Indian-Americans in several leadership roles across Harvard University

The action by the US administration, led by President Donald Trump, on revoking the Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification of the prestigious Harvard University, has led to uncertainty and tension for the many hundred Indian students enrolled in many programmes across the Ivy League university.

Even though a ruling by a US District Judge Allison Burroughs, in favour of Harvard University late last week, has brought temporary relief for many Indian students studying at the university and several others who were planning to join later this year, worries remain in the long term. However, even as Indian students are hit hard by the US government’s action against the university, several Indian Americans hold leadership positions across Harvard, especially at Harvard Business School.

Here are some of the prominent desi faces one is likely to see at the Ivy League campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Srikant M Datar has been the dean of Harvard Business School since January 2021. At HBS , he has served as senior associate dean for university affairs (including faculty chair of the Harvard Innovation Lab), for research, for executive education, for faculty development, and faculty recruiting. Datar is a graduate from the University of Bombay and an alumnus from IIM, Ahmedabad, and the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. He holds two master's degrees and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Datar serves on the board of directors of ICF International, Novartis AG, Stryker Corporation, and T-Mobile US, and has worked with many corporations on consulting and field-based projects.

Nitin Nohria, the George Fisher Baker Jr. professor of business administration, served as the tenth dean of HBS from 2010-2020. He previously also served as co-chair of the leadership initiative, senior associate dean of faculty development, and head of the organisational behaviour unit. He sits on the board of directors of Bridgespan and the board of trustees of Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition, he serves as an advisor to BDT Capital Partners, Piramal Enterprises, and Tata Sons and on the advisory board of Akshaya Patra and ShopX. Nohria received his Ph.D. in management from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.Tech in chemical engineering from IIT-Bombay.

Tarun Khanna is the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at HBS. For almost three decades, he has studied entrepreneurship as a means to social and economic development in emerging markets. At HBS since 1993, after obtaining degrees from Princeton and Harvard, he has taught courses on strategy, international business and economic development to undergraduate and graduate students and senior executives. Khanna was named the first director of Harvard’s university-wide Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute in the fall of 2010. He serves on numerous for-profit and not-for-profit boards in the US and India.

Bharat N Anand is the vice provost for advances in learning at Harvard University, and the Henry R. Byers Professor of business administration at HBS. Professor Anand is an expert in digital strategy, media and entertainment strategy, corporate strategy, and organisational change.

Amitabh Chandra is the Henry and Allison McCance Family professor of business administration at HBS, where he is the faculty chair of the joint MS/MBA programme in the life sciences and the faculty chair of the executive education programme in the life sciences. He also chairs the Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab committee and serves on the selection committee of the Blavatnik Fellows. Professor Chandra is the Ethel Zimmerman Wiener professor of public policy and director of health policy research at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He serves on the Congressional budget office’s panel of health advisors and has testified to the United States Senate and the United States commission on civil rights.

Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury is the Lumry Family associate professor at HBS. His research is focused on studying the future of work, especially the changing geography of work. In particular, he studies the productivity effects of geographic mobility of workers, causes of geographic immobility, and productivity effects of remote work practices. He earned his doctorate from Harvard, and has degrees from IIT and IIM. Before academia, he worked at McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, and IBM.

Mihir A Desai is the Mizuho Financial Group professor of finance at HBS and a professor of law at Harvard Law School. He received his Ph.D. in political economy from Harvard University; his MBA as a Baker Scholar from HBS; and a bachelor's degree in history and economics from Brown University. Professor Desai’s areas of expertise include tax policy, international finance, and corporate finance. He has testified several times to US Congressional bodies, including most recently to the Senate finance committee on corporate tax reform and inversions.

Rohit Deshpande is a Baker Foundation professor and Sebastian S. Kresge professor of marketing, emeritus, at HBS, where he has been teaching in the advanced management programme, the general management programme, the programme for leadership development, the owner/president management programme, and in other executive education offerings. He is also the faculty chair for HBS South Asia research.

