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Recently, Old Dominion University appointed Kuntal Bhattacharyya, Ph.D., as the first Director of the new School of Supply Chain, Logistics and Maritime Operations (SSCLMO).
Dr. Bhattacharyya joins SSCLMO from Indiana State University where he served as the project director of the Logistics 4.0 Innovation Hub@Plainfield. Previously he was the Scott College of Business School’s executive director of graduate programs and chair of the department of marketing and operations.
Bhattacharyya, is a certified risk manager, holding a doctorate in operations management from Kent State University and a master’s in management from the University of Akron.
He has extensive experience of 17 years in academia including designing a new curriculum that aligned with the needs of Midwest manufacturing corridors; the development of an advisory board and a new center for supply management research; creation of an online MBA program that experienced 150% growth year-to-year; corporate fundraising; and forging partnerships with international companies such as GEODIS, Toyota Material Handling, Eli Lilly and North American Lighting.
He began his career with The Timken Company, a multi-national producer of bearings and steel. He was a global sourcing analyst, managed $2 billion capital budgets and charted global sourcing strategies.
“I always wanted to be in the industry first before I could take my two cents of knowledge into the classroom,” he said, noting that when he was an MBA student, his professor and mentor planted the seed of a career in academia.
“Leveraging our strategic location, the SSCLMO will work closely with maritime, supply chain and logistics companies to support the shipbuilding and ship repair, transportation and defense industries as well as others to best prepare our students for exciting careers that are so vital to our country’s blue economy,” said Elspeth McMahon, Old Dominion’s associate vice president for maritime initiatives.
“Dr. Bhattacharyya brings experience in strategic sourcing, supply chain management, financial economics, humanitarian logistics, and Industry 4.0 applications in manufacturing to lead the new school, which will prepare students for impactful careers in the supply chain and maritime industry,” said ODU Provost Brian K. Payne.
Bhattacharyya always emphasize the importance of rigorous training, a constant willingness to learn and a strong realization that it is an intertwined world, to be successful in supply chain management.
