Indian-Origin Srikant Datar in key position as Dean in the prestigious Harvard Business School

Srikant Datar becomes the second Indian to hold a key position in Harvard. The Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Business Administration and the senior associate Dean for University Affairs at Harvard Business School (HBS), will become the second consecutive dean hailing from India to lead the prestigious 112-year-old institution. Mr Datar will begin his service on January 1, 2021.

“Srikant Datar is an innovative educator, a distinguished scholar, and a deeply experienced academic leader. 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,” President Larry Bacow announced, as quoted by The Harvard Gazette.

Since joining the faculty in 1996, Srikant Datar has held a series of key positions, as the School’s senior associate dean responsible for faculty recruiting, faculty development, executive education, research, and currently for University affairs.

“I am equal measures humbled and honored to take on this role,” said Mr 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.”

Mr 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, but agreed to continue till December in view of the pandemic.

Mr 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 a master’s degrees in statistics (1983) and economics (1984) and a PhD 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.