Aiyesha Dey has been part of the accounting and management unit at HBS since July 2017. She started her career as an accounting faculty at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, after which she joined the accounting group at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. Dey earned her bachelor’s degree with honours in mathematics and her MBA in India, after which she continued her studies at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, where she graduated with a PhD in Accounting. She teaches in the full-time MBA as well as in the executive education programme at HBS.

Vikram S. Gandhi is the Gerald P. Kaminsky senior lecturer of business administration in the general management unit. He has developed and teaches two new courses in the elective curriculum of the MBA programme. Along with MBA courses, he has taught in various executive education programmes. He is the Founder of Asha Ventures, an impact-oriented venture capital firm that invests equity capital with a target of market-rate returns in social enterprises.

Shikhar Ghosh is a professor of management practice in the entrepreneurial management unit. He is also the faculty co-chair of the HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. Ghosh has been a successful entrepreneur for the last 20 years. He has been the founder and CEO or chairman of eight technology-based entrepreneurial companies and was the past chairman of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MTLC) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE).

Ranjay Gulati is the Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 professor of business administration and the former unit head of the organisational behaviour unit at HBS. His pathbreaking research, which focuses on unlocking organisational and unleashing human potential, has shown how winning companies—those that prosper both in good times and bad—drive growth and prosperity. Professor Gulati is the recipient of the 2024 CK Prahalad Award for Scholarly Impact on Practice. Professor Gulati holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University, a master’s degree in management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and two bachelor’s degrees, in computer science and economics, from Washington State University and St. Stephens College.

Sunil Gupta is the Edward W. Carter professor of business administration and co-chair of the executive programme on driving digital strategy at HBS. He is an advisor to several startup firms and has conducted seminars and consulted with many companies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from IIT, an MBA from IIM, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Rakesh Khurana is the Marvin Bower professor of leadership development at HBS. He is also a professor of sociology at Harvard University, co-master of Cabot House at Harvard College, and the Danoff Dean of Harvard College. Professor Khurana received his B.S. from Cornell University and his A.M. (sociology) and Ph.D. in organisation behaviour from Harvard University.

Himabindu Lakkaraju is an assistant professor of business administration at HBS. She is also a faculty affiliate in the department of computer science at Harvard University, the Harvard data science initiative, the Center for Research on Computation and Society, and the Laboratory of Innovation Science at Harvard. She leads the AI4LIFE research group at Harvard University as part of which she supervises multiple postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students. Professor Lakkaraju’s research has been published in top AI and ML conferences. In addition to her research, she is passionate about advising startups in the space of AI/ML, and making the field more accessible to the general public. Professor Lakkaraju received her PhD and MS degrees in computer science from Stanford University.

Rajiv Lal is the Stanley Roth, Sr. Professor of Retailing at HBS. He has been responsible for the retailing curriculum and has served as the course head for marketing, a required study in the first year of the MBA programme. Professor Lal also teaches in several executive education programmes, has previously served as the faculty chair for the general management programme, and the programme on building and leading a customer centric organisation. He did his undergraduate work in mechanical engineering at IIT-Kanpur and received his Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Deepak Malhotra is the Eli Goldston Professor of Business Administration Chair, OPM. His teaching, research and advisory work is focused on negotiation, deal-making, and conflict resolution. He has won numerous awards for his teaching & research, including the HBS Faculty Award, and has been twice selected by Harvard MBA students to give the end-of-year speech to the graduating class.

Ashish Nanda is a senior lecturer and C. Roland Christensen distinguished management educator at HBS. His research, teaching, and advisory work focus on leadership and strategy, particularly in the context of professional services. During his stint as director at IIM-Ahmedabad, Nanda has written on and participated in conferences and task forces related to, administration of higher education institutions, particularly professional schools. Before joining IIM-A, Nanda was the Robert Braucher Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School. He holds a PhD in business economics (Harvard), an AM in economics (Harvard), a PGDM in management (IIM Ahmedabad), and a B.Tech. in electrical engineering (IIT Delhi). Before pursuing his PhD, he worked for five years with the Tata group of companies.

V.G. Narayanan is the Thomas D. Casserly, Jr. professor of business administration and senior associate dean of executive education and HBS Online. His research focuses on management accounting with an interest in performance evaluation and incentives, particularly in the health care industry.

