Universities are tapping search firms to recruit c-suite level executives and expat academics for the roles of dean, vice-chancellor, business administration head and provost, multiple industry officials said, with the hiring spree already yielding key appointments.
“Colleges are recruiting expensive and top talent for these posts so that they are able to increase their funding, get quality research papers done, improve their rankings and up their collaboration with international academic partners and industry as well,” said Suchindra Kumar, partner and leader for education at consulting firm PwC India.
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According to Kumar, a vice-chancellor is today a “brand unto himself/herself and responsible for building the university culture and be able to attract faculty from other good universities”.
Some of the top posts in universities now include chief operating officer, chief technology officer, chief people and culture officer, and outreach and marketing head, designations more common in corporates.
In January, the University of Southampton appointed Vishal Talwar, former director of IMT Ghaziabad, as COO of its upcoming Delhi campus. “These are exciting times in the Indian higher education space, and I look forward to working with colleagues in the UK and India to establish the University of Southampton’s globally benchmarked campus in Gurugram, Delhi NCR,” Talwar wrote on LinkedIn.
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A chief administrative officer hired by the Indian School of Business (ISB) about a year and a half ago from Jindal University has brought valuable expertise, said Madan Pillutla, dean and professor of organizational behaviour.
“At ISB, we have strengthened our professional staff in recent years. While ISB has always been fortunate to have strong academic leadership, we have enhanced this by bringing in professionals with specialized skills to complement our team,” Pillutla said.
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Universities are keen to tap the expertise of talented executives to help raise their rankings, which are key to attracting more students and external funding. The ISB has said that it grabbed the top spot among management schools in India in the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Ranking 2025, and also improved its global rank to 27 from 31 last year.
“While academics remain the core, allied activities are now essential for ensuring quality education,” said Jaskiran Arora, dean, education quality at BML Munjal University in Haryana.
Arora stated that dedicated teams often work on improving the school’s rankings, integrating technology, engaging corporates, strengthening brand, and thereby secure better placements and career opportunities for students. “While amounts may vary, salaries typically range between ₹2-3 crore, including the variable component,” Arora said.
The demand is up not just for colleges offering regular management programmes, but even for those that teach law, nursing and other specialized courses.
“We hired seven to eight senior executives like vice-chancellors, provosts and head of design including expats in 2024. The number was 3-4 in 2023, but in 2025, we will cross our earlier numbers,” said Jyoti Bowen Nath, managing partner for search firm Claricent Partners.
According to data by Claricent Partners, top university officials hired recently include Eloise Phillips, provost, University of Southampton, Delhi Campus from University of Birmingham’s Dubai Campus; Uma Ananda Dagnino Gonzales, vice-chancellor of Woxsen University, from Universidad Latinoamericana de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (ULACIT), San Jose, Costa Rica; Simon Mak, founding vice-chancellor, Universal AI University from SMU Cox School of business, Dallas, Texas; Justin Paul, dean and provost (management education, School of Business Management, NMINS, from University of Puerto Rico; and Nimay Kalyani, director of the University of Wollongong’s India Campus, from University of Wollongong, Australia.
Queries sent to the universities late Tuesday evening did not elicit a response at the time of publishing. University of Wollongong responded to Mint’s queries and confirmed the appointment of Kalyani.
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“In the past decade, more than 300 new universities have come up in India,” said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and leader for education and skill development practice at consulting firm KPMG. “This is perhaps the best time for tenured academics with a leadership bent, to explore opportunities these universities for leadership positions.”
“There has been a steady increase in fee structure in many of these colleges and universities who have been providing good education and results over the last decade, and they can now afford to recruit experienced professors who have spent a few decades in this field, at salaries similar to CXOs in corporates,” Ramaswamy added.
Galgotias University in Greater Noida is actively seeking high-calibre candidates for CXO roles, said Dhruv Galgotia, CEO. He noted a growing demand for such talent, with salaries reaching crores of rupees, and rising over “30% in the past three years, a trend that continues upward.”