No suitable candidate yet for IIMA top job: Board of Governors chief

The wait for a new director for the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) is likely to last for another couple of weeks as the board has not yet found a suitable candidate, said IIMA board of governors' chairman A M Naik, who was guest of honour at the convocation of the Gujarat Technological University here Saturday.

Replying to media questions, Naik said the delay was due to unavailability of a suitable candidate for the job. "However, we will find a suitable candidate within two to three weeks," he said.

Naik, however, did not say whether the candidate will be from within the faculty of IIMA or some other institute.

The term of the present IIMA director Samir Barua had ended on November 7, 2012. As no replacement for him had been found, he was given three month's extension which would come to an end in the first week of February. He is the first director in the history of IIMA having been given extension.

Institute sources say that several names had been suggested to the search committee headed by Naik, who is also chairman of Larsen and Toubro Ltd, but the members of the search panel did not agree with Naik's choice. Naik also reportedly rejected the candidature of an IIMA faculty whose name was reportedly suggested by search panel members.

The IIMA's board of governors is reported to be considering hiking the annual package from Rs 20 lakh at present to Rs 1 crore with a view to get a suitable candidate.

Sources say that good professionals were not willing to join IIMA as salaries in corporates were several times more.

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