Samir Barua and 36 Years at IIM-A

Prof. Samir Barua’s tenure as Director of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad will have ended by the time you read this piece. Under his leadership, IIM-A has firmly established itself as one of the world’s leading Business Schools. Prof Barua is rare among heads of business schools in that his whole career has been spent at IIM-A (having signed up for his PhD in 1976 he never left). His deep understanding of the institution has paid dividends over the past five years of Barua’s leadership. The increasing international recognition is due in no small part to his management of the school’s faculty. Never an easy task, Prof. Barua has quietly moulded the faculty and IIM-A is increasingly seen as an important centre for thought leadership. Research is blossoming with its inevitable feedback into teaching. Prof. Barua helped build on almost 50 years of strong foundations at IIM-A ewhen he took over the reigns in 2007 and he paved the way for the school to be consistently ranked among the world’s leading institutions for business and management.