Tanaka Business School's new Research Director sets international top-20 target

Jaideep Prabhu has been named as the new research director at Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London

He replaces Professor John Bessant who is moving on to work with the national RAE panel after two years in the role.
 
The Tanaka Business School is at the top of UK business schools in terms of research income and A-journal publications per capita. 

David Begg, the School's Principal said:  "On behalf of Tanaka Business School I would like to thank Professor Bessant for all the hard work he has been involved in over the past two years.  I wish him every success in his vital role on the national RAE panel."

Jaideep Prabhu will pick up on John's work and ensure that research remains the foundation for all the Business School's activity. On the news of the appointment Jaideep said: "It is a great pleasure and privilege to be offered the role.  I look forward to moving the school into the top 20 research business schools worldwide."

During Professor Bessant's term as research director, the School saw growth in research funding and its publication record has substantially strengthened.

Professor Prabhu hopes to build on this base and add a third element to the equation: "I will work with my colleagues to ensure that we succeed in disseminating our research as widely as possible.  We will work collaboratively to raise the profile of the School's research output in order to ensure that our work has the visibility it deserves."

Professor Prabhu's aim is to push the School"s research into the "international top 20" building on its strong current reputation in the UK and Europe.

Professor Prabhu explained his plan for the future: "As a research school, we will lead globally if we do three simple things.  First, we must continue to ensure that our research is closely aligned with the strategy of our School and with the strengths of the College as a whole. Here we must build on Imperial's international reputation in the natural and physical sciences, engineering and medicine.

Second, and related to this, we must take advantage of the momentum we have gained through John Bessant's lead, specifically in the areas that our school specialises in: Finance & Accounting, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Healthcare Management. 

Finally, we must continue to collaborate as a school in building a thriving research culture. We can do this through our lively tradition of research fests, seminar series and engagement with leading researchers who participate in our visiting professor programme."

Professor Prabhu is a highly productive academic whose main research interests are in marketing strategy. He studies various issues concerning the antecedents and consequences of radical innovation in high-technology contexts such as e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

He is an Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) Innovation Fellow (2007-2009) studying the offshoring and outsourcing of innovation by the world's largest multinationals to emerging markets such as India and China. 

Professor Prabhu is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Journal of Management Studies and has published in the leading journals in his field.  He has consulted for the UK Government's Department of Trade and Industry and has taught or consulted with executives from ABN Amro, British Telecom, Egg, ING Bank, Nokia, Philips and Xerox among others around the world.

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Elliott White,
Press and PR Manager,
Tanaka Business School

e.white@imperial.ac.uk
+44 (0)20 7594 9154