Published On : Thu, Apr 27th, 2017

IIM Ahmedabad director Ashish Nanda resigns

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IIM Ahmedabad director Ashish Nanda
New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) director Ashish Nanda has resigned from his post ahead of tenure, the B-school said on Thursday.

Nanda, a former professor at Harvard Law School, was the first professor from a foreign school to head an IIM. His resignation has come as a surprise as he is leaving the institute one year before his tenure expires. He was appointed for a period of five years, and when he relinquishes office – 1 Sept 2017, he will be completing four years.

Though the real reason behind his resignation is not known immediately and it’s not clear whether the decision was promoted because of any differences with the human resource development ministry, Nanda cited personal reasons why he is stepping aside.

Former IIM Bangalore director Sushil Vachani had resigned three months ahead of his tenure expires in March 2016 over his alleged differences with the ministry. After Nanda, Vachani was the second professor from a foreign school to head an IIM.

In his resignation letter and a subsequent mail to the IIM-A fraternity, Nanda said he enjoyed his association with IIM Ahmedabad but he needs to give more time to his family.

“… I couldn’t have had this extraordinary adventure without the love of my wife, who, despite the distance we have lived apart, has been a partner with me in this journey every step of the way, the blessings of my parents, and the affection of my son,” he wrote in the letter to the IIM-A community.

IIM-A chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has accepted his resignation. “Dear Prof. Nanda, I have received your resignation dated 26/4/2017. We have had a conversation about this for the past couple of weeks, and I fully understand your need to be with family and the inconvenience that the separation is causing you. Hence, I accept your resignation, albeit with regret,” Birla said in his acceptance letter to Nanda.