Dr. Vijay Pendakur
Dr. Vijay Pendakur has built a distinguished career at the intersection of academia and corporate leadership. Spanning five universities, his academic journey includes serving as the Robert W. and Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students at Cornell University. He was also inaugural faculty for the Race and Equity Center at the University of Southern California and served as an institute faculty member with the Institute for High-Impact Practices and Student Success for AAC&U. In addition, Dr. Pendakur advised the head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the National Institutes of Health, focusing on diversity strategy in the biomedical sciences. An accomplished author, his 2016 book, Closing the Opportunity Gap, is one of the only enterprise graduation strategy books to focus on co-curricular drivers for student success.
Transitioning to the corporate world, Vijay has held VP and C-level roles at three public companies: Zynga, VMware, and Dropbox. His extensive expertise in employee experience, team effectiveness, and culture design has made him a sought-after leader in building thriving workplace cultures. He also serves on several boards, providing guidance to organizations navigating complex challenges. Dr. Pendakur’s latest book, The Alchemy of Talent, a best-seller, has been featured in prominent publications such as Harvard Business Review, Time, Forbes, and Fast Company, cementing his reputation as a thought leader at the forefront of workplace and leadership innovation.