Top business school INSEAD names Dipak Jain as next dean

WASHINGTON - Leading international business school INSEAD has named noted Indian-American academician Dipak Jain as its next dean, succeeding J. Frank Brown, who will step down in March 2011.

Jain, an American citizen and native of Tezpur, Assam, was Kellogg’s Dean from 2001-2009. He is the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor in Entrepreneurial Studies and Professor of Marketing there, a chair he has held since 1994.

INSEAD, which has campuses in Singapore, France and Abu Dhabi, chose Jain partly to further beef up its global presence, said Franz Humer, chairman of INSEAD’s board while announcing Jain’s appointment.

“The Board chose Dipak Jain to lead INSEAD into what is fast becoming a new global economic climate - one in which emerging markets are growing at a faster rate than the industrialised mature economies of Europe and North America,” he said.

“He has tremendous experience developing programmes in the world,” Humer said. “We feel he’ll be strategic about developing our campuses, such as the one in Singapore. But we also want him to attract more students from the developing world.”

Jain, for instance, will be charged with looking for opportunities to build programs in China and India, as well as maximising the potential of the Abu Dhabi campus, which caters to executives, Humer said.

Jain is a graduate of Guwahati University and received a masters in management science and a PhD in marketing from the University of Texas at Dallas.

“What attracts me to INSEAD is that it is a true global brand in management education, one with enduring passion and inspired vision,” said Jain.

“I am deeply honoured to be joining INSEAD as part of this global community of scholars and practitioners dedicated to bringing people and ideas together in ways that enhance global peace and prosperity,” he said.

A noted scholar in marketing and entrepreneurship, Jain has published some 60 articles in scholarly and professional journals and three books and is the recipient of numerous awards for teaching and scholarship.

Apart from teaching, Jain is currently involved in two social projects: creating a business school in Bangladesh, focusing on entrepreneurship and small business management, for women from countries such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan; and starting a full-fledged university in Angola.

He is a director of John Deere, the Northern Trust, Reliance Industries and Media Bank.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)