Varun Nagaraj
  •  varun.nagaraj@spjimr.org

Varun Nagaraj

Professor, Information Management and Analytics

Dean, SPJIMR

Varun Nagaraj is Dean and Professor of Information Management and Analytics at S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai. He holds a Ph.D. in Management with an emphasis on Designing Sustainable Systems from Case Western Reserve University, an MBA from Boston University, an MS in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University, and a BTech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay.

Prof. Nagaraj is a ‘pracademic’. Prior to joining academia in 2021, he held senior leadership roles, including C-level responsibilities for venture-funded start-ups as well as public companies in the US. His three-decade industry career focused on driving product innovation in networking, data centre computing, IoT, and AI. His current academic research focuses on wise or responsible innovation—investigating and identifying normative approaches that can drive societally-desirable outcomes—and is featured in leading journals, conferences, and periodicals.

At SPJIMR, he teaches a mandatory foundational course on the what, why, and how of wise innovation, along with courses on product management and entrepreneurship. He is also a member of SPJIMR’s faculty teaching groups on design thinking and systems thinking. He has also previously taught at the University of Notre Dame, Pepperdine University, and Boston University.

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Education

Case Western Reserve University (Weatherhead School of Management)

Ph.D., 2019

Focus: Design and Innovation

Boston University (Questrom School of Business)

MBA, 1995

Major: Finance and Strategy

North Carolina State University  

MS, 1988

Major: Computer Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay   

BTech, 1986

Major: Electrical Engineering

  • Courses

    Wise Innovation Foundations

    Digital Product Management

    Product Entrepreneurship Lab

  • Teaching interest

    Product Innovation

    Digital Entrepreneurship

    Digital Transformation

    Systems Thinking

    Technology, Business, and Society

  • Work experience

    S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai (September 2021 – present)

    Dean and Professor Information Management

    Boston University. (June 2017 – present)

    Adjunct Faculty

    University of Notre Dame. (June 2021 – July 2021)

    Adjunct Faculty

    Bidgely, Inc., CA (Venture-Funded Series-C Start-up) (August 2019 – June 2021)

    Chief Operating Officer (COO)

    Pepperdine University. (October 2018 – Decemeber 2019)

    Adjunct Faculty

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

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

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

    GM IoT

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

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

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

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

    Extreme Networks, CA (EXTR (NASDAQ)). (April 2003 – April 2005).

    VP, Product Management and Marketing

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

    EVP, Marketing

    PRTM Management Consulting, MA (Acquired by PwC). (February 1995 – February 2001).

    Partner

    Principal

    Manager

    Associate

    Hewlett Packard, CA. and MA (HPE (NYSE)). (January 1988 – January 1995).

    Product Manager

    Engineer

  • MDPs/FDPs

    Jakson, Advanced Leadership Programme (Decemeber 2024).

    Open MDP, Senior Leadership Programme (October 2024).

    Pidilite, 2021-2022.

  • Corporate mentoring

    Advisor to Shoreline AI

  • Board memberships

    Board of Advisors, ESSCA School of Management (December 20, 2024 – present).

    Member, EFMD Indian Business Council (February 2024 – present).

    Board of Advisors, Yuva Parivartan (NGO for Youth Welfare) (January 2023 – present).

    Board of Advisors, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, U.S. state of Ohio (August 11, 2022 – present).

    Practitioner-at-large, Communication, Digital Technology, and Organization (CTO) Division, Academy of Management (2021 – 2024).

  • Editorial positions

    Associate Editor, Academy of Management (AOM) Annual Conference 2023, 2024-CTO Track. Appointed (January 2023 – present).

  • Reviewer experience

    Reviewer, Conference Paper, ICIS 2024 conference, Bangkok (June 2024 – present).

    Reviewer, Conference Paper, ICIS 2023 conference, Hyderabad (August 2023 – present).

    Academy of Management Proceedings (2017 – 2018).

  • Professional service

    Co-convenor, AIS Conference, Kolkata. (July 2024).

    Guest Speaker, Pepperdine University. (2020).

    Guest Speaker, Case Western Reserve University. (2019 – 2020).

    Guest Speaker, Stanford University. (2019).

    Guest Speaker, California State University, Sacramento. (2018).

    Guest Speaker, NC State University. (2010 – 2018).

    Guest Speaker, University of Georgia. (2016).

  • Professional memberships

    Academy of Management (AOM)

    Product Development Management Association (PDMA)

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