Professor Bharat Bhasker is the new Director of IIM-Ahmedabad

BILKULONLINE

Ahmedabad, Jan 24: The Indian Institute of Ahmedabad (IIMA), a premier global management institute, today announced the appointment of Professor Bharat Bhasker as the Director of IIMA for a period of five years with effect from March 01, 2023. 

Professor Bhasker, currently holds the position of Professor of Information Technology and Systems at IIM
Lucknow and will assume the position with effect from March 01, 2023. In the interim, the Board
of Governors has appointed Prof Arindam Banerjee as the Director-In-Charge for the period Feb
01, 2023 to Feb 28, 2023.

Making the announcement, Pankaj R Patel, Chairperson, IIMA Board of Governors, said,
“The Indian Institute of Ahmedabad (IIMA) is renowned for its rich legacy as a premier global management
institution, which has been shaped by the leadership and wisdom of all its directors since inception, including Professor
Errol D’Souza. I would like to thank him for his outstanding contributions to the Institute and its people during
his tenure.

I would like to congratulate and welcome Professor Bharat Bhasker as the new Director of IIMA. As a successful
leader and a Professor of technology with experience of working in India and across the globe, I am confident that he
will carry forward the legacy and lead the institute to newer horizons in today’s digital, globalised world.”
The IIMA Board of Governors followed a rigorous, comprehensive and collaborative process of
selection for the Director’s position.

As the first step, a committee was set up by the IIMA Board of Governors, that shortlisted 13 candidates for the position.

All the IIMA faculty members who had applied for the position were interviewed, along with the external applicants.

The selection committee had a detailed consultation with IIMA faculty members and other relevant stakeholders
and conducted the final round of interviews. Based on the search and selection committee’s
recommendations, the Board of Governors announced the appointment of Prof Bharat Bhasker
as the next Director for the institute, during a meeting held today at the IIMA campus
Professor Bhasker is an experienced Information Technology leader with almost three decades of
experience in industry, research, teaching, and consulting in India and globally.

Until recently, he has served a five-year term as the Director of IIM Raipur from March 2017 to March 2022.

Before joining IIM Raipur, he has been associated with IIM Lucknow for over two decades having served
in various capacities including being the acting Director of IIM Lucknow for a period of five
months during July and November 2015. He has also served as the Dean Planning & Development
at IIM Sirmaur from 2003 to 2005.

He has been a Visiting Professor at ESSEC Business School, Paris, France and University of Texas,
Dallas, USA. He was a Distinguished Professor at Chung- Ang University, Seoul, Korea, was a
Research Professor at University of California, Riverside, USA and Adjunct Faculty at Information
Systems, Univ. of Maryland, College Park
Prof Bhasker brings a rich industry experience in addition to his academic tenure. He has held
senior positions with multiple organizations globally including the Goddard Space Flight Center,
NASA, SYBASE Inc, MDL Information Systems amongst others. His areas of interest include
IT Strategy, Digital Transformation, Electronic Commerce, Business Process Re-engineering,
Business Analytics, Optimization, and Data Analysis. A B.Tech. graduate from IIT Roorkee, Prof
Bhasker obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
USA.

About IIM Ahmedabad,The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) is a premier, global

management Institute that is at the forefront of promoting excellence in the field of management education.
Over the 60 years of its existence, it has been acknowledged for its exemplary contributions to
scholarship, practice and policy through its distinctive teaching, high-quality research, nurturing
future leaders, supporting industry, Government, social enterprise and creating a progressive
impact on society.

IIMA was founded as an innovative initiative by the Government, industry and international
academia in 1961. Since then, it has been consolidating its global footprint, and today it has a
network with over 80 top international institutions and a presence in Dubai. Its eminent faculty
members and close to 40,000 alumni, who are at the helm of influential positions in all walks of
life, also contribute to its global recognition.

Over the years, IIMA’s academically superior, market-driven, and socially impactful programmes,
have earned a high reputation and acclaim globally. It became the first Indian institution to receive
international accreditation from EQUIS. The renowned flagship two-year Post-Graduate
Programme in Management (PGP) is ranked 26th in the FT master’s in management Ranking
2021, and the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) has
been ranked 62nd in the FT Global MBA rankings 2022.

The institute also is placed first in the Government of India’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF),

India Rankings 2022. IIMA offers consultancy services and more than 200 curated executive education programmes

in customized, blended, and open enrolment formats for a diverse audience comprising of business
leaders, policymakers, industry professionals, academicians, government officials, armed forces
personnel, agri-business and other niche sector specialists and entrepreneurs.