Prof Sougata Ray Appointed NMIMS Vice Chancellor; Read his Full Profile and Career Journey

Prof Sougata Ray, the New NMIMS Vice Chancellor
Prof Sougata Ray is a management academic, researcher and institution builder whose career blends international-quality academic and research practice with hands-on corporate leadership and governance. Over more than three and a half decades, he has worked as a professor, dean, board member, executive, co-founder of start-ups, advisor, trainer, mentor and coach. As the new NMIMS Vice Chancellor, he brings deep expertise across strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, family and corporate governance, international business, global competitiveness and the digital strategy of firms in high-growth economies.

He is regarded as one of the most prolific and widely cited home-grown strategy scholars in India, with a body of work spanning research papers, monographs and case studies published regularly in top-tier international journals. This scholarly record positions him to strengthen the research culture at NMIMS University as it competes among the top MBA colleges in India.

Prof Ray takes a keen interest in helping ambitious entrepreneurs and firms, and enjoys working with leaders who aspire to make a quantum improvement in performance and are willing to embrace new technologies. This orientation towards enterprise building and technology adoption, combined with his research standing, shapes the leadership he now brings to NMIMS Mumbai.

Prof Sougata Ray's Career Journey
Prof Ray's professional journey moves across India's leading management institutions and major corporations. The snapshot below captures his key roles, based on his professional record.

Over Two Decades at IIM Calcutta as Professor, Dean
Prof Sougata Ray served IIM Calcutta for more than 21 years — a tenure of 21 years and 6 months, per his professional record. He was a Professor at the institute from January 2000 to June 2021. During this period, he also held two significant leadership positions: he served as Dean from March 2010 to January 2012, and as a Member of the Board of Governors from December 2017 to December 2020.

This long innings at IIM Calcutta, one of the country's premier management institutes, gave him first-hand experience of academic administration, governance and institution building at the highest level of Indian management education. 

Leadership Role at ISB
Before moving to NMIMS Mumbai, Prof Sougata Ray was associated with the Indian School of Business (ISB) for close to 12 years. From June 2021 he served as Professor & Executive Director of the Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise, and as the Thomas Schmidheiny Chair & Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship Practice. He had been associated with the same centre from October 2014 as an Advisor, Visiting Professor and Senior Research Fellow.

At ISB, he spearheaded a major programme to build a solid, research-based understanding of business families and family businesses in India. He also led research programmes in social entrepreneurship, corporate sustainability strategy and practice, and Base of the Pyramid initiatives. This focus on family enterprise is especially relevant in the Indian context, where family-owned businesses are widespread and family owners play a pivotal role in shaping the future of enterprises.

Corporate Roles: Infosys Innovation Lab and Tata Group Board
Prof Ray also brings substantial corporate experience to the role. At Infosys Technologies, he served as General Manager and Head of the Innovation Lab from December 2007, in a strategic role focused on incubating the company's innovation initiatives and practices. He co-developed the strategic plan for systematic innovation from vision to execution, built and led a multi-skilled team, and coined and evangelised the concept of “innovation co-creation” and the slogan “innovation by everybody, every day, everywhere.”

Prof Ray’s work at Infosys included building a technology platform to power innovation co-creation, running innovation workouts, and organising the innovation challenge “IGNITE” to create an innovation pipeline. He developed the patent-pending ICKON (Innovation Co-creation and Knowledge Orchestrating Network) methodology and platform, set up integrated research and innovation centres for several business units, built a community of innovation enthusiasts, and initiated a programme to develop a pool of innovation champions and an innovation culture across the organisation. The role involved engagements with several global corporations, including Microsoft, Boeing, Bank of America and Cisco.

Separately, he has served as an Independent Director associated with the Tata Group since May 2011, a board association spanning more than 15 years that adds board-level governance experience to his profile. 

Research, Advisory and Global CXO Engagements
Prof Sougata Ray has developed deep insights into strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, family and corporate governance, international business, global competitiveness and digital strategy through intensive academic research and varied corporate interactions as a consultant, trainer, mentor, executive and board member. He has advised numerous medium and large corporations, family businesses and start-ups, and has served as Principal Consultant to leading international development agencies.

He has taught in numerous executive education programmes and designed workshops exclusively for owner-managers, entrepreneurs and CXOs across India, Asia, the Middle East, and the Nordic and Scandinavian countries. Over the years he has led more than thirty CXO delegations across continents for high-level meetings with ministers and senior officials, multilateral agencies such as the WTO and ILO, chambers of commerce, MNCs, research labs and academic institutions. This breadth of international engagement gives him a global vantage point on management education — an asset as NMIMS positions itself among the top MBA colleges in India with international ambitions.

Academic Background: IIM Ahmedabad PhD 
Prof Sougata Ray holds a strong academic foundation. He earned his Doctorate in Management from IIM Ahmedabad, which he pursued from 1993 to 1997. Before that, he completed a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur, from 1985 to 1989.

This combination of an engineering foundation and a doctorate from IIM Ahmedabad, followed by decades at IIM Calcutta and ISB, gives Prof Ray a well-rounded academic and leadership profile as he takes charge at NMIMS University.

In summary, the appointment of Prof Sougata Ray as NMIMS Vice Chancellor from July 2026 marks a significant leadership milestone for NMIMS University. With over 21 years at IIM Calcutta as Professor, Dean and Board member, close to 12 years at ISB leading family-enterprise research, a senior innovation role at Infosys, a long-standing independent directorship on the Tata Group board, and a doctorate from IIM Ahmedabad, he brings a rare blend of academic authority and real-world experience to NMIMS Mumbai. As NMIMS continues to strengthen its standing among the top MBA colleges in India, aspirants should keep a close watch on NMAT 2026 and NMIMS MBA admission updates. For the latest B-school news, leadership changes and complete MBA entrance exam coverage, stay connected with MBAUniverse.com, India's No. 1 MBA Portal.