On April 3, 2025, NYU President Linda G. Mills and Provost Georgina Dopico announced that Bharat Anand, a vice provost at Harvard University and a chaired professor and renowned teacher at Harvard Business School (HBS), will be joining NYU Stern as the incoming Dean, beginning in August 2025.

An expert in corporate, media, and digital strategy, Professor Anand’s work has focused on the central challenges for digital businesses of “getting noticed” and “getting paid.” An influential voice in the area of digital transformation, he created HBS’s first executive program on digital strategies for media companies. As the founding faculty chair and first senior associate dean of HBS Online, Professor Anand helped launch and grow its innovative new model for business education. As Harvard’s vice provost for advances in learning, he helped steer Harvard’s teaching through the pandemic; convened the university-wide task force on the future of learning; contributed to the creation of Axim, a non-profit dedicated to expanding access in education; led a university working group on enabling difficult conversations on campus; and led the creation of a new learning experience platform—helping shape the University’s strategy for residential and online education.

NYU President Linda Mills delivers opening remarks

“NYU is absolutely thrilled with the appointment of Bharat Anand to lead Stern. He is an outstanding choice—deeply strategic, possessed of a global outlook, innovative, highly respected, and exceptionally effective,” said President Mills. “He greatly impressed the Search Committee, Provost Gigi Dopico, and me with his energy, his success both as a leader in a school and across a university environment, his highly entrepreneurial outlook, his insights into how technology can be used most productively, and his achievements as a scholar and talents as a teacher. We are so excited to welcome Bharat Anand to NYU.”

NYU President Linda Mills with incoming Dean Bharat Anand

Professor Anand comes to NYU from Harvard University, where he has been a member of the HBS faculty since 1998. He was named the Henry R. Byers Professor of Business Administration in 2006, the faculty chair in 2013 and later senior Associate Dean of Harvard Business School Online, and Harvard University’s vice provost for advances in learning in 2018. He is the chair of Harvard’s Generative AI Working Group for Teaching and Learning.

He is a widely published and influential scholar and author. His 2016 book, The Content Trap: A Strategist’s Guide to Digital Change, was named a “Top 10 Book” by Fast Company and Bloomberg and was awarded the Axiom Business Book Silver Award for Best Book in “Business Theory.”

Faculty and staff welcome Bharat Anand to NYU Stern

“Having spent much of my academic career focused on learning innovations, I’ve long admired Stern—its people, agility, and its enviable position in the heart of a thriving global business hub. I’ve watched it distinguish itself through world-class faculty, outstanding students, and a powerful alumni network. Through conversations and interviews, I’ve come to see that Stern’s collegial culture is one of its greatest strengths—shaped by a deeply committed faculty and a dedicated, collaborative administration,” said Dean Designate Anand. “It’s an incredible honor to be appointed Dean of the NYU Stern School of Business. I’m excited to meet you all.”

Photo Credit: ©Creighton: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau