Last Updated on July 7, 2026
MBAUniverse.com News Desk
Prof Arun Mohan Sherry, the founding director of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Lucknow, has been appointed the new IIM Shillong Director for a five-year term. The appointment was made by the President of India in her capacity as the Visitor of the IIMs. An academician with more than three decades of experience, Prof Sherry is credited with transforming IIIT Lucknow, which he has led since 2019, into a fast-growing institute focused on academic excellence, research, innovation, entrepreneurship and industry collaboration. In its official statement, IIM Shillong congratulated Prof Sherry and welcomed the strategic vision he brings, while Prof Sherry set out an agenda built around artificial intelligence, globalisation and lifelong learning in business education. This MBAUniverse.com news report covers Prof Arun Mohan Sherry’s appointment, his vision for the institute, and a full profile of the new IIM Shillong Director.
Prof Arun Mohan Sherry Appointed IIM Shillong Director by President of India
Prof Arun Mohan Sherry has been appointed Director of IIM Shillong for a five-year term. The appointment was made by the President of India in her capacity as the Visitor of the IIMs. Sherry, who has been leading IIIT Lucknow since 2019, will now head the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, one of the country's premier management institutions.
The appointment places a leading specialist in technology-enabled and management education at the helm of IIM Shillong. As founding director of IIIT Lucknow, Prof Sherry built the institute's focus on academic excellence, research, innovation, start-up promotion and industry collaboration, a track record IIM Shillong has cited as central to his selection as its new Director.
IIM Shillong Congratulates New Director
In its official statement, IIM Shillong announced the appointment and extended its congratulations to the new Director. The institute said: “IIM Shillong extends its heartfelt congratulations to Prof. Arun Mohan Sherry on his appointment as the Director of the Institute.”
Describing his credentials, IIM Shillong noted that Prof Sherry, the founding director of IIIT Lucknow, “brings with him an illustrious record of academic leadership and institution building.” The institute described him as “an accomplished academician and institution builder with over 28 years of experience in higher education leadership, research, innovation, and academic administration.”
Pointing to the road ahead, IIM Shillong said Prof Sherry’s “deep expertise in technology-enabled and management education” and his “strategic vision and leadership perspective” would “further strengthen IIM Shillong’s commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and institutional advancement.”
Prof Sherry's Vision for IIM Shillong: AI, Globalisation and Lifelong Learning
Speaking after his appointment, Prof Sherry said his focus would be on the use of AI in research, data science and business. “AI is a reality now. And since this is what we specialise in, we will give a new direction to business education,” he said. He added that efforts would also be made to tap the growing interest and awareness in undergraduate programmes in business management.
Prof Sherry identified globalisation as a second priority. Lifelong learning, he noted, would be a third focus area.
Prof AM Sherry Profile: From IIT Kharagpur to IIM Shillong Director
Prof Arun Mohan Sherry is an M.Sc. gold medallist who completed his M.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Kharagpur and later obtained a PhD. Before joining IIIT Lucknow, he held senior leadership positions at NMIMS, IMT Ghaziabad and HCL TalentCare. He has authored numerous research publications in computer science, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, and has received several recognitions for his contributions to higher education and institution building.
Prof Sherry has published over 40 papers in international and national journals and conferences, supervised many PhD candidates and more than 100 postgraduate projects, and served in senior roles at IMT Ghaziabad including Chairman (Research), Chairman (Students Affairs), Dean (Academics), Chairman (Admissions) as well as Director of IMT-CDL, Ghaziabad.
His institutional affiliations include Governing Council Member of the Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi; member of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) society; Visiting Chairman of NBA teams; Governing Body Member of IIT Kanpur’s Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship (AIIDE) Centre; and member of the Academic Council of Harcourt Butler Technical University, Kanpur.
IIM Shillong: The Seventh IIM
Indian Institute of Management Shillong (IIM Shillong) is a public, fully autonomous management institute in the city of Shillong, Meghalaya. It was the seventh Indian Institute of Management to be established in India. Founded in 2007, IIM Shillong offers postgraduate, doctoral, and executive programmes in management education, and Management Development Programmes (MDPs) spanning different streams of management. Admissions to the institute are based on scores obtained in the Common Admission Test (CAT) and further an extempore and personal interview rounds. In addition, from 2025, the institute also admits students to the Integrated Programme in Management (IPM), a five-year course, through the IPMAT (IIM Indore) entrance examination. The institute also has a Centre for Development of North Eastern Region (CEDNER), constituted to offer programmes relevant to the local community and society of the state and the region.
Summary
Prof Arun Mohan Sherry’s appointment as IIM Shillong Director brings a leader with deep roots in technology and management education to one of India’s premier IIMs. With a stated agenda centred on AI, globalisation and lifelong learning, and a proven record of building institutions such as IIIT Lucknow, his five-year tenure is expected to shape the next phase of business education at IIM Shillong. For continuing coverage of IIM leadership changes, CAT 2026, and MBA entrance exam updates, stay with MBAUniverse.com.
