Faculty

A rich and lively student-teacher interaction is at the heart of SPJIMR's success. Our faculty members are known to be great teachers, who can bring alive the subject, encourage critical thinking and offer a wider, holistic perspective that is critical in today's complex business environment.

Our faculty members are drawn from academia, industry, government sector and non-profits. Collectively, they bring in a wide range of experience in building and delivering knowledge and skills to prepare participants for leadership roles.

The teaching-learning process at SPJIMR is vastly enriched by a series of non-classroom initiatives through which our faculty help build among participants the right attitudes to enable them lead with purpose, meaning and with an idea of service to society.

The average experience of the core faculty is over 18 years, with several who have come to academics after years of experience as practitioners. In addition, we have around 20 adjunct faculty and several more visiting faculty who engage with participants of various courses.

FACULTY SEARCH

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Overview

Varun Nagaraj

Professor

Information Management & Analytics

Dean - SPJIMR

varun.nagaraj@spjimr.org

Dr. Varun Nagaraj has had a 30-year career in product innovation in Boston and Silicon Valley, during which he held CEO and other executive leadership roles at several venture-funded start-ups and public companies developing communications, computing, IoT, and AI products. He was also a partner at PRTM Management Consulting (now part of PwC), working with Fortune 1000 companies on their organizational innovation initiatives.

He holds a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, a Masters in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University, an MBA from Boston University, and a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management.

Dr. Nagaraj's research on how teams learn and innovate in unfamiliar contexts has been published in the Academy of Management (AOM) proceedings and in the Journal of Product Innovation Management (JPIM), and is featured in the upcoming 2021 Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship.

As a teacher, Dr. Nagaraj brings a lively mix of practice and theory to the classroom, and has developed and taught MBA, masters, and undergraduate classes on digital transformation and product management at Boston University (on the edX MOOC platform), Pepperdine University, and the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Nagaraj has recently been elected to serve as the Practitioner-at-large for the Academy of Management's Organizational Communications and Information Systems (OCIS) division.

Experience

Varun Nagaraj

Professor

Information Management & Analytics

Dean - SPJIMR

varun.nagaraj@spjimr.org

Summary: 30-year career innovating and bringing digital products to market as CEO, general manager, chief product officer / VP of product management, management consultant, product manager, and engineer at venture-backed and public companies in Silicon Valley and Boston.

Bidgely, Inc., CA. 2019 – 2021. COO. Venture-Funded Series-C Start-up

AI-based, analytics software for utilities and energy retailers: Defining and executing on a “Bidgely Everywhere” strategy – re-architecting the product portfolio and increasing addressable market. Responsible for all aspects of data science, product development, project delivery and customer success.

Sierra Monitor Corporation, CA. 2014 – 2017. CEO. Acquired by MSA Safety (MSA: NYSE)

Facility automation and safety solutions: Transitioned legacy company to the Industrial IoT by redesigning the company’s product portfolio and re-positioning the company with investors.

Echelon Corporation, CA. 2011 – 2014. GM IoT. Acquired by Adesto (IOTS: NASDAQ)

Control networking platform: Helped create the Industrial IoT market category.

Aprius, CA. 2008 – 2011. CEO. Acquired by Fusion-IO/Western Digital (WDC: NASDAQ)

Data center virtualization technology: Invented foundational I/O virtualization approach.

NetContinuum, CA. 2005 – 2007. CEO. Acquired by Barracuda Networks (Thoma Bravo: PE)

Web application firewalls for data centers: Captured market leadership (Forrester Research).

Extreme Networks, CA. 2003 – 2005. VP, Product Management and Marketing. EXTR (NASDAQ)

Enterprise and Telco data networking: Pioneered and led industry transition to “2 Tier” architecture.

Ellacoya Networks, NH. 2001 – 2003. EVP, Marketing. Acquired by Arbor/Danaher (DHR: NYSE)

Traffic management for cable networks: Created new product category to control P2P music sharing.

PRTM, MA. 1995 – 2001. Associate, Manager, Principal, and Partner. Acquired by PwC.

Product and supply chain consulting: Helped create firm’s product strategy service offering.

Hewlett Packard, CA. and MA. 1988 – 1995. Engineer, Product Manager. HPE (NYSE)

Networking for medical systems: Developed world’s first TCP/IP based patient monitoring network.

Research & Publications

Varun Nagaraj

Professor

Information Management & Analytics

Dean - SPJIMR

varun.nagaraj@spjimr.org

Guiding Principles: I am interested in all dimensions of digital transformation – its impact on individuals, teams, organizations, entrepreneurship, and society. I am methodologically agnostic, with experience in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. As a practitioner-scholar, and as the elected “Practitioner-at- large” representative for the Academy of Management’s OCIS division (2021 – 2024 term), I am partial to research that is theoretically-grounded and empirically-based, but is also non-trivial, non-obvious, and actionable.

PhD Dissertation: Emergent Learning in Digital Product Teams.

Weatherhead School of Management. Case Western Reserve University. May 2019. Committee: Dr. Kalle Lyytinen (Case Western), Dr. Youngjin Yoo (Case Western), Dr. Nick Berente (University of Notre Dame), and Dr. Nitin Joglekar (Boston University).

