ISB promises and delivers on the best mix of master academicians from across industries, each backed by cutting-edge research and a global experience

Amongst its many impressive offerings, outstanding and world-renowned faculties stand out as one of the biggest USPs of ISB experience. ISB classroom learnings are rendered memorable by a great mix of resident/in-house and international visiting professors – many of whom are from premium B-schools like Wharton, Kellogg, Yale, Stern and Harvard.

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While choosing the top professors from such a vast network was a herculean task, we have compiled a list of the 6 most popular ones whose teachings have left indelible marks on the minds and hearts of ISB students.

Star Professors | Core Courses

Prof. Milind Sohoni

Milind Sohoni (Operations & Supply Chain)

Deputy Dean – Hyderabad Campus, Prof. Milind Sohoni is a crowd-favourite when it comes to navigating the complicated world of Decision Making & Optimization (DMOP). An important foundational course that has given many students sleepless nights is broken down and made easy by Professor Sohoni in his classic and fascinating teaching style. With a constant smile on his face – even when bombarded with endless doubts by students inside and outside the class – his passion for teaching and expertise in operations and supply chain stands unmatched.  He is also a visiting faculty at the prestigious Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Prof. Prashant Kale

Prashant Kale (Corporate Strategy)

Named as one of the most influential corporate strategy faculties globally, Prof. Prashant Kale is no less than a celebrity at ISB and has won the “Professor of the Year – Core Terms” award multiple times including for the Class of 2020. Having consulted CEOs of many Fortune 500 companies, he follows a no-nonsense attitude in classes and constantly engages students through his ‘take a stand’ approach. Prof Kale is known for doing his homework and in fact in the first class itself, he had memorized the names and professional backgrounds of all the students!

His masterful engagement with students of different backgrounds to extract the practical application of concepts taught in the class, combined with enlightening and intense case discussions, motivate students to double their efforts and expand their thinking. No doubt then, he received a standing ovation at the end of his sessions by every single section!

Affiliations: Associate Professor of Strategic Management at the Jessie H. Jones School of Business, Rice University.

Prof. Sarang Deo

Sarang Deo (Operations Management)

With a PhD from UCLA Anderson School of Management, MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and BTech from IIT Bombay, Prof. Sarang Deo teaches the core course of Operation Management at ISB. His energy in classroom is unmatchable as he explains the complex concepts of operations in layman’s terms. ISB alums claim to remember his teachings and classic examples vividly even after years of graduation. An ex-management consultant and with teaching stints at Kellogg School of Management, Prof. Deo understands the diversity of his class and goes out of his way to help all students master the subject, regardless of their familiarity with statistics.

Star Professors | Elective Courses

Prof. Ashish Kohli

Ashish Kohli (Financial Modelling)

A seasoned investment banker and with teaching experience at leading colleges like New York University, London School of Economics and Columbia amongst others, Prof. Ashish Kohli also won the Best Professor of the Year Award for elective terms for the class of 2020. With his reputation preceding him, only a lucky few get to attend his class due to the fiercely competitive bidding!

His energy in class is infectious – it isn’t uncommon to see him move quickly, practically run, from one end of the classroom to another to answer a student’s query, or jump with excitement when a student correctly answers his trick question. Prof. Kohli’s class has a perfect blend of theoretical knowledge and real work applications, with the theoretical aspect being supplemented with industry treks and guest sessions by industry professionals.

Affiliation: Adjunct Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Prof. Rogers

Ed Rogers (Managing Complexity)

The fact that he has was the Chief Knowledge Officer at NASA from 2003 until May 2020 says more than enough! A celebrity in his own right, Prof. Rogers has been a visiting faculty at ISB for more than a decade and hence it should come as no surprise that students are motivated to sneak into his sessions even after losing the subject during cut-throat bidding!

Not only does he teach the extremely pertinent art of managing complexity, but also supplements it with real world anecdotes of the challenges he confronted during his time at the world’s most coveted space research organization!

Fun Fact: Prof. Ed Rogers especially designed the Managing Complexity course for ISB – the only B-school in the world where he teaches.

Prof. Piyush Kumar

Piyush Kumar (Marketing Services)

One cannot have enough of Prof. Piyush Kumar’s unparalleled classroom experience, with no two days being the same.  With multiple Professor of the Year awards under his belt, Prof. Kumar is known for challenging preconceived notions and inherent biases amongst students. His understated sense of humour while explaining evergreen takeaways about the disruption in service industry creates a blink-and-miss environment in classes.

PS: Prof. Piyush Kumar is also known to do a bone-tickling stand-up act every year while visiting ISB!

Affiliation: Associate Professor of Marketing at Terry College of Business, University of Georgia

Prof. Seoyoung Kim

Seoyoung Kim (Financial Technology)

One of the most popular Finance professors at ISB, Prof. Seoyoung Kim usually teaches the Introduction to FinTech course in Term 7. Her class is crafted around the innovations and disruptions that have transformed the financial world in recent times. A dynamic personality, Prof. Kim is known for impactful delivery of complex subjects. She holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Rice University and Ph.D. in Finance from Emory University.

Affiliation: Associate Professor of Finance and Business Analytics at Santa Clara University

Prof. S. Arunachalam

S. Arunachalam (Marketing Strategy)

Easily the funniest, happiest, and most entertaining professor at ISB, Prof. S. Arunachalam packs a full house in classes, with his elective being offered twice through the year due to student demand. He goes out of his way to make the class lively and engaging and ensuring students feel heard. His end of lecture summaries are known to stick with you forever. Prof. Arunachalam is a PhD. From Iowa State University and worked as EA to the Managing Director, Godrej Industries.

Bonus Tip: Do watch out for his grand references to Mickey Mouse!

Prof. Ahmed Timoumi

Ahmed Timoumi (Retailing)

A resident faculty at Mohali Campus, Prof. Ahmed Timoumi holds a PhD from the esteemed Koc University of Turkey. He is the reigning authority when it comes to understanding any part of the retail value chain and is popular for his extremely interactive teaching style. There is never a dull moment in his class, which is divided into two halves – one focusing on theoretical concepts and trends in the industry, others dedicated to activities like group simulations and thought-provoking debates. Prof. Timoumi is also known to be extremely approachable and often finds himself surrounded by curious students with unending queries even after the class!

Prof. Francis Kim

Francis Kim (Entrepreneurship)

With being entrepreneurial becoming a new way of life, Prof. Francis Kim’s subject – Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital is more relevant than ever. His nuanced understanding of the subject, further enhanced by corporate experience as ex-Associate Strategist at Goldman Sachs makes for an extremely unique classroom experience. He encourages students to work as teams on real-world ideas and present an end-to-end business plan to deepen the learning. Prof. Kim holds a Ph.D from Oxford University.

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