Professor Prakash G. Apte earned a Bachelor of Technology degree from IIT Bombay and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Calcutta before completing his Ph.D in Economics from Columbia University, New York. Prior to entering academia, he worked with the Edison Electric Institute, Ingersoll-Rand, and the Centron Industrial Alliance, gaining valuable exposure to corporate and industrial environments. He also had industrial and consulting experience before and during his doctoral studies and taught at Vassar College and Columbia University before returning to India.

Professor Apte was recruited to IIM Bangalore by the then Director Professor N. S. Ramaswamy while still in New York. What began as a faculty position in September 1977 in IIMB, evolved into a 35-year association with the Institute, culminating in his tenure as Director from 2002 to 2007.

Professor Apte was a member of the Economics & Social Sciences area. Over time, he diversified into Finance and Capital Markets, holding the UTI Chair in Finance & Research and serving as Chair of Capital Market Studies & Risk Management. His special areas of interest included international finance, exchange rate behaviour, financial derivatives, and risk management.

His academic philosophy bridged economics, finance, and practice. During his long faculty career, Professor Apte taught Economics, Econometrics, and Macro-economics in the Post Graduate Program (PGP). Over time, he expanded into international finance, financial derivatives, and financial risk management.

As Director, he strengthened the Post Graduate Program (PGP); the Fellow Program in Management (FPM), expanding eligibility to include GMAT, GRE, and GATE scores to widen the pool; and Executive Education, including technology-enabled programs delivered across multiple cities.

During his tenure, the Post Graduate Program in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM) expanded delivery to Chennai and Bangalore, while the Executive General Management Program (EGMP) was delivered across 24 centres via satellite technology. In 2005, IIMB was awarded “Best IT User in the Education Category” by NASSCOM, reflecting the growing integration of technology into program delivery.

Professor Apte’s tenure saw the establishment and strengthening of several centres :

• Post Graduate Program in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM): Developed in partnership with the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT), Government of India, the PGPPM was launched in June 2002.
• Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizenship was set up in September 2003
• Centre for Financial Markets and Institutions (CFMI) set up in 2004 -- 2005
• The Centre for Capital Markets benefited from industry support, notably through connections with UTI Asset Management Company.

Professor Apte also promoted alumni engagement, instituting the Distinguished Alumnus Awards in 2006 – 2007 and inviting alumni practitioners to contribute to classroom learning, especially in applied finance topics.

Beyond the Institute, Professor Apte chaired the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) Secondary Markets Advisory Committee and was a member of the NSE Index Committee and the DICGC (Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation) Advisory Committee. He also served as Chairman of the Academic Council of the CFA programme offered by ICFAI and was a Trustee of UTI Mutual Fund. His consulting assignments included work with Ernst & Young, Wipro, Commerzbank, GroupM, HDFC, and the State Bank of India.

Internationally, he was a Visiting Faculty at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), ESSEC Lille (France), and AESE Lisbon (Portugal), and had taught in several other countries including Sweden and Australia.

Professor Apte has authored four books—International Financial Management, Global Business Finance, Text Book of Econometrics, and Macro Economics—and numerous articles in professional journals and economic and financial periodicals.

Professor Apte’s tenure was marked by significant governance challenges. Despite external pressures, he maintained institutional autonomy while preserving cordial relations with the Board and Chairmen S. M. Datta and Mukesh Ambani. Professor Apte’s leadership style was collegial and understated. He handled difficult issues with firmness yet composure.

Professor Apte aspired for IIMB to achieve global standing. His roadmap emphasised high-quality research; strong doctoral training; focused program growth; incentives aligned with performance; and strategic global collaborations.

Looking back at IIMB’s journey from a predominantly public-sector oriented institute to a globally competitive management school, he expressed satisfaction with its progress and confidence in its future trajectory.

After his term as Director ended, Professor Apte continued as faculty in the Economics & Social Sciences area till 29 February 2012.

Link to an account of the launch of the IIMB Golden Jubilee publication, ‘The Evolution of IIMB: Directors’ Perspectives’
https://www.iimb.ac.in/archives/directors-perspectives.php

For more from “The Evolution of IIMB: Directors’ Perspectives”, which features interviews with former Directors Professors J. Philip, K. R. S. Murthy, M. Rammohan Rao, Prakash G. Apte and Sushil Vachani, and a foreword by the then Director Professor G. Raghuram, and an essay (reproduced from an earlier collection) by the first Director Professor N. S. Ramaswamy visit

( https://www.iimb.ac.in/archives/directors-perspectives.php )

Click to read the book : https://www.iimb.ac.in/sites/default/files/directors-perspectives/#p=1

Link to films commemorating IIMB’s Golden Jubilee in 2023
https://www.iimb.ac.in/archives/video-library.php