Das Narayandas is the Edsel Bryant Ford professor of business administration at the HBS. His academic credentials include a bachelor of technology degree from IIT-B, a post-graduate diploma in management from IIMB, and a Ph.D. in management from Purdue University. Das previously has been senior associate dean, Harvard Business Publishing; senior associate dean, external relations; senior associate dean, executive education; chair of the HBS executive education advanced management programme and the programme for leadership development.

Krishna G. Palepu is the Ross Graham Walker professor of business administration and has served previously as senior advisor to the President of Harvard University and senior associate dean at the HBS. His current research and teaching activities focus on strategy and governance. In the area of corporate governance, Professor Palepu's work focuses on board engagement with strategy. Professor Palepu teaches in several HBS executive programmes aimed at members of corporate boards. He has served on a number of public company and non-profit boards. Professor Palepu has a master's degree in physics from Andhra University, a post-graduate diploma in management from IIM-C, a doctorate in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an honorary doctorate from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration.

Ananth Raman is a professor in the technology and operations management area, where he has taught courses on various aspects of operational excellence—supply chain management, technology and operations management, and service operations—to MBA students and executive participants. He is also actively involved in guiding multiple doctoral students at HBS.

Lakshmi Ramarajan is the Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at HBS. Her research examines the management and consequences of identities in organisations.

V. Kasturi Rangan is the Malcolm P. McNair professor of marketing at HBS. Formerly the chairman of the marketing department (1998-2002), he is now the co-chairman of the school’s social enterprise initiative. He has taught in a wide variety of MBA courses.

Suraj Srinivasan is the Philip J. Stomberg professor of business administration, a member of the accounting and management faculty unit, and chair of the Digital Value Lab at the Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard. He co-leads the HBS MBA programme as the chair of the MBA elective curriculum. Professor Srinivasan earned a bachelor’s degree with honours in electrical and electronics engineering and a master’s degree in physics with honours from Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences before earning an MBA from IIM-Calcutta. He received a doctorate in business administration from HBS in 2004.

Guhan Subramanian is the Joseph Flom professor of law and business at the Harvard Law School and the Douglas Weaver professor of business law at the HBS. He is the first person in the history of Harvard University to hold tenured appointments at both HLS and HBS. At HLS he teaches courses in negotiations and corporate law. At HBS he teaches in several executive education programmes, such as strategic negotiations and changing the game. He is the faculty chair for the JD/MBA programme at Harvard University, the Harvard Program on Negotiation, and the Mergers & Acquisitions executive education course at HBS. Before joining the Harvard faculty, he spent three years at McKinsey & Company. Professor Subramanian holds degrees in law, economics, and business from Harvard University.

Adi Sunderam is the Willard Prescott Smith professor of corporate finance at HBS, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a faculty affiliate of the Harvard economics department. Professor Sunderam holds a Ph.D. in business economics and an A.B. in computer science and economics, both from Harvard University. In 2009 and 2010, he served in the US Treasury Department as a special assistant and liaison to the White House National Economic Council.

Satish Tadikonda is a senior lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at HBS. In the MBA programme, he teaches The Entrepreneurial Manager, a required first-year MBA course, and Entrepreneurship in Life Sciences. Before joining the faculty, he served as an executive fellow in entrepreneurship and entrepreneur-in-residence at HBS for six years, advising Harvard-based students and startups on all aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. In addition to his faculty work, Tadikonda is a serial entrepreneur in the life sciences and healthcare sectors. He holds a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Iowa, and a bachelor’s degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani).

Suneet Agarwal is the course director (molecular medicine) at Harvard Health Sciences and Technology (HST). He is co-program leader for the Stem Cell Transplant Center at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, and assistant professor of paediatrics at Harvard Medical School. He received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, completed his residency in paediatrics at the Boston Combined Residency Program (BCRP), and was a postdoctoral fellow in paediatric hematology-oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston.

