Mohali, Punjab, India, July 2026 — Chandigarh University has appointed Dr. Vikas Rai Bhatnagar as its Director General. In this leadership role, he will steer the university’s next phase of growth and value creation, with a focus on strengthening academic excellence, fostering innovation, enhancing governance practices and further elevating the institution’s global standing.
Dr. Bhatnagar brings an exceptional blend of leadership experience spanning academia, management consulting, corporate leadership and the armed forces, making him one of India’s distinguished voices in organizational behavior, leadership development and higher education.
Prior to joining Chandigarh University, Dr. Bhatnagar served as Group Leader (India) and Member, Executive Board – Management Consulting Division at the Academy of Management, contributing to advancing global management scholarship by strengthening collaboration between practitioners, consultants and researchers.
He also serves as Faculty (Doctorate of Business Administration) at IPAG Business School, where he teaches doctoral courses in research philosophy, qualitative research methods and organizational behavior.
Alongside his academic responsibilities, Dr. Bhatnagar has been a Gallup Certified Strength Coach for more than 11 years, coaching senior leaders, executives, students and organizations by integrating strengths psychology, executive coaching and organizational behavior research to enhance leadership effectiveness.
Earlier, he served as Visiting Faculty at Indian Institute of Management Indore for over 14 years, teaching Positive Psychology in Organizations and sharing his action research with postgraduate students.
Dr. Bhatnagar also founded Hyperspace Action Research Services, where, for approximately three years, he advised organizations on action research, organizational effectiveness, leadership development and positive organizational change.
Previously, he served as Professor – General Management and Chairperson, Fellow Programme in Management at Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, where he strengthened doctoral education, organized international research initiatives and contributed to management thought leadership.
Before transitioning into academia, Dr. Bhatnagar built a distinguished corporate HR leadership career, serving in senior executive roles with Shree Cement Limited, Spark Minda, JK Organisation, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Bayer Crop Science, General Electric and Gunnebo Steelage Industries Limited, where he led transformative HR, leadership development and organizational effectiveness initiatives. Earlier in his career, he served for more than eight years as a Captain in the Indian Army, gaining invaluable leadership experience across operational and strategic assignments.
Dr. Vikas Rai Bhatnagar earned a Fellow in Management (Doctorate) in Organizational Behavior from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, where his doctoral research focused on conceptualizing employee strengths at work and examining their mediating effects on leadership styles and employee performance. He also holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from Indira Gandhi National Open University.
About Chandigarh University
Chandigarh University is one of India’s fastest-growing private universities and is ranked 19th among Indian universities in the NIRF Rankings. The university is also the No. 1 QS Asia-ranked private university in India, with more than 2,400 faculty members and students representing over 68 nationalities. It has earned strong national rankings across Architecture & Planning, Pharmacy, Engineering and Management while achieving a QS World University Ranking of 526, reflecting its growing global reputation for academic excellence and innovation.
Read Also : When HR “Produces Nothing”: A Response to Jennifer Sey’s Anti-HR Vision
The Fine Balance: Navigating Work, Life, and Mental Wellbeing
Mind the Leadership Gap – From Learning to Real-World Impact
How the Adecco Group is empowering its employees for the future of work
