Khagram to step down as director general and dean at end of academic year
Sanjeev Khagram, director general and dean of Thunderbird since 2018, has announced that he will be stepping down from that position at the end of the 2023–24 academic year. Khagram has decided to return to a faculty position and has accepted a role as the carbon removal lead for the United Nations Climate Champions. His leadership was pivotal in many areas as Thunderbird has recaptured the momentum that made it one of the premier global leadership and management schools in the world.
Surrounded by a strong team that Khagram built during his tenure, including a new vice dean and deputy dean of executive education, Thunderbird has also stabilized and grown its alumni relationships through the creation of the Thunderbird Global Alumni Network.
“On behalf of our alumni around the world, we are grateful for Dean Khagram’s extraordinary vision as he helped transform Thunderbird to be what it is today – an exemplary leader in global management education. Thunderbird has truly never been better positioned for the future, thanks to his service. The impact that he has made on this institution will be felt for years to come. We stand stronger than ever as T-birds, united as we usher in the next chapter of our history,” said Marius Haas ’91, Jimmy Masrin ’87, and Karen Simon ’83, co-chairs of the Thunderbird Global Alumni Network Advisory Council. “As alumni, we look forward to working with university leadership as they commence the global search for Thunderbird’s next leader.”
Under Khagram’s leadership, Thunderbird was globally recognized as No. 1 in international trade, according to the 2023 QS International Trade Rankings, ahead of Cambridge, Stanford and Harvard, as well as regained its No. 1 ranking by Times Higher Education/Wall Street Journal for its Master of Global Management degree.
“I have been with Thunderbird for over 30 years and experienced several recreations of the organization. When we found ourselves on the brink of closing our doors, we knew we needed to find someone who could lead a transformation and Sanjeev came in and re-invented Thunderbird,” said Mary Teagarden, deputy dean of Knowledge Enterprise and professor of global strategy at Thunderbird. “Thunderbird now has a bright future ahead of it that it did not have when he came in. I am beholden to Sanjeev for everything he has done for Thunderbird.”
Khagram shepherded the school’s transition to ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus from its 70-year-plus historic home on a former military airfield in Glendale. Khagram led the school through that nostalgically sensitive departure and was instrumental in the design of the new Thunderbird Global Headquarters in downtown Phoenix, as well as the fundraising for it and many of its high-tech features.
“Leading an academic institution is hard at the best of times, but it is uniquely complex under challenging conditions. Dean Khagram took the helm of Thunderbird during such challenges. His dedication, creativity, resilience, and hard work have resulted in the new Thunderbird: Thriving, confident, global, and impactful. Today’s Thunderbird enjoys the reputation and the standing that it deserves, its historical mandate,” said Mansour Javidan, Garvin Distinguished Professor and executive director of the Najafi Global Mindset Institute at Thunderbird. “On a personal note, I have the highest respect for him and as a scholar in leadership, I have learned much from him. My best wishes for the next phase of his career.”
Khagram will continue to serve as Thunderbird’s dean and director general until the global search for his successor has been finalized.
