Delhi: IMI, a corporate-sponsored business schools and part of the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, has appointed Dr Suresh Ramanathan as its Chief Executive Officer, with leadership responsibility across its campuses in Delhi, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.
Dr Ramanathan brings with him extensive academic and industry experience, having taught at several globally recognised institutions including the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, HEC Paris, the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and the Indian School of Business (ISB).
Prior to joining IMI, he served as Dean and Principal at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, where he focused on strengthening research output and academic standards across the institution. During his tenure, he revamped the research rewards structure by placing greater emphasis on journal quality over publication volume, resulting in increased scholarly output in ABDC A-level and higher-ranked journals.
He also introduced faculty-focused research initiatives including seminars, brown-bag sessions, conference participation support, and access to research databases and analytical tools. Additionally, Dr Ramanathan launched a PhD programme benchmarked against international standards with an emphasis on globally competitive academic research.
Before transitioning into academia, Dr Ramanathan spent nearly a decade in corporate leadership roles across sales, marketing and strategy with organisations including Unilever (Brooke Bond), JWT, Lintas, MTV India and McCann Erickson. His experience spans work on brands such as Citibank, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, ITC Limited and Britannia Industries.
Over the years, he has also designed and delivered executive education programmes globally, focusing on leadership and business challenges in emerging markets.
Commenting on his appointment, Dr Ramanathan said, “IMI has a distinguished legacy in management education in India. I look forward to working with faculty, students and industry partners across the IMI campuses to further strengthen the institute’s research ecosystem, deepen industry engagement and build programmes that prepare leaders for a rapidly evolving global business environment.”
