Dr Rajan Saxena is an institution builder, marketing academic and an author in marketing, corporate strategy, institution building and leadership. He held the
position of Vice Chancellor of NMIMS (Narsee Monjee Institute Of Management Studies), (Deemed University) Mumbai from 2009 to 2020. Prior to this position, he held the position of Director at IIM Indore, IBS Gurgaon, and S.P.Jain Institute of Management Studies and Research Mumbai, A graduate and postgraduate in commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, and a Ph.D. from the Delhi School of Economics, Dr. Saxena started his career in academics in 1972 at Delhi University as Lecturer and went on to teach at XLRI, Jamshedpur, S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, NMIMS, and IIM Indore. He also taught as a Visiting Professor at IIM Kolkatta, University of Calgary, Canada and Pace University, New York.
Under Dr. Saxena's leadership, NMIMS came to be widely recognized as one of the most credible institutions of higher learning in India. It was accredited for the third time at the A+ level by NAAC and categorized by the Government of India as a Category I university. It has also been accredited by the NBA and its management school by global accreditation agencies, such as AACSB, AMBA, and Engineering School by ABET. He led the transformation of NMIMS from a management school to a multidisciplinary and multi-campus university. Its management school was ranked 6th by ET and number 3 in private B schools in India by Business World and Outlook magazines, and the BBA program number 1 in India by India Today. Similarly, its Economics school was ranked 34 by India Today. NMIMS University was ranked 57 by NIRF in 2019. Under his leadership, some of the most significant collaborations with the world’s top 200 ranked universities were signed.
Likewise, IIM Indore emerged in India's top ten management schools when Dr Saxena was the Director from 1999 to 2003. His most significant contributions were the resolution of land disputes, the construction of Phase 1 of the campus, Industry Connect, the first ever-modular executive PGDM program, and the establishment of the first-ever digital library. IIM Indore commenced only in 1998.
Dr Saxena has also published over 80 articles and 30 cases in national and international journals and two books on Marketing Management and International
Marketing by McGraw Hill. He has held leadership positions in AIMA -CME, where he chaired its BOS and conceived the India Case Research Centre on the lines of the Asia Case Research Centre. He chaired its Advisory Board until 2024. He has been leading the Higher Education Committee of FICCI since 2010 as its Co-Chair, Chair and Advisor. He also leads management education within South Asia through a Board position at AMDISA, a SAARC regional management school network. He has also been a Board member of the Association of Indian Management Schools and the AICTE Board of Studies in Management Education. He is a speaker at AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International), EFMD (European Federation of Management Development), GMAC, College Board, FICCI, AMDISA and AIMA conferences in India and Asia.
Dr Saxena is a member of the Board of Directors of Anuvi Chemicals and, earlier, was also a member of the Board of Directors of MTNL, Lodha Developers, Future Generali Insurance and Future Generali Life Insurance Companies, NMIMS Management School Alumni Association, Atal-NMIMS Innovation Centre, and Graduate Management Global Connect, an affiliate of Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC). Dr. Saxena has been conferred several awards in marketing management, higher education, institution building and leadership. Some of the most prominent are AIMA’s Kewal Nohria Academic Leadership in Management Education, BMA’s Best Teacher of Management, Best Marketing Teacher at International Brand Summit, ET Visionary Leader, Higher Education Forum’s Suresh Ghai Life Time Achievement award in Management Education, Rotary Club’s Vocational Excellence Award in Higher Education and Distinguished Alumni by Shri Ram College of Commerce.
