Dr. Rajiv R. Thakur, the Perfectionist Learner, presently Director General, Jaipuria School of Business (JSB), Ghaziabad is a familiar name in management education field having over 28 years of experience between academia and the industry. In his academic career Dr. Thakur has worked with a few leading institutions in the country viz. IIM Jammu as Professor in Strategic Management Area and Professor-in-Charge, Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad as Professor in the area of Economic Environment and Strategy, as Professor of Strategy and Dean-Development at Birla Institute of Management and Technology (BIMTECH) Gr. Noida, Pro Vice Chancellor, MIT World Peace University Pune. In leadership roles, Dr. Thakur worked as Director at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida (other group campuses at Lucknow, Jaipur, Indore) for over 6 years and spearheaded its vision of getting into the club of Top 50 B Schools in the country. Prior to Jaipuria Noida, he was Director of Jaipuria, Jaipur campus where he successfully led the transformation process of the campus. Prof Thakur started his academic career with GITAM Institute of Foreign Trade, now GITAM University, Visakhapatnam.
Prior to joining academics, he worked in the media industry for over a decade with country’s largest media conglomerate, The Times Group, New Delhi. He was an active member of the transformation journey of The Times Group wherein it dethroned the then leader in Delhi NCR, The Hindustan Times. This decade long exposure, Dr. Thakur feels had a significant contribution and a key differentiator in his academic career as well. Dr. Thakur started his career with The Statesman, New Delhi.
Dr. Thakur is nominated Chairperson of the NBA expert committees visiting different institutions in the country for NBA accreditation. He has been an expert member of various UGC and AICTE committees.
He was in the Strategic Committee of BIMTECH and was also a key member in Team AACSB entrusted with its accreditation. He was an active member in the core team of setting up of IMT Dubai and its accreditation by the Commission of Academic Accreditation, U.A.E.
He was the member in the BOG of IIM Jammu, BIMTECH, Jaipuria, AKGIM. He was the Chairman of the Board of Studies, Board of Faculty at MIT-WPU and a member in the Academic Council and Management Committee of the university.
In today’s globalized and challenging times with high demand on relevant skills and expertise, institutions need multi-skilled professional with strong sense of changing industry needs which Dr. Thakur most effectively delivers. Having pulse of the changing expectations of stakeholders viz. industry, students, business environment and policies, strategic thinking and ability to learn from success stories from allied and other sectors are few traits which Dr. Thakur strongly practices and professes.
Late Padmshri Prof Pritam Singh acknowledging Prof Thakur’s contributions wrote in his Foreword message, “I have known Dr. Rajiv R Thakur for more than a decade now, both in his role as Professor and Director in different institutions and I have no hesitation in saying that whatever role he worked, he has brought about a positive and significant difference and have left behind a distinctive mark of success. I find in him every quality of a successful practicing leader. I congratulate him for his efforts which will directly benefit a large section of society. I further wish him all success in life”.
In his academic career, his teaching and research areas are Strategic Management and International Business Strategy. Dr. Thakur has been teaching PGDM and Executive programmes at the leading institutions in India and at universities overseas in the Europe, Australia and the Middle-east. He has been actively involved in research and publication and has published/presented research papers in international/national journals and international conferences. Dr. Thakur had been regularly holding international conferences and conducts MDPs for senior and middle level executives.
Dr. Thakur is widely traveled to the US, UK, Europe, South East Asia, Australia and the Middle East and has gained extensive international exposure.
Dr. Thakur has done his Ph.D. from Patna University, Patna in Economics and his work was on Sustainable Agricultural Practices. He is an MBA from DMS, IIT-Delhi, MA in Economics and is a graduate in Economics from Kirorimal College Delhi University, Delhi. He completed his Intermediate in Science from St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi and Matriculation from St John’s High School Ranchi. Dr. Thakur was awarded Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) by University Grants Commission and has passed the National Eligibility Test (NET). After his graduation he completed his MA Previous from Delhi School of Economics however due to personal reasons he had to discontinue in the Final Year. He topped the All India Merit list of Entrance for the M Phil Programme at Centre for the Study of Regional Development CSRD at JNU New Delhi, instead, however, chose to start his career with the corporate world.
Few of the tenets of his philosophy behind Institution building are:
Prof Thakur attributes his learnings and successes to a few of the leading corporate and academic leaders he had had the opportunity to closely work with and his able and accomplished colleagues with whom he worked with.
Prof Rajiv R Thakur a resident of Indrapuram, Ghaziabad in Delhi NCR originally hails from Madhubani district of the state of Bihar. However, his ancestors later shifted to Mahnar in Vaishali district.