Prof Ashok Banerjee Assumes Charge as New Director, IIM Udaipur

Mumbai: IIM Udaipur has appointed Prof Ashok Banerjee, faculty at IIM Calcutta, as its new Director. Prof Banerjee takes over charge on August 1, 2022, and succeeds Prof Janat Shah, who has helmed the institute for 11 years, since its inception in 2011.

Prof. Banerjee is a Chartered Accountant and holds an M.Com. Degree from Calcutta University and a Ph.D. from Rajasthan University. Prof Banerjee is a seasoned academician with vast experience as a senior professor in the Finance and Control area. His research interests are in the areas of high-frequency finance, Fintech, and sentiment analysis. He was the Dean (New Initiatives and External Relations at IIM Calcutta from 2012 to 2015. Prior to joining IIM Calcutta, he was a professor at IIM Lucknow.

He also serves as an independent director on the Boards of companies in the financial and technology sectors. During his stint as Dean, Prof Banerjee is credited with setting up an incubator at IIM Calcutta, called IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, which is recognized by the Department of Science & Technology as a Technology Business Incubator. Prof. Banerjee was the founder-coordinator of the Financial Research and Trading Laboratory of IIM Calcutta. He was instrumental in starting the International Finance Conference in 2009 at IIM Calcutta. The conference is now rechristened as India Finance Conference and is organized jointly by IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore and IIM Ahmedabad.

Prof Banerjee’s appointment comes following Prof Janat Shah’s completion of his second Term. With an additional year in-between the two terms, he was in effect at the helm for 11 years, right from inception. Under Prof Shah’s dynamic and visionary leadership, IIM Udaipur has emerged as a globally ranked and accredited institute. IIM Udaipur was only the 4th IIM and youngest B-School to get either ACCSB or EQUIS Accreditation. It became only the 3rd IIM to be ranked in the prestigious FT Global Top 100 MIM Rankings for the 3rd consecutive Year in 2021, as also the youngest B-School in Asia to be in it. In QS 2022 MIM World Rankings 2022 it was the youngest B-School in the World and only the 7th IIM. IIMU is also ranked 4th in India in Research as per UT Dallas research ranking methodology.

In this short history of a decade, the Institute also took several initiatives that have set it apart. Notable amongst them are setting up a Consumer Culture Lab (only B-School in India), Centres of Excellence in Global Supply Chain Management, Digital Enterprise Management and Healthcare. The world, India included, saw the immense importance of all these areas, in the recent pandemic years.

IIM Udaipur moved into its picturesque and pristine 300-acre campus (the largest amongst all IIMs) in the Aravalli range at Balicha, Udaipur, in 2016.

Encapsulating all this in its recent celebration of the 10th Anniversary of its Foundation, the Institute used the hashtag #10YearsUnstoppable and said #ItStartsatU, referring to its dynamism as a young, visionary management institute. IIM Udaipur has a clear vision of becoming a globally recognised management institute by 2030 and continues to focus on student transformation and high-quality research as two core areas.

On the selection of Prof Ashok Banerjee and his taking over as the Director of IIM Udaipur, Mr Pankaj Patel, eminent industrialist and Chairman, Board of Governors of IIM Udaipur said: “We welcome Prof Ashok Banerjee as the new Director of IIM Udaipur. We have in him a distinguished academic and an able administrator, best suited to lead IIM Udaipur to early fulfilment of its Vision 2030.

The Board, and the entire IIMU Community, joins me in expressing its immense gratitude to Prof Janat Shah for the pioneering, visionary and exemplary work done by him in leading IIM Udaipur to the distinctive position it occupies in just a little more than a decade of its existence. We are happy that Prof Shah will continue as a Professor at IIMU .”

On being appointed the new Director of IIM Udaipur, Prof Ashok Banerjee said, “It is with a sense of pride and happiness that I join IIM Udaipur’s remarkable journey as the Director. I look forward to the support of the Board and all stakeholders as we take the Institute further ahead. IIMU has a well-set vision to be a globally recognized B-School, built on the pillars of student transformation and excellence in research. I’m excited and privileged to be a part of it. I thank Mr Pankaj Patel and the Board for providing me this opportunity.”

Prof Janat Shah extended his warm welcome to Prof Ashok Banerjee and said, “I thank the Board, Advisors, faculty, staff, students, alumni and everyone else who has ever been a part of IIM Udaipur’s path-breaking journey. It is undoubtedly their unflinching support, dedication and inspired work that has helped us create the difference.

There is a zeal, purpose and energy that I see at IIM Udaipur. I am sure, it will immensely assist Prof Banerjee as he takes IIMU to the next level.”