Soumitra Dutta is a Professor of Management at the SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, NY and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Business School Network, Washington DC. Previously he served as the founding Dean of the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University from 1 April 2016 till 30 January 2018. From July 2012 until June 2016, he was the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Before his appointment to Cornell University, Dutta was the Roland Berger Chaired Professor of Business and Technology and Professor of Business and Technology at INSEAD. Since April 2018, he serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Business School Network, Washington DC. Previously he served as the Vice Chair and Chair for AACSB International, Tampa, Florida. He was also appointed in October 2018 as the Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Innovation Ecosystems.
Biography
Dutta was born in Chandigarh, India in 1963. He was the founding Dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University, New York, until his resignation in January 2018. Before his current role on the faculty at Cornell University, he was appointed as the eleventh dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University in July 2012. He previously served as the Roland Berger Chaired Professor of Business and Technology, founder and academic director of the eLab at INSEAD, a top-ranked graduate business school in Fontainebleau, France and Singapore. Previous roles Dutta had held during his 22-year tenure at INSEAD include dean of external relations; dean of executive education; and dean of technology and e-learning. He had served as a visiting professor in the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, Oxford Internet Institute at University of Oxford, and Judge School at University of Cambridge in England. His prior employments includes stints as an engineer with GE R&Din the U.S. and Schlumberger in Japan. Dutta received a B.Tech. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. He received an MS in business administration, an MS in computer science, and a PhD in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Research and Publications
Dutta is an authority on the impact of new technology on the business world and on strategies for driving growth and innovation by embracing the digital economy. His current research focuses on artificial intelligence, technology strategy and innovation policies at both corporate and national levels. He is the co-editor and author respectively of two influential reports in technology and innovation: the Global Information Technology Report and the Global Innovation Index. Both reports have been used by several governments around the world in assessing and planning their technology and innovation policies. Dutta's work has been widely published in both academic and management journals, including Management Science, Harvard Business Review, Communications of the ACM, IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, Global Intelligence for the CIO, Chief Executive Magazine, Forbes, and The McKinsey Quarterly. Professor Dutta has authored and co-authored several books, including the most recent, co-authored book Entrepreneurship and the Finance of Innovation in Emerging Markets that explores the important emphasis on entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging markets. His co-authored book "Ask, Measure, Learn: Using social media analytics to understand and influence customer behavior", which distills experience from the real world of applying big data techniques to social media to provide valuable insights for executives. His previous book, "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World" investigated the implications of social network services for the enterprise which he co-authored with Matthew Fraser. Another of his recent books was more centered on leadership development, titled “Innovating at the Top: How Global CEOs Drive Innovation for Growth and Profit” which was co-authored with Roland Berger, Geoffrey Samuels and Tobias Raffel. In addition, every year Dutta co-authors "The Global Information Technology Report" published by the World Economic Forum, and the "Global Innovation Index" published by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Corporate Boards and Governments
Dutta brings a refreshing global perspective to his research and thinking. Born in India, he has studied, lived and worked in Asia, America and Europe. His research on global innovation and technology strategy has spanned national boundaries. He has worked with multiple governments in both developing and developed regions to assist them with their national policies for technology and innovation competitiveness. He has also consulted with several leading multinationals around the world. Dutta combines a rigorous academic perspective with rich practical experience from actual experience in co-founding and advising startups. His most recent company, Singapore based Fisheye Analytics was acquired by the WPP group in 2013. In addition, he is currently a non-executive director of Sodexo, the world leader in quality of life services and Dassault Systemes, a world leader in 3D modelling software systems. He is also a member of the Shareholder Council of ZS Associates, a Chicago-based global consulting company focused on the healthcare sector. Dutta has been involved with several regional innovation and competitiveness programs including as a member of the advisory board of Orkestra, the Basque Institute for Competitiveness and Development, Member of Task-Force on ICT Sector Competitiveness and ICT Uptake and Chair of the ICT Sector Innovation Panel, both from the European Commission. He was also part of President Obama's White House roundtable with business school deans on effective workforce policies.
Non-Profit Boards
Professor Dutta was the Vice Chair and Chair of AACSB International, the leading accreditation body for business schools worldwide. Currently he is Chair of the Board of Directors of GBSN a Washington DC based not for profit organization that is devoted to enhancing the management capacity of frontier markets in Africa and elsewhere. He is or has been on the advisory boards of several business schools including HEC Montreal, ESADE, ESCP, Porto Business School, ESMT and the American University of Cairo Business School. In addition he is or has been a member of the advisory boards of other non-profits including the Swift Institute, the Lisbon Council, Bank Inter Foundation, and the Fung Global Institute.
Awards
Dutta has been recognized with several awards for his research and professional achievements. He received the European Case of the Year from the European Case Clearing House in 2002, 2000, 1998, and 1997 and a highly commended mention in the EFMD 2013 Case Writing Competition. He received the Light of India Award in 2012 and the Global Innovation Award in 2013. His alma mater IIT Delhi recognized him with the Distinguished Alumnus award in November 2017 and also established a Faculty Chair in Artificial Intelligence in his name in November 2018. He has been invited several times to Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos and is a member of the "Davos Circle" group of participants.
