IIM Calcutta Alumna Prof Anju Seth appointed its First Woman Director; Takes Charge

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
November 17, 2018
Professor Anju Seth, Alumna of IIM Calcutta and Professor of Management at Virginia Tech, USA has been appointed the first woman director of IIM Calcutta. Prof Seth is the first woman director appointed not only in IIM Calcutta but also in any of the top and older IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode and is the third woman director appointed in any of the 20 IIMs – the other two are IIM Bodhgaya and IIM Sirmaur
IIM Calcutta Alumna Prof Anju

Breaking the glass ceiling and creating history, the Board of Governors of the oldest Indian Institute of Management, IIM Calcutta has appointed Professor Anju Seth, its alumna as its first woman director. Prof Seth is the first woman director appointed not only in IIM Calcutta but also in any of the top and older IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode and is the third woman director appointed in any of the 20 IIMs. The other two IIMs led by women directors are baby IIMs namely IIM Bodhgaya with Dr Vinita Sahay and IIM Sirmaur led by Neelu Rohmetra as their directors respectively. Dr Seth is reported to have taken charge of IIM Calcutta as its Director on Friday November 16, 2018.

Announcing the appointment, Shrikrishna Kulkarni, Chairperson Board of Governors, IIM Calcutta said, "We are indeed delighted that Anju will be the first woman Director of IIMC. She was the unanimous choice of the Search Cum Selection Committee and the BOG. On behalf of the IIMC fraternity, it is my privilege to welcome her to the IIMC team."

The Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI) , a not for profit autonomous society with mandate from Universities and institutions as its members has welcomed the appointment of Prof Anju Seth as the Director of IIM Calcutta. According to EPSI, the appointment is a healthy development in India where women are breaking glass ceilings in all walks of life.   

Prof Anju Seth was the Pamplin Professor of Management at Virginia Tech, USA before joining IIM Calcutta as its director. She was head of the department of management at Pamplin College from 2008 to 2013. Her Research interest areas are corporate strategy, acquisitions, restructuring, strategic alliances &  joint ventures, corporate governance and ethics, globalisation and strategy in emerging economies. Prior to this Prof Seth held the positions of professor of Business Administration and was director of Graduate Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has also served as the Associate Professor at the University of Houston. 

Prof Seth did her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1988 after completing her MBA from IIM Calcutta ten year ago. She did her B.Sc. (Honours) from Delhi University in 1976. She has a distinguished academic career spanning over twenty-five years.

Prof Seth is on the editorial board of many scholarly journals. Her research papers have been published in Strategic Management Journal and Journal of International Business Studies. Her papers have also been published in Review of Economics and Statistics, Managerial and Decision Economics, Journal of Management Studies, California Management Review among others. She has received many awards and honours for her teaching and research. She has maintained strong connections with academic and professional organizations in India such as Vedica Scholars Program.

Apart from her academic interests, Prof Seth has served for many years at the Management Consultancy Division of A.F Ferguson and Co in India prior to receiving her PhD in corporate strategy from the University of Michigan

On her new responsibility, Prof Seth said, "I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students, Governors and all other stakeholders to build on the Institute's strong foundations and accomplish new heights of eminence."  

Prof Shekhar Chaudhury, former director of IIM Calcutta, said that no woman had previously been appointed as the director of the IIM Calcutta, the oldest IIM in the country.

A front runner choice for the position, the search panel appointed by the board of governors of IIM Calcutta to find candidates for the post of director shortlisted three eminent academicians that included Seth. The other two candidates were Prof Suresh Ramanathan of Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University and Prof Jayant Kale, a faculty member at D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston.

It is a timely move for the benefit of IIM Calcutta and all its stake holders that the oldest IIM of India has not only got its director in time but also has set precedent by appointing its alumna as its first woman director.

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