CGP partners with Leader Prospects to serve employees of Indian companies

Chestnut Global Partners (www.chestnutglobalpartners.org), a provider of culturally-aware employee assistance and wellness programs to companies worldwide, today announced that it has partnered with Leader Prospects, an HR and work/life consulting company based in India, to form CGP India (CGPI). The joint venture will provide the tools, infrastructure and support network needed to more effectively serve employees of Indian companies with culturally-aware employee assistance and wellness services.

CGPI is based on Chestnut Global Partners' (CGP) successful "glocal" model, wherein CGP provides "global" coordination of networks of local providers who implement and manage culturally relevant programs. This approach lowers barriers and increases utilization in each of the over 130 countries where these services are provided.

"Corporate wellness is in its early stages in India, as business leaders are starting to understand the need for systematic, scientifically proven approaches in alleviating the behaviors and conditions that compromise employee performance," said Russ Hagen, CEO of Chestnut Global Partners. "Leader Prospects works with companies in promoting and sustaining leadership and implementing vibrant, team-oriented cultures that put them in position to be successful. We look forward to working with their team in supporting their clients during this difficult and critical period of social and cultural transition."

"Today, more companies see the connection between wellness and business leadership as well as its value as a recruitment and retention tool -- particularly as more people are moving away from their families to find work in the cities," said Nobby Nazareth, Managing Partner for Leader Prospects. "Managing the stress and the counterproductive behaviors that often result, is really critical. Our goal was to partner with a global player that could adapt their services to Indian culture, which is precisely what CGP does so well, in addition to bringing time-tested products and outcomes-based therapeutic approaches. Working with CGP gives us a significant advantage in the market, as we expect CGPI to emerge as the market leader in India in a relatively short space of time."

Headquartered in Bangalore, India, CGPI will now be able to provide expertise and resources to alleviate the mental and behavioral health issues that have emerged in recent years as a result of the rapid and broad changes sweeping Indian society, beginning with the breaking up of India's long-held "joint family" structure. As an entire generation of employees is leaving their "ancestral" small towns to take jobs in big cities, stress levels have increased, leading to problems with every day coping. This has made India's business leaders more aware of the correlation between mental and physical health and workforce productivity, and the value of culturally-aware programs that address diabetes, substance abuse, obesity, smoking, fatigue, among other issues.