33: Raj Echambadi (Illinois Tech) on Mission-Driven Leadership: What is Your Why?

On this episode of Deans Counsel, moderators Ken Kring and Dave Ikenberry speak with Raj Echambadi, the 10th President (since August 2021) of the Illinois Institute of Technology.From 2017 to 2021, Echambadi served as the Dunton Family Dean of D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. Under his leadership, D’Amore-McKim has become widely recognized for moving beyond traditional business silos and for embracing cross-disciplinary perspectives in both research and teaching. Prior to joining Northeastern, Echambadi served for eight years in various roles, including as the Alan J. and Joyce D. Baltz Professor and the senior associate dean of strategic innovation, at Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Echambadi was a driving force behind the scaled online M.B.A. (iMBA) program at the University of Illinois, which has been lauded as one of the best breakthrough, disruptive educational innovations in the past decade.Echambadi's wealth of experience animates a fast-moving and fascinating discussion about these topics and more:• Online Education • Creating a learning Eco-System• Understanding the power of people and shaping the jobs to fit them • Democratizing education • Defending the value of higher education  • How The Deanship prepared him for the Presidency   Learn more about Raj EchambadiComments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected] for listening.-Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts--DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn FerryDeansCounsel.com