Indian origin Shrikant Datar named new dean of Harvard Business School

Washington: A renowned Indian-origin academician Shrikant Datar has been named as Dean of Harvard Business School, succeeding Nitin Nohria. Srikanth will lead 112 years old prestigious Harvard Business School; he has become the second consecutive dean hailing from India to do so.

Shrikant, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, will take charge on January 1 next year. Currently, Shrikant was appointed as Senior Associate Dean of University Affairs at Harvard Business School. Larry Bacow, president of Harvard University, made the announcement. Larry Bacow stated that Shrikant Datar is an innovative teacher and veteran academy leader. He is one of the main leaders thinking about the future of business school. In addition, he has played an important role in school to deal with the corona pandemic.

Shrikant will become the 11th dean of this school and this is the first time that the dean of this school is becoming an Indian for the second time in a row. The current dean, Nitin Nohria, is holding office until December due to the coronavirus, although he announced his termination in late June. Datar graduated from Bombay University in 1973. After this he obtained a post graduate degree from IIM Ahmedabad.

An Indian origin Datar joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1996 from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he was a professor. He has expertise in the areas of cost management and corporate governance. Datar is also on boards of companies including Novartis AG and T-Mobile US Inc. Over the past several months, Datar, 66, has focused on implementing a plan that allows students to attend classes online and on campus.

HBS last month announced a plan to advance racial equality on campus and in the business world. Those initiatives include recruiting more Black students and faculty, adding a chief diversity officer to promote racial equity in business.