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INSEAD inaugurates a chair in environmental sustainability

INSEAD inaugurates a chair in environmental sustainability

INSEAD inaugurates a chair in environmental sustainability

INSEAD, the Business School for the World, today announced the Bianca and James Pitt Chair in Environmental Sustainability. The generous donation from James Pitt, MBA’94D and his wife Bianca enabled the school to establish the Chair, a first in its field.

The Chair demonstrates INSEAD’s ongoing commitment to address the critical environmental issues business and society are facing. It will support knowledge creation targeted at sustainable operations management, the circular economy, and extended producer responsibility. Professor Atalay Atasu will serve as the first Chair holder in recognition of his teaching and research in this area. The gift is evidence that INSEAD alumni endorse the school’s commitment to address sustainable business and societal impact in light of the environmental crisis.

Ilian Mihov, Dean of INSEAD, said: “We are grateful to our alumni for their support. The Bianca and James Pitt Chair in Environmental Sustainability underpins INSEAD’s vision of business as a force for good. Many of our twenty-first-century challenges cannot be addressed by governments or NGOs alone. Business leaders must rise to the challenge – integrating sustainability, responsibility, and impact directly into the decisions they make. Concrete research, geared towards solutions, holds a great potential to accelerate progress towards a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future.”

The new Chair supports INSEAD’s Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society in pursuit of the school’s mission to develop leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs who align the interests of their organizations with pressing societal and environmental challenges.

Bianca and James Pitt said: “We are delighted to be able to support INSEAD and its Hoffmann Institute for Business and Society in the establishment of this Chair in Environmental Sustainability. The world faces an unprecedented environmental crisis, which will require the full engagement of business if environmental solutions are to be found in time. We believe that INSEAD is uniquely placed to work with and educate business leaders to address this exceptional challenge and opportunity.”

Atalay Atasu obtained a Ph.D. in Management from INSEAD in 2007. He went on to teach at the Georgia Institute of Technology Scheller School of Business, where he is Dunn Family Professor and Professor of Operations Management. He has recently been elected as the President of the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (M&SOM) Society. He also won the M&SOM Society Award for Responsible Research in Operations Management in 2019.

Atasu said, “It is an honour to assume this distinguished position. I look forward to continuing to contribute top-notch research on sustainable operations management, circular economy, and extended producer responsibility.”

About INSEAD, The Business School for the World

As one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society. Our research, teaching and partnerships reflect this global perspective and cultural diversity.

With locations in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi), and now North America (San Francisco), INSEAD's business education and research spans four regions. Our 162 renowned Faculty members from 40 countries inspire more than 1,300 degree participants annually in our Master in Management,  MBAGlobal Executive MBA, Specialised Master’s degrees (Executive Master in Finance and Executive Master in Change) and PhD programmes. In addition, more than 10,000 executives participate in INSEAD Executive Education programmes each year.

INSEAD continues to conduct cutting-edge research and innovate across all our programmes. We provide business leaders with the knowledge and awareness to operate anywhere. Our core values drive academic excellence and serve the global community as The Business School for the World.

Contacts for press: 

Aileen Huang
Tel +65 9008 3812
Email: [email protected]
Cheryl Ng
Tel +65 8750 0788
Email: [email protected]
Gwenaelle Hennequin
Tel +33 6 15 12 10 86
Email: [email protected]