Ohio State appoints Aravind Chandrasekaran as permanent Fisher dean

Aravind Chandrasekaran is the new dean of the Max M. Fisher College of Business.

The university announced the appointment on October 30, 2026. The role is official once the Board of Trustees gives final approval.

Chandrasekaran has served as interim dean since June 2025. The new title removes that temporary status. He joined Ohio State in 2009 and has worked at Fisher for more than 15 years.

Before becoming interim dean, Chandrasekaran was senior associate dean for faculty, research, and non-degree executive education. He also oversaw the Full-Time MBA, Working Professional MBA, and Executive MBA programs as associate dean for graduate programs. During that time, he built custom teaching and research programs for companies including Tata Consultancy Services, Ford Motor Company, and Zimmer.

Chandrasekaran holds the John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business. He earned his bachelor's degree from the College of Engineering at Anna University in India. He holds a master's degree in industrial engineering and a doctorate in business administration from the University of Minnesota. He co-authored two books in 2023 on business data ethics and operations management. His research has appeared in journals such as Management Science and Harvard Business Review.

In 2017, Poets&Quants named him one of the top 40 business school professors under 40. Fisher named him Distinguished Professor in Operations and Business Analytics in 2021. He has received multiple teaching awards from the college.

Trevor Brown, interim executive vice president and provost, said Chandrasekaran showed a deep commitment to Fisher. Brown noted that Chandrasekaran created excitement around priorities that position business students for success. Chandrasekaran said he is honored to lead the college into its next chapter. Under his leadership, the college redesigned its undergraduate experience to introduce business courses earlier. The redesign uses a framework called the Fisher Advantage to train graduates as business experts and problem-solvers. The college is also expanding workforce partnerships locally, nationally, and globally.