Academician Krishna Palepu has been appointed as senior advisor to president of Harvard University to guide the institution’s strategy. Harvard’s President Drew Faust announced that Palepu will take his new position of senior advisor for global strategy immediately. Palepu has taught at the Harvard Business School for over three decades. He will work closely with the president to clarify and test some operational proposals of the International Strategy Working Group. Palepu will help develop a more effective and a parallel approach to international fundraising and engage Harvard’s alumni living abroad. Palepu will bring a global background and perspective to his research and teaching and will hold a critical position in contributing to the ongoing development of our global strategy.

Harvard being one of the strongest platforms in the world for teaching and research, Palepu said, “I look forward to working with President Faust to craft a more coordinated and strategic approach to Harvard’s international engagement, supporting the expertise and ambition of our community.”

Palepu joined the HBS faculty in 1983. He received his doctorate in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, holds a master's degree in physics from Andhra University and has done postgraduate work at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. Palepu has an honorary doctorate from the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration.