Professor Rajendra Srivastava has taken charge as the new Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB) effective January 1, 2016. He succeeds Ajit Rangnekar, who served as Dean of the School since January 2009 and retired on December 31, 2015. Professor Srivastava, who is the 5th Dean of ISB, is also the Full Professor of Business in Marketing and the Novartis Chair Professor of Marketing Strategy and Innovation.
Prior to joining ISB Professor Srivastava was the Provost and Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and LKC Distinguished Chair Professor of Marketing Strategy and International Business at the Singapore Management University (SMU).
His experience as an academic and administrator spans over 30 years and North America, Europe and Asia. He has held distinguished research chairs and senior management positions at the University of Texas at Austin and Emory University in Atlanta in the past.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, he holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and an MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Rhode Island.
Welcoming him Adi Godrej, Chairman of the ISB Board said, “Professor Rajendra Srivastava’s appointment as the new Dean of ISB marks a significant step towards ISB’s mission of consolidating and strengthening its position as a world-class business school. I wish him success with the confidence that ISB will achieve new heights of success in the years to come.
Commenting on his new role, Professor Rajendra Srivastava said, “It is indeed with a sense of immense anticipation and confidence that I take up this very prestigious role as Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB). ISB has made a mark for itself as a premier B school in a short span. It has the advantage of having the best of insights from India and Asia that are valued the world over and is in a position of advantage to place itself as a leading Indian B School in Asia and the World. I look forward to a fruitful association with ISB that will also give me a sense of purpose and fulfillment.”
Wishing Professor Srivastava on his new role, outgoing Dean Ajit Rangnekar said, “It has been a great personal and professional privilege to have been associated with this wonderful institution. We have been ranked consistently among the top global B Schools; we are the first in India to be globally top ranked for research, first to get the AACSB accreditation in South Asia, and the first to innovate with industry specific institutes to address issues of national importance. I am delighted that ISB will be led by a renowned academician and an able administrator like Raj Srivastava. I am sure he will take ISB to even greater heights.”
Professor Srivastava’s research interests are in the area of Marketing and Brand Strategy. A highly published and cited scholar, he is well-known globally for his work examining the impact of marketing investments on business performance, business model innovation and marketing metrics.
The recipient of several awards and honours, he has been actively involved in setting up several postgraduate and doctoral programmes and research centres and initiatives in close collaboration with industry bringing a unique blend of experiences integrating academic and business perspectives from the west and the east.