Mumbai, New Delhi: A day after being appointed as Dean of Harvard Business School, Indian-origin Nitin Nohria has thanked his alma mater IIT Bombay.
"IIT Mumbai made me a global player, it taught me everything I needed," said Nitin Nohria, Dean, Harvard Business School.
Nitin Nohria may now be the first Indian-American Dean of Harvard Business School but he clearly hasn't forgotten his roots.
An IIT Mumbai alumnus, Nohria has been a big-league player in the academic world for a long time, and his appointment is further proof of the recognition that India and Indians are receiving internationally.
"I think that the trend of getting to be much more international, and this sort of trend is one which people like Nitin understand well, because well travelled as he is, and I hope with an emerging market focus," said Naina Lal Kidwai, Country Head, HSBC.
Nohria's profile is testimony to his expertise. After graduating from IIT Mumbai in 1984 in Chemical Engineering, he went on to receive a doctoral degree from MIT in 1988. He joined Harvard immediately after that and served in the prestigious position of the Richard P Chapman Professor of Business Administration since 1999. He has also published several significant works in his field.
- Graduated from IIT Mumbai in 1984
- Received his doctoral degree from MIT in 1988
- Joined Harvard in 1988
- Served as the Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration since 1999
- Has published 16 books on business
And India has always played a significant role in his approach towards academia, a trend he intends to carry forward into his administration.
"Harvard has always been committed to coming into India, very exciting things are happening there and I look forward to strengthening the ties," said Nitin Nohria.
The ties between India and Harvard were already fairly strong. Some of India's most famous names are alumni of the Business School and one of them, Anand Mahindra says, there was skepticism about whether the appointment of Nohria would happen.
"To be honest there was perhaps a perception that may be the university was not ready to appoint quote unquote an outsider, somebody non American to this position so I think this is extremely significant," said Anand Mahindra, VC & MD, Mahindra & Mahindra.
With Nohria taking the reins of one of the world's most iconic universities, the questions remain, how will the relationship between Harvard and Indian Academia evolve? Will new initiatives and case studies be developed at HBS that focus even more on India? However, one thing is clear, Nohria's appointment breaks one of the highest glass ceilings in the world.