Team

Dr. Bakul Dholakia is the former Director of IIM, Ahmedabad. In 2007, Dr. Dholakia was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India in recognition of his distinguished services in the field of education. In 2008, Dr. Dholakia was conferred the coveted Bharat Asmita National Award for his contribution to management education and teaching by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India.

He was also the Director General of International Management Institute, Delhi. Prior to joining IMI, he was the Director of Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management & Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhuj. Dr. Dholakia is a Gold Medalist from Baroda University and holds a Doctorate in Economics. He has 47 years of professional experience including 33 years at IIM, Ahmedabad. During the course of his long tenure at IIM Ahmedabad, Dr. Dholakia occupied the Reserve Bank of India Chair from 1992 to 1999, served as the Dean from 1998 to 2001 and as the Director of the Institute from 2002 to 2007. He had received Best Professor Award for his teaching in Postgraduate Programme at IIMA. He has guided 20 Ph.D. students specializing in Economics, Finance, Business Policy and Public Systems at IIMA. He has been a consultant to various national and international organizations.

Dr. Dholakia has been a major guiding force behind the numerous initiatives and expansion of activities at IIMA contributing to its enhanced international image and global recognition. His achievements in institution building have been nationally and internationally acclaimed. Dr. Dholakia had been a Board Member of Reserve Bank of India Western Area Board from 1993 to 2001. In recognition of his efforts to improve the quality of management education, the Government of India had appointed Dr. Dholakia as the Chairman of the National Board of Accreditation for Technical Education in India (2005¬ to 2008). He has also served as External Director on the Board of several public & private sector companies. He has an extensive experience of conducting executive development programmes for top management of leading companies and also for senior bureaucrats in India and abroad. He has also served as a member of the Jury for various Corporate Excellence Awards and Selection Committees for CEOs.

Over the last two decades, Dr. Dholakia has worked on numerous government committees, the recent ones being the Rangarajan Committee on Pricing and Taxation of Petroleum Products (2006) and the Expert Group on Pension Fund constituted by the Government of India (2009). The Competition Commission of India has appointed Dr. Bakul Dholakia as a Member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group (EPAG), which serves as a think tank to give broad inputs and advice on larger issues impacting markets and competition. Dr. Dholakia is the author of 12 books, 28 monographs and more than 50 research papers published in professional journals in India and abroad.