Dheeraj Sharma (professor)

Dr Dheeraj Sharma
Citizenship	Indian
Education	Doctorate in Business Administration, Louisiana Tech University (Marketing Strategy, Psychology, Quantitative Analysis)
Occupation(s)	Academic, Professor
Years active	2017–present (Director, IIM Rohtak)
Employer	Indian Institute of Management Rohtak
Known for	Director of IIM Rohtak, Management education, Government advisory roles
Title	Director, Indian Institute of Management Rohtak

Dheeraj Sharma is an Indian academic and management professor, serving as the director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Rohtak since 2017. ^{[1] [2]} He is also a professor on leave from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. ^[3]

Early Life and education

Sharma holds a doctoral degree in business administration with a major in marketing strategy and a double minor in psychology and quantitative analysis from Louisiana Tech University, USA. Details about his early life are not widely documented. ^[3]

Career

Sharma has been the director of IIM Rohtak since February 2017, appointed by the Government of India. He was previously a full professor at IIM Ahmedabad, where he remains on leave. He is a member of the Economic Advisory Council of Haryana and the task force for prospective planning under the Haryana Governance Reforms Authority. ^{[4] [5]}

Achievements

During his tenure at IIM Rohtak, Sharma has contributed to the institute's development, including infrastructure expansion and academic program enhancements. ^[6] In 2019, he received the Education Leadership Award for his contributions as director. Sharma has also advised government bodies, including the prisons departments of Punjab, Gujarat, and Delhi on marketing prisoner-made goods and jail modernization, and the Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force on stress management and operational effectiveness. ^[7]

Awards

Dheeraj Sharma has received several accolades for his contributions to management education and leadership:

• Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam National Achievers Award
• Education Leadership Award (2019), for his contributions as Director of IIM Rohtak ^[8]
• Academy of Global Business Advancement (USA) Distinguished Global Thought Leader (2019)
• In July 2025, Sharma received the Distinguished Global Thought Leader Award at the AGBA World Congress in Bangkok and launched his book The Power of Movies at the event. ^{[9] [10]}

Controversies

Sharma's tenure has faced scrutiny:

• In 2022, a petition challenged Sharma's appointment as Director of IIM Rohtak over alleged qualification issues. The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the plea in June 2025, stating no prima facie case was made. ^{[11] [12]}
• In 2024, the Ministry of Education initiated an inquiry into IIM Rohtak's finances, including a transfer of ₹2 crore to Sharma's account. ^[13]

Publications

Sharma has authored or contributed to:

• Cross Cultural Perspectives in a Global Marketplace (2016) ^[14]
• Proceedings of the 2007 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (2014) ^[15]
• Swinging the Mandate: Developing and Managing a Winning Campaign (2016) ^[16]

References

1. PTI (2017-02-10). "Govt appoints directors of 10 IIMs; G. Raghuram to head IIM-Bangalore". mint. Archived from the original on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
2. "IIMA profs to helm IIMB, IIM Rohtak". Ahmedabad Mirror. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
3. "Prof. Dheeraj Sharma, Director, IIM-Rohtak – The People Management". 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
4. "2nd AIM-AMA Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium". web.iima.ac.in. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
5. "Dheeraj Sharma @ Archives". archives.iima.ac.in. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
6. "Tihar seeks IIM-A's help for better branding of products". The Times of India. 2011-10-23. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2025-06-19.
7. "IIM-Ahmedabad professor to help security forces beat work stress". The Times of India. 2012-07-17. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2025-06-19.
8. "Dheeraj Sharma's Inspiring Journey and Impactful Tenure at IIM Rohtak – Leaders Wiki". 2025-07-07. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
9. Kumar, Nishant (2025-07-07). "IIM Rohatak Director Prof. Dheeraj Sharma Honoured as Global Thought Leader at AGBA". techinfoBiT. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
10. "IIM Rohtak Director Prof. Dheeraj Sharma Honored with Distinguished Global Thought Leader Award at AGBA World Congress". Made-in-Media: Crafting Stories, Shaping Perspectives. 2025-07-07. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
11. "Punjab and Haryana high court relief for IIM-Rohtak director Dheeraj Sharma". The Times of India. 2025-03-21. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2025-06-19.
12. "Punjab and Haryana High Court Temporarily Halts Actions on IIM Rohtak Director Inquiry - Law Trend". 2025-04-12. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
13. "Major relief to Dr Dheeraj Sharma as HC dismisses plea challenging his appointment as IIM-Rohtak director". The Indian Express. 2025-04-24. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
14. Sharma, Dheeraj, ed. (2016). "Cultural Perspectives in a Global Marketplace" . Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-18696-2. ISBN   978-3-319-18695-5. ISSN   2363-6165.
15. Sharma, Dheeraj; Borna, Shaheen (2014-11-11). Proceedings of the 2007 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Springer. ISBN   978-3-319-11806-2.
16. Sharma, Dheeraj; Rao, Narayan Singh (2016-09-05). Swinging the Mandate: Developing and Managing a Winning Campaign. Penguin UK. ISBN   978-93-86057-95-2.