Dipak C.

Jain , A glimpse on the successful career of an Assam born Academic and

Management Guru
As a student he practiced Mathematics on a slate because he wanted to save some papers
and money. In 1978 he earned a Masters degree in Mathematical Statistics from Gauhati
University (GU). After five years of teaching in GU he went on to pursue another Masters degree
in Management Science and then a PhD in Marketing from the University of Texas. He became a
faculty member of the prestigious Kellogg School of Management (popularly known as Kellogg)
in 1987. And more, this bright Indian American Academician served as a Dean in this business
institution from 2001 to 2007.

Yes, we are talking about none other than Assam’s pride Dipak C. Jain. He hails from
Tezpur’s Kumarchuburi area in Assam. His father who was an airline official was posted in
Tezpur in the 1950s. His family later shifted to Rohtak in Haryana where his youngest brother
Atul now runs a nut and bolt factory. Their older brother Ravi is a Chicago-based tax consultant
while the eldest brother Promode is associated with a private company in Calcutta.

Jain’s sister, Renu, who lives with Atul said “He said yes to the offer from Paris-based INSEAD
on September 14 and will join in February-March timeframe. He left Kellogg as he wanted a
change and this offer came his way. Change is inevitable is always for the good. He is happy…
we are also very happy for him”. Jain had last visited Tezpur in March 2007 and Rohtak in July
this year. According to Manideep Raj, a senior faculty member at Darrang College while
remembering their school days they spent together said that despite his achievement Jain remains
very down to earth, and has not forgotten his humble beginnings.

Few years back in an interview with the Telegraph Jain said “I must be the only Indian in
the United States who hasn’t learnt to drive even 18 years after coming here. So I live on the
campus,” says Jain, explaining his choice of residence. For some of us who spend hours driving
to commute to work every day this is something to note and learn how to save time, as time is
the most precious commodity in the world!
Kellogg is ranked as one of the most prestigious schools just after Stanford and Harvard. At
Kellogg, Jain was the Sandy and Morton Goldman professor in entrepreneurial studies and
professor of marketing. He held this chair since 1994. He stepped down from the post of dean
last summer but remained a professor.
Dean Jain’s teaching honors included the Sidney Levy Award for Excellence in Teaching in
1995; the John D.C. Little Best Paper Award in 1991; Kraft research professorships in 1989-90
and 1990-91; the Beatrice research professorship in 1987-88; the Outstanding Educator Award
from the State of Assam in India in 1982; the Gold Medal for the Best Post-Graduate of the Year
from Gauhati University in India in 1978; the Gold Medal for the Best Graduate of the Year from
Darrang College in Assam in India in 1976; the Gold Medal from Jaycees International in 1976;
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the Youth Merit Award from Rotary International in 1976; and the Jawaharlal Nehru Merit
Award, Government of India in 1976.
He has served as the departmental editor for the journal Management Science, the area
editor for Marketing Science and associate editor for the Journal of Business and Economic
Statistics. He is also a former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Marketing
Research.
Dean Jain teaches courses on marketing research, new products and services, and statistical
models in marketing. In 2003, he was appointed as a foreign affairs adviser for the Prime
Minister of Thailand. Jain also received an honorary doctorate in economics from Chulalongkorn
University, Bangkok, in 2009 and IPADE, Mexico, this year.

He has served as a consultant to Microsoft, Novartis, American Express, Sony, Nissan, Motorola,
Eli Lilly, Phillips and Hyatt International. He also serves as a member of the board of directors of
Hartmarx Corporation, Deere & Company, Northern Trust Corporation and Reliance Industries
(India). He is also a former director at United Airlines and Peoples Energy. Most recently, he has
been appointed as the Dean of INSEAD succeeding J. Frank Brown, who will step down in 2011.
INSEAD is a multi-campus international graduate business school and research institution. It
has campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore), and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi), as well as
a research center in Israel. The school offers a full-time MBA program, a PhD in Management
program, and several executive education programs (including an Executive MBA).
INSEAD pioneered the concept of international business education to meet the growing need for
global business leaders.
The school has been widely recognized as one of the most innovative and influential
among top-tier business schools worldwide. It is a member of the Global Business School
Network. Forbes ranked the INSEAD MBA the number 1 one-year MBA program in the world.
In the 2010 Financial Times global MBA ranking, INSEAD was ranked number 5 (tied with
Stanford Graduate School of Business), and remains the highest ranked one-year MBA program
on the list.
The chairman of the INSEAD board, Mr. Franz Humer, said, “I am pleased that someone of
Dipak Jain’s calibre and values will continue to develop the school. The board chose Dipak Jain
to lead INSEAD into what is fast becoming a new global economic climate — one in which
emerging markets are growing at a faster rate than the industrialized mature economies of
Europe and North America. In this environment we need to teach solid business and management
skills while being innovative, entrepreneurial and instilling a culture of true sustainability.”
Apart from teaching, Jain is currently involved in two social projects — creating a business
school in Bangladesh, focusing on entrepreneurship and small business management for women
from countries such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan; and starting a full-fledged university
in Angola.

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“Management education must include social and environmental elements of the ecosystem. For
global prosperity and peace to come in the world, we have to target women. These are all values
that are central to INSEAD, which has always had a global approach. He has emphasized
diversity in faculty, staff, and student body and strives for innovation backed by intensive
research,” Jain said.
He is a part of a growing list of Indian-origin academicians assuming leading roles at foreign
universities. Harvard Business School got its first Indian-origin dean in Nitin Nohria this year,
while University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business named Stanford University professor
Sunil Kumar as its dean in July this year.
We would like to congratulate professor Jain on his achievements and wish him all the success
on his new position in INSEAD. We would also like to thank Mr. Jain for showing the young
scholars an excellent path to a successful career and helping them to foresee their dreams come
true.

Author
Amlan das is originally from Guwahati. He did his schooling at Don Bosco school and
completed his 12th from Swadeshi Academy. After that he pursued Bachelors Degree from the
Southwest Minnesota State University. He graduated in 2005 with a major in Business
Administration and a minor in Marketing. Currently Amlan is working for Lockheed Martin
at Maryland.