IIMA appoints Bharat Bhaskar as its new director

The Indian Institute of Ahmedabad (IIMA) Monday announced the appointment of Professor Bharat Bhasker as its new director for a period of five years with effect from March. He will be replacing Errol D’Souza whose term is ending on January 31.

The institute said in a release that Bhasker, who is currently a professor of Information Technology and Systems at IIM Lucknow, will take charge from 1st March. In the interim, the board of governors has appointed professor Arindam Banerjee as the director-in-charge.

The release quotes Pankaj R Patel, chairperson of the IIMA Board of Governors, saying, “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.”

Patel, the chairman of Zydus Lifesciences Ltd, was appointed chairman of IIMA’s board of governors in November succeeding industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla after completing his four years term.

The institute said that 13 candidates had been shortlisted 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,” the release stated.

It said that Bhasker has served a five-year term as the Director of IIM Raipur from March 2017 to March 2022. Prior to that he was associated with IIM Lucknow for over two decades where served in various capacities including its acting director for five years. He also served as the Dean Planning & Development at IIM Sirmaur from 2003 to 2005. Deccan Herald