Aks Zaheer Elected Deputy Dean of the Fellows of SMS

Aks Zaheer, Professor and Curtis L. Carlson Chair in Strategic Management in the Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship Department, has been elected Deputy Dean of the Fellows of the Strategic Management Society (SMS).

The Fellows of the SMS recognize and honor members of the society who have made significant contributions to the theory and practice of strategic management, as well as to provide opportunities for fellowships and a forum for discussion among people recognized and honored.

Following two years as Deputy Dean of the Fellows of the SMS, Zaheer will rise to the position of Dean of the Fellows of SMS, beginning in 2021, where he will serve for another two years.

“It’s a huge honor and a great privilege to be part of this very select and august body,” Zaheer says. “But really, the deanship is more about finding ways to better serve them and the membership.”

SMS is a professional society for the advancement of strategic management. It has nearly 3000 members from 80 different countries.

Induction into the Fellows of SMS is exclusive, with only 82 members in the fellowship. It features a who’s who of prominent scholars in the strategic management field including Michael Porter of Harvard University and Henry Mintzberg of McGill University.

To join the fellowship, candidates must first be nominated by a current member. Candidates are then vetted by a membership committee and put before the fellows for a vote, with each needing 60 percent of the vote to join the fellowship.

In his leadership positions, Zaheer will oversee this induction, which adds three to four members each year. Zaheer was inducted in 2014.

Another goal of Zaheer’s is to find more ways to bring the fellows and the larger SMS membership together.

“This is great opportunity to serve,” he says. “The fellows are pathbreakers in the field and I want to make sure their expertise and knowledge is more accessible to the membership of SMS.”

Throughout his career, Zaheer has been published widely in top journals, has been recognized for his research excellence, and has also won several teaching awards. He was named one of the World’s 50 Best Business School Professors by Poets & Quants in 2012.