Founding Dean of Cornell SC Johnson College of Business is Appointed as Chairman of the GBSN Board of Directors for 2018 term
Washington, DC Ð The Global Business School Network (GBSN) announces the appointment of Soumitra Dutta as Chairman of the Board of Directors effective April 10, 2018. Professor Dutta succeeds Robert Kennedy, Dean of Nanyang Business School in Singapore.
GBSN is a nonprofit organization that partners with business schools, industry, foundations and aid agencies to improve access to quality, locally relevant management education for the developing world. By harnessing the power of a network of over 70 leading business schools on 6 continents, GBSN facilitates cross-border collaboration and knowledge sharing, advancing management education that delivers international best practice with local relevance.
Professor Dutta’s involvement with GBSN dates back six years. Under his leadership as Dean, the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University first joined the network in November 2012.
“Soumitra Dutta and I have known one another for more than a decade. He is a pioneer in management education and the development space, and was among the first to understand the value of GBSN’s mission. I am thrilled about his chairing our Board,” said Guy Pfeffermann, Founder of GBSN.
Soumitra Dutta served as the founding dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business from April 2016 till January 2018. Currently he is a Professor in the Operations, Technology and Information Management Area. Previously, he was the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Prior to joining Cornell, Professor Dutta held various faculty and leadership positions at INSEAD, a leading international business school in France and Singapore.
“Building capacity in developing countries is essential and GBSN along with its network of partner business schools and corporations can take a leadership role in educating future global leaders and to help solve some of the most critical problems in education, poverty, food availability, climate change, etc.,” said Dutta. GBSN’s core mission has always been to activate and nurture the network of business schools and corporate partners with whom it works. The aim is to strengthen the business education ecosystems in emerging markets, and through them to support economic transformation in their countries.
Being an expert on technology and innovation policy, Mr. Dutta is the co-editor and author of the Global Information Technology Report, published by the World Economic Forum and the Global Innovation Index, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Mr. Dutta is also a widely published author, with research that includes over 150 published articles and over 60 case studies. His research has also been cited widely in the global media.
Mr. Dutta serves on the board of Sodexo (a food services and facilities management multinational), Dassault Systemes (a leading 3D software firm) and advisory boards of several business schools, including ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), ESCP (Paris, France) and HEC Montreal (Canada). He also served as Chairman of AACSB International’s Board of Directors, the leading global body for the accreditation of business schools, from July 2017 to January 2018. Mr. Dutta is a member of the Davos Circle, an association of long-time participants in the Annual Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum, and has engaged in a number of multi-stakeholder initiatives to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Mr. Dutta received a B. Tech. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, a MS in both business administration and computer science, and a PhD in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2017, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater IIT Delhi.
About GBSN
The Global Business School Network partners with business schools, industry, foundations, and aid agencies to improve access to quality locally relevant management education. With a growing network of over 70 leading business schools on six continents, GBSN facilitates connections and knowledge sharing between members, and among those schools and the broader business education and development communities. It leverages member expertise to advise, train, and mentor educators around the world. As a global convener and thought leader, it advocates for investment in management education as a tool for economic and social development. GBSN is paving the path for developing country leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs to generate prosperity for their families and societies. Learn more at www.gbsn.org.