Sham Wagh (1954-2023)

PGP 78

We lost our classmate and dear friend Sham Wagh on November 16, 2023 due to cancer. He leaves behind his wife, their son, daughter and grandchildren.

Sham, a long time Pune resident, was a finance and management consultant. He was involved in financing/structuring activities for large manufacturing companies such as Kirloskar Bros. Ltd, United Ink Limited and Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited. He was actively involved in the academic domain as a visiting faculty for management courses and a faculty member of INDSEARCH, Pune.

By nature, Sham was a noble soul who cared deeply about others and selflessly celebrated their achievements, never seeking the limelight or credit himself. He always found ways to help others and did so joyfully.

He was a pivotal figure at IIMPACT*, a Pune based NGO founded by IIMA alumni, providing educational opportunities to girls. At work, Wagh was sharply focused, transparent, factual and purposeful. His commitment to IIMPACT was evident from the trivial to the lofty work he undertook.

When the head of finance of the agency that IIMPACT had contracted to do accounting and finances left, Sham took on the responsibility. When the NGO faced fund crunch, he was the first one to contribute. He handled his responsibilities as Treasurer of the NGO without fuss and to perfection.

Sham was a man of few words but who led from the front. The world is much poorer because of his passing. May his soul rest in peace.

—G Srinivasan & Class of 1978

*IIMPACT was founded by the IIMA alumni batch of 1978 in 2003 after their 25th reunion at Ahmedabad. It was founded by the desire to do something socially meaningful to the society by the former classmates. It seeks to provide the disadvantaged rural girl children the basic skills required for life such as reading, writing and calculating. This is done through teaching them the local language, English, Arithmetic and EVS covering classes 1 to class 5 in Learning Centres with 30 girl children in their  villages. Today, through IIMPACT, there are 50,000 girls learning in 1650 villages across 11 states. To honour the contribution of Sham Wagh, “Sham Wagh Learning Centres” are being set up in the community.