Boston: IIT Mumbai alumnus Nitin Nohria is
all set to assume his role as Dean of the prestigious Harvard
Business School here starting Thursday.
Nohria, is the first Indian-origin dean in the School`s
102-year-old history.
The School had announced in May that Nohria will succeed
Jay Light as the 10th Dean and will take up his new role on
July 1.
Member of the HBS faculty since 1988, Nohria has
previously been the School`s senior associate dean for faculty
development and chair of its organisational behaviour unit.
He is current co-chair of the HBS Leadership Initiative.
"I feel a profound sense of responsibility for continuing
Harvard Business School`s proud legacy of groundbreaking ideas
and transformational educational experiences," Nohria had said
after his appointment.
With business education at an inflection point, we must
strive to equip future leaders with the competence and
character to address emerging global business and social
challenges," he added.
Nohria received his bachelor of technology degree in
chemical engineering in 1984 from IIT Mumbai and later did his
Ph.D. in management from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology`s Sloan School of Management.
He joined the HBS faculty as an assistant professor in
1988, was appointed associate professor in 1993, was promoted
to tenure in 1997 and became the Richard P Chapman Professor
of Business Administration in 1999.
In a conference call with Indian media soon after his
appointment, Nohria had said during his years at IIT-Bombay,
he learnt "that I could survive anything".
He had named his father, KK Nohria, former head of the
electrical equipment company Crompton Greaves, as another big
influence in his life.
"The great leadership advice has been from my father: Try
to be yourself and try to be humble".
Nohria takes over as dean just as the HBS enters into its
second century of existence and said his objective is to have
"a period of extraordinary innovation at HBS".
His new responsibilities may not give him time for his
first love "teaching".
"But I will do everything I can to at least remain very
connected with our students and to find some opportunity to be
in our classrooms," he said.
PTI
