition as the institution’s first lay Dean, co-founding its flagship PGDM programme and helping to define what a modern Indian business school could be. From there he moved to the Management Training Institute of SAIL, where he built leaders for India’s steel sector and, in Ranchi, turned the Cheshire Home into a place of dignity and opportunity for the underprivileged.
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As Vice President (HRD) at The Oberoi Group, he championed a people-first philosophy that outlived his tenure and would later flow back into his enduring support for XIME, the institution he would go on to found. At IIM Bangalore, as the Institute’s Director, he steered it through a critical turnaround, pushing bold academic reforms. He was the architect of the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS), the country’s first powerful network of management educators and served as its first President. He was also instrumental in forming the Association of BRICS Business Schools (ABBS).
In 1991, Prof. J. Philip founded the Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME) in Bangalore to fulfil the dream of his late daughter, Maria Teresa Philip. Today, XIME has grown into one of India’s top business schools, expanding to campuses in Kochi and Chennai while earning accolades for the quality of its management education. XIME Program across its three campuses is India’s 1 st B-School to get EFMD accreditation for 5 years.
Extending this legacy of service, Prof. Philip established XIME International School (XIS) in 2023 in Pallikunnu, Ettumanoor, partnering with the Archdiocese of Changanacherry. The School was formally inaugurated on April 9, 2024, it now serves over 100 children from kindergarten to Class 4.
“Through his leadership in the education sector and through many charitable and social initiatives, he has given distinguished service to the Church and society and has become a source of pride for us. We particularly recognize his efforts to promote integral human values among students,” commented the Archbishop of Changanacherry, Thomas Tharayil.
Mr. Anil Philip, President, XIME Society, said, “We are delighted that Prof. Philip has been bestowed with this honour. We hope to carry forward the XIME institution’s legacy of excellence in higher education, upholding values and integral human formation as exemplified by Chevalier J. Philip’s distinguished service to the society.”
Source: PR Newswire
