Monica Rakesh Khanna - K J Somaiya Institute of Management

Professor Emeritus in Marketing and International Business at K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai, India (starting this position from 1^st Dec 2025).

Former Director & Dean at K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai (April 2015-July 2025). With 30+ years of experience in Academia and 4 years Industry Experience in Engineering & Industrial Automation with Siemens Ltd, Mumbai. The area of teaching and research specializations includes Strategic Brand Management, Internationalization and International Marketing, Services Marketing & Management, Strategic Marketing Management and Basic Marketing, Sustainable Business Practices.

I joined K J Somaiya Institute of Management as Lecturer in Nov 1995 and grew through the ranks to become its Director from April 2015 to Nov 2022, and also appointed as Dean of Management Studies after the formation of Somaiya Vidyavihar University from Aug 2021 to Dec 2022. As academic administrator at K J Somaiya Institute of Management, I focused on building quality by leading the Institute to achieve the globally coveted US based AACSB international accreditation in May 2022, NIRF Rankings in Top 100, NBA accreditations for its various PGDM programmes, 10-year Autonomous Status from UGC from 2018-19 to 2028-29, ISO 9001:2015 Bureau Veritas Certification & Re-certification, and building International University Collaborations.

I have been visiting faculty at IIT Bombay SJMSOM, NITIE Mumbai, University of Applied Sciences, Steyr, Upper Austria; DHBW Stuttgart, Germany, UCLL University of Applied Sciences, Leuven, Belgium; and Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg, Russia.

I have continuously pursued my research interests in the areas of  brand management, consumer behavior, emerging markets and sustainable development, and presented papers at national and international conferences, publications in leading ABDC category journals (2 A + 5 B + 4 C) such as Journal of Business Research, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of Promotion Management, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, South Asian Journal of Management, Business Perspectives and Research, reviewer for journal articles and PhD thesis, part of British Council funded international research projects on Sustainability and Circular Economy, SPARC 2023 and GCRF 2019 Projects, writing articles by invitation in various media on topics related to management education, 855 citations as on 9th Jan 2026.

Organized international marketing conferences at K J Somaiya Institute of Management from 2011 to 2015 and attended several training programmes in India and abroad.

I have successfully guided 5 Ph.D Students - 4 Ph.D candidates from University of Mumbai and 1 from BIT Mesra, Ranchi. Currently, I am PhD Guide in Management Studies at Somaiya Vidyavihar University.

I have won jointly with my PhD Student an award for best research paper presented at MICA Ahmedabad in Jan 2022 (INR 4 lakh cash award), case study writing competitions in 2007 & 2008 with cash awards of INR 1 lakh each year held by Aditya V Birla India Centre at the London Business School, awards for excellence in teaching by Bombay Management Association, Higher Education Forum, Somaiya Vidyavihar, Y K Bhushan Award for 100 Most Dedicated Teachers of India. Elected Member of the Exec Council of All India Management Association (AIMA), New Delhi for four consecutive terms from 2015-17 to 2021-23, BMA Executive Council 2009-11, Member of the Board of Governors of MEPSC (Management & Entrepreneurship and Professional Skills Council), New Delhi.

I have traveled abroad to several countries in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain, Switzerland), USA, China, Japan, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kenya, Turkey for teaching, research paper presentations, taking part in conferences, exploring collaboration opportunities for University tie – ups. This has helped me to develop an international perspective for the higher education sector and I tried to implement best practices for development of management education in India. I was invited as one of the panel speakers for G20 Women Empowerment Workshop held by Govt of India on 11^th and 12^th Feb 2023 in Agra, India.

During my tenure as Director at K J Somaiya, I also took the initiative to launch niche MBA programmes like the MBA Healthcare (June 2018), MBA Sports Management (June 2020), MBA Human Resources (June 2020) and MBA Data Science and Analytics (June 2021), creation of the Business Analytics Dept (June 2020), Case Research Centre (Nov 2021) at the Institute. Further, building technology led pedagogy like Bloomberg Lab, Media Analytics Lab, Coursera for Campus along with several e-databases, subscription to Harvard Business Publishing cases, creation of 30 + experiential learning platforms for students and faculty to enable them to engage in multi disciplinary teams in their areas of interest in order to develop their overall confidence and leadership potential, development of holistic self management programme and guide book.