NARASIMHAN KASTHURI
SAN FRANCISCO, OCT 10
Srikant Datar, an alumnus of the University of Bombay and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has been named as the dean of Harvard Business School and will assume charge on January 1.
Indian American, Srikant Datar, the Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Business Administration and the senior associate dean for University affairs at Harvard Business School (HBS), has been appointed dean for the school Datar is a chartered accountant from India.
Incredibly proud of our very own @IIMAhmedabad alumnus’ appointment as the dean of @HarvardHBS. A proud moment yet again for India. What an achievement, as the second Indian-American occupies this prestigious position, succeeding the illustrious deanship of Nitin Nohria. https://t.co/a85RcCFRV4
— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) October 10, 2020
“Srikant Datar is an innovative educator, a distinguished scholar, and a deeply experienced academic leader,” said President Larry Bacow while announcing the appointment.
“He is a leading thinker about the future of business education, and he has recently played an essential role in HBS’s creative response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He has served with distinction in a range of leadership positions over his nearly 25 years at HBS, while also forging novel collaborations with other Harvard Schools,” he said.
“Srikant will come to the deanship with a broad international perspective, decades of close engagement with business practice, and a strong commitment to building an increasingly diverse and inclusive HBS community,” Bacow added.
“He is also a warm, generous, and thoughtful colleague and mentor — someone whose leadership experience, intimate knowledge of HBS, deep devotion to the institution, and talent for catalyzing constructive change all promise to serve the School and the University well, at a pivotal moment for business education.”
The news of Datar appointment offered a proud moment for Indian CAs in India and around the world. The US which has about 3000 CAs with several chapters welcomed the news of his appointment. Vish Arunachalam, founder chairman of the SF chapter, which co-ordinates the entire US chapters, said, it is indeed a proud moment for the professionals here. Sahitra PV, a CA student in Bangalore, said it gives hope for future professionals that CAs with their education and training are the best managers and complete business solution providers.
Since joining the HBS faculty in 1996, Datar has held a series of key positions, as the School’s senior associate dean responsible for faculty recruiting, for faculty development, for executive education, for research, and currently for University affairs. He has served since 2015 as faculty chair of the Harvard Innovation Labs, or i-lab.
A proud moment for Chartered Accountants around the world 🇺🇸@icaisfo @icaine_us @theicai @IndianEmbassyUS @CGISFO @IndiainNewYork @CharteredWW @IFAC https://t.co/1zA2lHmZ1n
— ICAI USA (@icaiusa) October 9, 2020
He has written and spoken extensively on the future of business education, and his wide-ranging academic interests encompass design thinking, data science, artificial intelligence, innovative problem solving, strategy implementation, and cost management. Most recently, he has been intensively engaged in envisioning and implementing the innovative hybrid teaching and learning model that HBS has adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to MIT communique.
“I am equal measures humbled and honored to take on this role,” said Datar. “Harvard Business School is an institution with a remarkable legacy of impact in research, education, and practice. Yet the events of the past year have hastened our passage to an unforeseen future. I look forward to working with colleagues and friends of the School — including throughout Harvard, in our Boston community, and around the world — to realize our mission in what undoubtedly will be an exciting new era.”
Datar will become the 11th dean in the Business School’s 112-year history. He will succeed Nitin Nohria, who last November announced his plans to conclude his deanship at the end of June 2020, after 10 years of service.
“Srikant is an outstanding choice as Harvard Business School’s next dean,” said Nohria.
Datar received his bachelor’s degree, with distinction, from the University of Bombay in 1973. A chartered accountant, he went on to receive a postgraduate diploma in business management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, before completing master’s degrees in statistics (1983) and economics (1984) and a Ph.D. in business (1985), all from Stanford University. From 1984 to 1989, he was an assistant professor and then associate professor at the Carnegie Mellon Graduate School of Industrial Administration, where he was honored with the George Leland Bach Teaching Award. From 1989 to 1996, he served on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he rose to become the Littlefield Professor of Accounting and Management and was recognized with the school’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
“In multiple roles over the years, Srikant has been remarkably effective at moving HBS forward,” said Provost Alan M. Garber.
