IIM Kozhikode becomes first IIM to appoint director autonomously after IIM bill

IIM Kozhikode has become the first IIM to appoint its own director autonomously after the passing of the IIM Bill.

The institute’s board of governors has brought back professor Debashis Chatterjee for a second term to helm IIM Kozhikode as its director.

IIM Kozhikode has been headless for several years after professor Chatterjee completed his tenure of five years from 2009-2014. Prof K. Balooni was serving as director (in charge) of the institute.


In his last stint at the institute, Chatterjee actively pushed for gender diversity, by admitting more than 50% women in the post-graduate programme---a first among IIMs.

Professor Chatterjee has been a senior professor and dean (International Relations) at IIM Lucknow and is currently serving as Director General of IMI Delhi overseeing its 3 campuses.

He has taught leadership classes at Harvard University and at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), Calcutta, Lucknow, and Kozhikode. He has been awarded the Fulbright Fellowship twice for Pre-Doctoral and Post-Doctoral work at the Harvard University. He is the author of seventeen books including Invincible Arjuna and Timeless Leadership and served as Independent Director on the Boards of several multinational and Indian Companies.