NYU announced that Bharat Anand, a longtime professor at Harvard Business School, will take over as dean of the Stern School of Business in August in a memo last Thursday.
Anand’s appointment concludes a yearlong international search led by a committee of students, faculty and administrators. In an email to Stern students on Friday, he said his first priority would be to meet with community members to better understand where they see the school’s strengths, deficiencies and potential.
“At the center of many initial conversations with faculty and administrators is the pride they take in Stern’s students, whose talent, curiosity and drive fuel the school’s momentum,” Anand wrote. “I’m eager to build on the remarkable foundation already in place and to work together to pursue the aspirations ahead.”
Anand — who specializes in digital strategy, media and entertainment strategy and corporate strategy — has worked at Harvard University for 27 years, currently serving as vice provost for advances in learning and a senior business professor. His research has focused heavily on the intersection of technology and business, having created the business school’s first program on digital strategies.
In the university’s announcement, President Linda Mills said Anand’s experience in university administration gave him a “reputation for deftly building common ground and for cultivating partnerships widely.” Mills cited his work creating a task force specifically for the future of higher education in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and said his work in technology helped him innovatively respond to new challenges.
Last February, NYU announced the promotion of former Stern dean Raghu Sundaram to the university’s senior vice chancellor and head of global strategy. Mor Armony, vice dean of faculty and research, formed a search committee for Sundaram’s successor shortly after, with J.P. Eggers having served as interim dean for the past academic year.
“The search committee had representation by faculty, administrators and students and was successful in sourcing many qualified candidates and identifying outstanding finalists,” Armony said in an interview with WSN. “Bharat Anand was one of those finalists, and I am delighted that he was selected by the president and the provost to be Stern’s next dean.”
Anand wrote a book in 2016 titled “The Content Trap: A Strategist’s Guide to Digital Change,” which details ways global businesses can combat obstacles and challenges. NYU said the book was ranked a “Top 10 Book” by Bloomberg and Fast Company, and that it was awarded the Axiom Business Book Silver Award for Best Book in “Business Theory.” He also helped found Axim Collaborative, a nonprofit education platform that aims to increase access to online courses, during the pandemic in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In the last decade, Stern has launched the Andre Koo Tech MBA, a one-year program that combines the disciplines of business and STEM. The school also created its first online degree program, offering a Master of Science in quantitative management, online certificates in finance and analytics and a part-time MBA. In February, Stern launched its one-year MBA program in NYU Abu Dhabi — the highest-ranked U.S. business school to offer the degree in the region.
“I’m eager to build on the remarkable foundation already in place and to work together to pursue the aspirations ahead,” Anand said in an email shared with the Stern community. “I believe Stern is uniquely positioned to not only adapt but to lead — by educating responsible leaders and advancing ideas that shape the world.”
Contact Lekhya Kantheti at [email protected].
