Going Places

The first Indian to be heading HBS Nohria,the Richard P Chapman Professor of Business Administration,is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology,Bombay. Natarajan who has known him for the last 20 years refers to him as an extraordinary intellectual. “I first met Nitin at Crompton Greaves,when his father was the Managing Director and he has joined as an intern while I was working there in 1983. However there was a break after that and later we met at Harvard in 1990 after which we have constantly been in touch for the last 20 years meeting on and off. He is not only a friend but also my mentor and has written a foreword for my book Knowledge Management. An extremely humble person,with tremendous perseverance he is one of those teachers who prepares for three hours before the class begins,” adds Natarajan.

Nohria has been HBS’s senior associate dean for Faculty Development and Chair of its Organisational Behaviour Unit and joined the HBS faculty as an assistant professor in 1988. He received his Ph.D. in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management and has co-written around16 books. Talking about his multifaceted personality Natarajan adds,“I also remember him as an excellent cook; probably the best in The US,who can comfortably cook a 17- course meal. A great art collector he is a versatile person and moreover a typical Punjabi who loves to live life.”

While this responsibility requires him to look into the administration Natarajan says that teaching has always been his forte. “Even when he was an associate his inclination has remained towards teaching especially leadership and development. Extremely prudent,he is a sponge for information,always seeking to know more and keen to be updated on what is happening around the world. With a significant number of faculty being of Indian origin at HBS it was inevitable that an Indian would reach here one day and he is perhaps the best who could make it,” says Natarajan.