Singh is an alum of IIM Ahmedabad.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has appointed Professor Jitendra Vir Singh, who teaches at Wharton, to be the new dean of the School of Business and Management.
The school announced that Singh’s ascension to the post will be effective from September 1 onwards. Singh was selected after an extensive worldwide search of candidates.
HKUST President Tony F. Chan lauded Singh’s selection.
“With Prof Singh’s wide-ranging experience and achievements in the academic, business strategy and policy arenas, I am certain he will bring HKUST Business School to new heights,” Chan said in a statement. “We are excited about this appointment!”
Currently, Singh is the Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, home of the one of the most prestigious M.B.A. programs in the entire world. He has been with the University of Pennsylvania since 1978, and is also an active adviser to several companies, ranging from start-ups to venture capital firms – one such company is Infosys.
Singh earned his M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, followed by his Ph.D. from Stanford University. The University of Pennsylvania also awarded him with an M.A. (honoris causa) degree for his work at that institution.
“Jitendra has been an invaluable member of the Wharton community,” said Thomas S. Robertson, Dean of Wharton. “It is a bittersweet moment for the School to see him go but we look forward to opportunities for future cooperation with the [HKUST].”
Singh has authored four books and published over 45 academic papers and journal entries, with research in the fields of “strategy and organization, with an emphasis on multinational corporations, emerging economies, organizational evolution, and entrepreneurship.”
Singh expressed his gratitude for being appointed to the prestigious position, as well as his excitement to elevate HKUST even further now that he is at the helm of its business and management program.
“I am honored to have been chosen to lead the School of Business and Management at HKUST and it is exciting for me to be back in Asia at a time when momentous changes are under way,” said Singh, in a statement. “I look forward to working with the university and business school leadership to build on the strong foundations that are already in place, and strive toward ever higher goals, while contributing both to the region and to global society.”
Established in 1991, HKUST is a public research university that provides both undergraduate and post-graduate education. With an academic staff of over 600, it services over 8,600 undergraduate students and nearly 3,900 post-graduate students from around the world.