The WDI Board of Directors has appointed Jagadeesh Sivadasan, a business economics and public policy professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, as interim President. Sivadasan takes over from Wendy Taylor, who recently announced her departure. A search for a permanent president will commence soon.
Sivadasan holds the Buzz and Judy Newton Professorship at the Ross School and is a faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research. His research explores growth strategies, productivity, and worker mobility in businesses. He teaches applied microeconomics in the MBA and PhD programs at Michigan Ross and has led the full-time MBA program and the Business Economics and Public Policy group.
“My research has spent years asking what allows firms and workers in developing economies to grow, adapt and compete,” Sivadasan stated. “WDI has spent more than three decades turning that same question into action. I’m honored to help lead the Institute through this transition, and to keep that work moving forward with the entrepreneurs and businesses we serve in low- and middle-income countries.”
WDI Board Chair and Michigan Ross Dean Sharon Matusik praised Sivadasan’s scholarly expertise and leadership, saying, “Jagadeesh brings a rare combination to this role: deep scholarly expertise in what actually drives firm growth and entrepreneurship in emerging markets, and years of proven leadership within our own community at Ross.” Matusik expressed gratitude to Taylor for her dedication to WDI’s mission.
Sivadasan, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, earned a PGDM after his BTech at IIT Madras. He worked as a Senior Consultant at Arthur Andersen before obtaining his PhD from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. He has been honored with the 2018 Victor L. Bernard Teaching Leadership Award and the 2019 Neary Teaching Excellence Award from the Ross School of Business.
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