Bobby J. Cherayil is the course director of cellular and molecular immunology at HST and associate professor of paediatrics. He has MD and MBBS degrees from Christian Medical College, Vellore. His research lab is the intestinal innate immunity group, and key research areas include intestinal infections, Salmonella enterica, innate immunity, iron, macrophages, and intestinal epithelium.

Rajesh Tim Gandhi is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-chair of honours in a special field programme, He is also professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Sanjat Kanjilal is an Instructor in the department of population medicine at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and the Associate Medical Director of Clinical Microbiology at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH). Dr Kanjilal’s research interests focus on harnessing observational and experimental data to improve the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases. He collaborates with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Massachusetts Senior Care Association.

Srinivas Viswanathan is an assistant professor of medicine. His laboratory at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is focused on the mechanistic study of the pathways that underlie cancer initiation, progression, and drug resistance, with a focus on genitourinary cancers, particularly cancers of the prostate and kidney. The overarching goal of the projects in the lab is to explore fundamental questions in cancer biology that can inspire the development of rational cancer therapeutic strategies with the potential to impact clinical outcomes for patients.

Hitesh Hathi is the executive director of The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard. He has a long and rich experience in leadership and management, and a deep, lifelong engagement with South Asia. He worked as a producer for one of Boston’s leading NPR stations, WBUR, for over 20 years, where he successfully built deeper and richer connections with the region, increasing listenership and making the show into the station’s marquee programme. He has a long connection with Harvard and the Mittal Institute. He received his master of arts degree from Harvard in Sanskrit and Indian Studies and was a PhD candidate in the department of South Asian studies.

Anil Arora is an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School and has dedicated his professional career to partnering with the business sector, academia, internationally and with all three levels of government, building a culture of innovation, successfully delivering complex and transformational digital solutions, strengthened consumer and citizen trust, and increased organisational relevance and impact. He was appointed as the Chief Statistician of Canada in September 2016, overseeing the country’s preeminent data agency, where he led the modernisation of its digital governance, technical, and data infrastructure.

Sharad Goel is a professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School. He looks at public policy through the lens of computer science, bringing a computational perspective to a diverse range of contemporary social and political issues, including criminal justice reform, democratic governance, and the equitable design of algorithms. Prior to joining Harvard, Sharad was on the faculty at Stanford University, with appointments in management science & engineering, computer science, sociology, and the law school.

Dhrumil Mehta is adjunct professor of public policy and democracy and technology fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School and a database journalist. He builds and maintains databases and writes and reports on issues around elections and politics. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from Northwestern University where he focused on artificial intelligence and natural language processing.

Rana Mitter is ST Lee Chair in US-Asia relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of several books, including Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II (2013) which won the 2014 RUSI/Duke of Westminster’s Medal for Military Literature, and was named a Book of the Year in the Financial Times and Economist. His latest book is China’s Good War: How World War II is Shaping a New Nationalism (Harvard, 2020).

Gautam Nair is assistant professor of public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is a scholar of inequality, distribution, and democracy, with a focus on the politics of social policy, state-business relations, and South Asia. He received his PhD in political science with distinction in from Yale University.

Ayushi Roy is an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School and teaches digital government. She currently serves as the deputy director of the New Practice Lab at New America. Her work focuses on more equitably delivering government services to the most vulnerable constituents.

Maya Sen is a professor of public policy and political scientist whose interests include law, political economy, race and ethnic politics, and statistical methods. Her research has been published in journals and she has testified before Congress and presidential commissions on issues about the federal courts. Professor Sen graduated in 2012 with a Ph.D. from the department of government, Harvard University. She also holds an A.M. in statistics and an A.B. in economics, both from Harvard University, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.

Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of public economics at Harvard University. He is also the Director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to understand how to give children from disadvantaged backgrounds better chances of succeeding. Chetty’s research combines empirical evidence and economic theory to help design more effective government policies. His work on topics ranging from tax policy and unemployment insurance to education and affordable housing has been widely cited in academia, media outlets, and Congressional testimony. Chetty received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2003 and is one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard’s history. He has received numerous awards for his research, including a MacArthur Genius Fellowship and the John Bates Clark medal, given to the economist under 40 whose work is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the field.