Srilata Zaheer appointed dean,
Carlson School of Management
AZIZ HANIFFA
Srilata Zaheer has been appointed dean of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, beat-
ing out several candidates who were under
the microscope of an 18-member search
committee that conducted an international
hunt.
The committee finally decided on one of
its own. The Chennai-born and raised
Zaheer, a 20-year veteran professor and
administrator at the CSM and an expert in
international business, was unanimously
approved by the university’s board of
regents March 9.
Among the candidates she beat out for
the job were Charles Whiteman, senior
associate dean, University of Iowa’s Tipple
College of Business; Randall Peterson, pro-
fessor, organizational behavior, London
School of Business; and Mathew Slaughter,
associate dean for the MBA program,
Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of
Business.
Zaheer, 58, who is married to Akbar
Zaheer, Curtis L Carlson Chair in Strategy
at Carlson, had been serving as the school’s
interim dean for the past nine months since
Alison Davis-Black left the position.
University Provost Karen Hansen, in
announcing the appointment, said Zaheer
was ‘a rare combination of someone who is
renowned for her insights on international
business, highly regarded for her under-
standing of the global and local businesses
that drive the Minnesota economy, and
acutely aware of the needs of the Carlson
School.’
Zaheer’s roles at Carlson have included
PhD coordinator, Strategic Management
and Organization department; department
chair of SMO; and most recently associate
dean of faculty and research, responsible
for faculty in seven academic departments
and the school’s research infrastructure,
including its PhD program in business
administration.
Srilata Zaheer
The track record
For her contributions to scholarship in international business, in 2007, Zaheer
was recognized with the field’s highest honor as a Fellow of the Academy of
International Business.
She is a consulting editor, Journal of International Business Studies.
She has won several international awards for her research, including the Barry
Richman Award for the best interdisciplinary work in international management.
She is a founding member of the International Academic Council of the Indian
School of Business, set up by McKinsey, Kellogg, and Wharton in Hyderabad, and also
serves as co-director, Center for Integrative Leadership, University of Minnesota.
She is involved with the India Health Foundation and in mentoring a worldwide
network of former students and collaborators.
the Carlson School, straight out of the PhD
program at the Sloan School of
Management at MIT (she holds a bachelor’s
degree in physics from Madras University).
I wasn’t quite a rookie, however, having
spent a significant amount of time working
in the real world of multinationals, initially
with Tata Consultancy Services, which I
joined out of my master’s in business from
the Indian Institute of Management in
Ahmedabad, and later on as the internal
auditor of what was then Sandoz (India).
That likely explains my attraction to study
the field of international business, particu-
larly the location and organization of
multinational firms.’
She added, ‘I’m concerned that business
has lost credibility in society and feel
strongly about developing a new genera-
tion of managers who can once more estab-
lish its position as a force for the good.’
One of Zaheer’s friends, Gopal Khanna,
who served as chief financial officer in erst-
while Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty’s
administration and as CFO in the White
House during George W Bush’s second
term, told India Abroad, “Sri’s appoint-
ment is indeed huge. (Since the news
came) I have heard a chorus of praises from
the academics at the university and from
senior leaders in the Minnesota business
world.”
“Sri’s appointment,” Khanna said, “is a
source of great inspiration for the Indian-
American community and for all the
young women who aspire to break the
glass ceiling. I know our daughter Rohini
who attended the business school feels
inspired, as do several other second gen-
eration Indian Americans, particularly
women, who see this as yet another exam-
ple of a talented individual opening doors
for them through her hard work, and
serving both the community and profes-
sion well.”
the week that was
Vikram Pandit’s Citi fails stress test
;Page A23
The Vikram Pandit-led Citigroup is among the four
financial institutions — including Sun Trust, Ally Financial
and MetLife — that failed the Federal Reserve’s stress test
to show they have enough capital to survive another seri-
ous downturn. ‘Much of Wall Street’s attention fell to
Citigroup, however, which has made significant strides
under Mr Pandit’s leadership (since 2007),’ said The Wall
Street Journal, adding that it was a blow to his efforts to
revive investor confidence in the bank.
Azim Premji among world’s richest
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Wipro co-founder Azim Premji, with net worth of $18.5
billion, ranks sixth on a Bloomberg list of the information
technology world’s richest men. The list is topped by
Mitsubishi plans global small car hub in India
Japanese auto major Mitsubishi Motors Corporation
plans to join compatriots Nissan Motor and Suzuki Motor
Corporation in setting up a global hub to manufacture
small cars in India. The company currently has seven
manufacturing facilities across Japan, North America,
The Netherlands, Thailand and Philippines.
Microsoft’s Bill Gates ($61.3 billion), Oracle’s Larry
Ellison ($37.9 billion) and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
($21 billion).
Wipro promoters to cut stake via auction
In a step towards complying with new shareholding
norms on promoter holdings, the Azim Premji
Foundation will sell 35 million shares of Wipro through
auction. The promoter holding in Wipro, now 79.5 per-
cent, would be reduced to 78.1 percent.
Rupee to have bigger play in global
trade
In a move that could help make the rupee an interna-
tional currency, India’s Directorate General of Foreign
Trade has proposed to allow export benefits to any
exporter who gets receivables in rupees from its interna-
tional counterpart. However, it will not be allowed in the
case of neighboring countries with whom India maintains
porous borders.
