Sri Zaheer Named Dean of University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management

University of Minnesota Provost Karen Hanson today named Dr. Srilata A. Zaheer dean of the University's Carlson School of Management.

Pending approval by the Board of Regents, which is expected to act at its meeting Friday, March 9, Zaheer will begin her formal term immediately.

"Dean-designate Zaheer is a rare combination of someone who is renowned for her insights on international business, highly regarded for her understanding of the global and local businesses that drive the Minnesota economy, and acutely aware of the needs of the Carlson School as it continues to educate the world's current and future business leaders," Provost Hanson said. "I am delighted that Dr. Zaheer will lead the Carlson School, and I am confident she will position the school, its students, and alumni for future success."

The announcement concludes an extensive and inclusive international search, which yielded four finalists. Dr. Zaheer's work as interim dean during the past nine months, which included strengthening business partnerships, developing innovative business and research practices, and a commitment to diversity, makes her appointment consistent with University President Eric W. Kaler's other recent appointments, and with the Carlson School's mission.

"In Dr. Zaheer, the Carlson School has a dedicated and visionary leader who shares my belief that the University of Minnesota can and will be an institution that solves the challenges facing our state, the nation and the world," said President Kaler. "She has charted a course for excellence that, while forged by her own unique experience, builds upon Carlson's mission and closely mirrors my vision for an efficient, effective and engaged institution. I look forward to her aggressive engagement with our business community."

Zaheer, the Elmer L. Andersen Chair in Global Corporate Social Responsibility, joined the Carlson School in 1991 and most recently held the position of associate dean of faculty and research prior to her appointment to interim dean in June 2011. She earned a Ph.D. in international management from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a master's in business from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.

Zaheer, whose research has centered around the risks faced by multinational corporations and on the impact of technology on international location and organization, has won several international awards for her research including the Eldridge Haynes Award for the best interdisciplinary work in international management. She was named a 2007 Fellow of the Academy of International Business, the highest honor in the field, and was a consulting editor of the Journal of International Business Studies. She is a founding member of the International Academic Council of the Indian School of Business, set up by McKinsey, Kellogg, and Wharton in Hyderabad, India. Zaheer also served as co-director of the Center for Integrative Leadership at the University of Minnesota.

"I am honored and truly grateful to be appointed dean of the Carlson School, an institution to which I have a deep connection and for which I have great passion," Zaheer said. "For the last 20 years, it has been my privilege to work alongside a faculty regularly rated among the nation's elite and with students who represent the best and brightest. Carlson holds enviable strengths in its faculty and staff, its alumni, its students and its links to the corporate community. I will work tirelessly on our shared pursuit, guided by a sense of purpose, to make the Carlson School a crucible for the ideas that will shape the future of business worldwide."

The salary of the new dean will be $480,000, of which $270,000 will be paid for with private funds from the Elmer Andersen Chair, which Zaheer will continue to hold, and the Leadership Distinguished Chair, which was created to support the deanship.

Zaheer's candidacy received strong support from faculty, students, staff, alumni and Minnesota's business community. She succeeds Alison Davis-Blake, who on July 1, 2011 became dean of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Outgoing provost Tom Sullivan initiated the search process in June 2011. An 18-member search committee was convened September 2011 and worldwide search firm Korn/Ferry was retained to assist in fielding a highly qualified and diverse group of finalists. The four finalists participated in public interviews in January and February 2012.