Speaking from the heart on his last day as Director of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), outgoing director Ashish Nanda said he was waiting for the right time to make an exit after family priorities prompted him to resign.
In an informal chat with the media today, Nanda shared his experience of being in one of the country’s top educational institutions. “There were several mammoth problems while taking decisions during the course of (the institute’s) operations. They were challenging situations, but they never disheartened me. I learnt to enjoy and learn from such experiences,” said the outgoing director.
Prof Nanda’s resignation in April this year had come as a surprise to many in academic circles, as he had announced stepping down from the post well ahead of his five-year term, that would have ended in September 2018.
Commenting on the timing of his resignation, Nanda said, “I wanted to go at a time when my heart would feel heavy, and people would ask ‘Why are you going?’ I didn’t want to stay back till people started asking, ‘When are you going?’”
Highly qualified, and with global experience in business education, Nanda had taken the charge of IIM-A’s directorship from Prof Samir Barua in September 2013.
Track record
An alumnus of the 1983 batch of IIM-A, Nanda was Robert Braucher Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School before taking on the role of IIM-A director. The then chairman of the Board of Governors and Chairman of L&T Group, AM Naik, had persuaded Nanda to head the institute and ‘convinced him to come to India from the US’.
Nanda’s three-and-a-half year tenure is being seen as a time the institute saw several firsts — introduction of e-PGP courses and two-year online courses targeting working executives and entrepreneurs through an interactive online learning platform. Under his guidance, IIM-A assumed new dimensions with the introduction of nearly 15 chaired professorships in leadership, strategic management and societal development.
Nanda’s term also saw an upgrade of infrastructure for the institute through the ambitious project of restoration and conservation of dorms, library, and the iconic Louis Kahn Plaza, among other structures, that required massive repairs.
He felt now was ‘as good a time as any for leadership transition at the Institute’. Nanda wrote to the members of the IIM-A community: “Personally, living away from my wife and son has been a challenge. When I joined, I had committed to serving at most, one term. On September 1, it will be four years to the day since I took charge. It is a good time to step aside and hand over the responsibility and honour of leading the Institute to the next, fortunate person.”
Prof Nanda wished Prof Errol D’Souza great success as Director-in-Charge. D’Souza will remain in-charge for a duration of six months or till the appointment of the regular Director, whichever is earlier.