Prof. M.R. Rao, former Director of IIMB, passes away
An institution builder, Prof. Rao served as Director from 1997 to 2002
24 May, 2025, Bengaluru: IIMB is deeply saddened to share that Prof. Mendu Rammohan Rao, former Director of IIMB, has passed away at the age of 84.
Prof. M.R. Rao was an outstanding academic and researcher who was known as a leader in his field. He obtained the PhD degree from Carnegie Mellon University and did his Bachelors degree at the College of Engineering, Guindy.
Prof. Rao taught at several leading schools, including the Stern School, NYU. He forged a distinguished career both in academia and public service, particularly in the realm of operations and industrial administration.
He had a long tenure as a faculty member at IIMB culminating in his being the Dean and then the Director. It was during his tenure that IIMB was ranked the #1 Business School in India for the first time. Important programmes, including PGPEM and PGPPM were launched during his tenure, as was NSRCEL.
Subsequently, he was the Dean of the Indian School of Business.
Prof. Rao was an evangelist of management education in India and was the President of the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS). He maintained a strong association with IIMB till the end. He attended our Golden Jubilee celebrations in October 2023 and an alumni batch reunion as recently as a few months ago.
He saw the importance of building programmes beyond a public-sector orientation, and the merit in engaging with emerging private enterprise early on. His vision was aligned with benchmarking IIMB against the global best. As he often stated, “My aim is to make IIMB a world-class institute for management education, and a top priority would be research”.
In his very first address to students as Director, he reassured them, saying, “I wish students to know that the Institute does not stress as much on grades as they do. I wish the students who graduate from here will realize the futility of believing that grades are all-encompassing”.
IIMB has lost an institution builder who made a significant contribution to what IIMB is today. Our sincere condolences to his family and the generations of students who learnt from him.
Prof. M.R. Rao, former Director of IIMB, passes away
An institution builder, Prof. Rao served as Director from 1997 to 2002
24 May, 2025, Bengaluru: IIMB is deeply saddened to share that Prof. Mendu Rammohan Rao, former Director of IIMB, has passed away at the age of 84.
Prof. M.R. Rao was an outstanding academic and researcher who was known as a leader in his field. He obtained the PhD degree from Carnegie Mellon University and did his Bachelors degree at the College of Engineering, Guindy.
Prof. Rao taught at several leading schools, including the Stern School, NYU. He forged a distinguished career both in academia and public service, particularly in the realm of operations and industrial administration.
He had a long tenure as a faculty member at IIMB culminating in his being the Dean and then the Director. It was during his tenure that IIMB was ranked the #1 Business School in India for the first time. Important programmes, including PGPEM and PGPPM were launched during his tenure, as was NSRCEL.
Subsequently, he was the Dean of the Indian School of Business.
Prof. Rao was an evangelist of management education in India and was the President of the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS). He maintained a strong association with IIMB till the end. He attended our Golden Jubilee celebrations in October 2023 and an alumni batch reunion as recently as a few months ago.
He saw the importance of building programmes beyond a public-sector orientation, and the merit in engaging with emerging private enterprise early on. His vision was aligned with benchmarking IIMB against the global best. As he often stated, “My aim is to make IIMB a world-class institute for management education, and a top priority would be research”.
In his very first address to students as Director, he reassured them, saying, “I wish students to know that the Institute does not stress as much on grades as they do. I wish the students who graduate from here will realize the futility of believing that grades are all-encompassing”.
IIMB has lost an institution builder who made a significant contribution to what IIMB is today. Our sincere condolences to his family and the generations of students who learnt from him.