“Outstanding Research Proposal 2019” Award, Weatherhead School of Management.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Published / Accepted / Submitted Articles

V Nagaraj. 2021. Senseshaping: How digital product managers drive cross-functional product innovation. Status: Submitted to Research-Technology Management. In Review.
Y Yoo, F von Briel, J Recker, V Nagaraj, M McManus. 2021. Human-machine ensembles: Incorporating machine designers into the innovation process. Status: Submitted to California Management Review. In Review.
V Nagaraj. 2021. Product-Assisted-Learning: Transforming the entrepreneurial learning process with digital product analytics. Chapter in Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship (Editors: M. Keyhani, A. Sorgner, T. Kollmann, C. Hull, and A. Ashjari). Edward Elgar Publishing. Status: Accepted. Book to be published late 2021.
V Nagaraj, N Berente, K Lyytinen, J Gaskin. 2020 Team design thinking, product innovativeness, and the moderating role of problem unfamiliarity. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 37(4): 273–372.
V Nagaraj, N Berente, J Gaskin, K Lyytinen. 2018 How Does Design Thinking Impact the Market Success of Digital Products? Academy of Management Proceedings 2018 (1), 15737.
V Nagaraj, RJ Boland, K Lyytinen. 2017 Senseshaping: The dynamics of sensemaking and sensegiving in high velocity product innovation. Academy of Management Proceedings 2017 (1), 13314.

Advisory White Papers for Clients of Gartner Group (Gartner peer review process)

Use In-Application Feedback to Continuously Improve Product-Market Fit. July 2019.
Emphasize Customer Success Metrics to Accelerate Revenue Growth. July 2019.
Drive Product Growth by Emphasizing Packaging and Go-To-Market. May 2019.
Reignite Growth through Targeted Investments in Software Tools for Product Management. May 2019.
Use Three Design Thinking Principles in Everyday Product Management to Drive Innovation. May 2019.

Other Publications

Textbook

N Joglekar and V Nagaraj. 2017. Digital Product Management Thinking: Integrating Analytics, Business Models, Coordination and Design Thinking. Senseshaping Ventures, LLC

Popular Press

V Nagaraj and J Frey. 2021. The ethical spectrum of compelling leadership. 4-part Series. Psychology Today. February 5 2021.

Blogs and Invited Guest Articles

Learning from History. SierraMonitor.com, 2017.
Alexa – Make my Building Run Better. ACHR News, 2016
Migrating Legacy Devices to the IIoT Design News, 2014.
The Industrial IoT isn’t the same as the Consumer IoT. Forbes.com, 2014.
How Europe is Cashing in on Smart Meters as the U.S. Lags. Forbes.com, 2012.

Industry Seminars, Interviews, and Podcasts

Data-Driven Analytics: How Netflix Enhances Decision Making and Applications for Utilities. Keynote at Utility Analytics Summit, 2020.
Software Tools for the Product Manager. Webinar hosted by Product Collective, 2019.
Design Thinking. Webinar hosted by Product Collective, 2018.
IoT Time. Podcast on IoT Evolution, 2017.
Enabling Innovation. Keynote at Measurement Control and Automation Association Annual Conference, 2017.
The Industrial IoT. Interview with TMCNet, 2016
Control Networking Conversations. Interview with Control Trends, 2016.
Investing in the Industrial IoT, Interview with The Wall Street Analyzer, 2015.
Taking Advantage of the Industrial IoT Opportunity. Interview with AutomatedBuildings.com, 2015.

Additional Information

Varun Nagaraj

Professor

Information Management & Analytics

Dean - SPJIMR

varun.nagaraj@spjimr.org

Summary: Experience developing and delivering classes on digital strategy and digital product management in classroom, hybrid, and online (MOOC) formats, blending a case-based approach with current industry practices and personal experience. Interested in and capable of teaching a broad range of classes in strategy, organizational leadership, entrepreneurship, and technology management at the executive, graduate, and undergraduate levels.

Adjunct Faculty

University of Notre Dame: Digital Product Management. Classroom course for undergraduate students. June – July 2021.
Pepperdine University: ISTM 665 – Digital Innovation and Strategy. Classroom and hybrid course for MBA students. Sole instructor. Approximately 25 students per class.<br/>
2018 student evaluations: Top quartile. Report available on request.
2019 student evaluations: Top quartile. Report available on request.
Boston University: QD503 - Product Management with Lean, Agile, and System Design Thinking. Online MOOC offered on edX since Fall 2017. Part of Boston University’s MicroMasters program in Digital Product Management. Co-developed and co-taught class with Professor Nitin Joglekar of Boston University. 65,000+ enrolled as of June 2020.<br>
Reach metrics: Top 10 out of 52 programs on edX in enrollment and top 7 in course completion. Student satisfaction metrics: Course process – 5.41/7 and Course content – 5.59/7 (42,496 learners after 4 runs). Reference available from Dr. Joglekar.

Guest Speaker

University of Notre Dame: Dr. Nick Berente, MBA class on digital strategy
Pepperdine University: Dr. Mark Chun, EMBA class on analytics (2020).
Case Western Reserve University: Dr. Youngjin Yoo, MBA classes and corporate programs on digital strategy (2020 and 2019)
SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, India: Dr. Anil Vaidya, MBA class on strategy (2019)
Pepperdine University: Dr. John Mooney, DBA workshop (2019).
Stanford University: Dr. Barbara Karanian, d.school class on storytelling in design (2019)
California State University, Sacramento: Dr. Jesse Catlin, MBA class on marketing (2018).
University of Georgia: Dr. Nick Berente, EMBA class on strategy and innovation (2016).
NC State University: Dr. Tom Miller, Entrepreneurship Program annual Silicon Valley trip (2010 – Ongoing)

Mentor

Santa Clara University - Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship: Mentored the CEO of Haqdarshaq – a social enterprise developing and deploying an AI-based digital platform to connect citizens in India to relevant entitlement programs.

Blogs