The appointment of a new Director for the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) has just advanced. On January 2 and January 5, interviews with around 11 applications and nominated candidates were conducted at the IIMA campus by a search committee established to choose the successor to current Director Prof Errol D’Souza.
Not less than 8 IIMA faculty members and well-known academicians from various B-schools participated in the interviews. The Board of Governors will convene soon after Uttarayan (January 14), according to sources knowledgeable of the process, to debate the qualifications of the three shortlisted candidates and to approve the name of the new Director.
A faculty member from the Public Systems Group with expertise in energy, climate change, and sustainable development is one of the top candidates from IIMA. One teaches marketing and is a member of the present government.
There is pressure from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to select the faculty member of its choosing, according to a source close to the selection process, even though the BoG has complete authority to choose the Director among the finest applicants.
Another candidate supported by RSS appears to be staying quiet for the time being. After the interview, his former adversary and IIMA candidate with a different political perspective, who was also vying for the position, improved.
There is widespread speculation that the four faculty members of IIMA, Prof Satish Deodhar, Prof Ajay Pandey, Prof Arvind Sahay, and Prof Sunil Maheswari, are competing for the top position. Prof Amit Garg, Prof Arindam Banerjee, and Prof Neharika Vohra are more academicians up for consideration.
The competition for the top position has sparked the age-old issues of who will lead IIMA going forward from inside or from outside and whether or not the BoG would buckle under political pressure.
The term of the present Director expires on January 31. It’s likely that the following Director will be chosen before then.
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