David Bach Leaving Yale For IMD

David Bach is leaving Yale SOM to become dean of innovation at IMD

David Bach, a key player in the reinvention of the Yale School of Management under former Dean Ted Snyder, is leaving the school to become dean of innovation and programs at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland. He will join the faculty of the European school on July 1, the beginning of the next academic year.

Bach was one of two early Snyder recruits, along with Wharton’s Anjani Jain, in 2012 who with the former dean were instrumental in the school’s rise in influence and reputation. Bach had been dean of programs at IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, and became a senior associate dean for SOM’s executive MBA and global programs in September of 2012. He was the point person for Snyder’s most ambitious initiatives, the launch and build-out of the Global Network for Advanced Management.

In a Feb. 25th email to the SOM community, Dean Kerwin Charles called the news of Bach’s forthcoming departure “bittersweet” and praised him for his contributions to the school. “David has shaped SOM in so many ways since his arrival in 2012,” wrote Charles. “Thanks to his efforts, the school is more global and meaningfully connected around the world through the Global Network.”

‘BACH HAS HELPED BROADEN THE SCHOOL’S REACH AND IMPACT’

The brainchild of former Dean Snyder, the global network is a collaborative venture with 30 business schools around the world, including HEC Paris, UC-Berkeley Haas, ESMT Berlin, EGADE Business School in Mexico, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Individual schools in the network put on courses that can be taken by students at any of the network schools online and in person during global network weeks. The initiative allows for MBA students to also work in virtual teams with classmates from all over the world.

Charles, a University of Chicago economist who succeeded Snyder last July, noted that Bach “has helped broaden the school’s reach and impact beyond the full-time MBA through a portfolio of innovative and mission-aligned degree and non-degree programs. And he has provided critical leadership for major strategic initiatives, from Yale Center Beijing to, most recently, playing a key role in securing the gift that is bringing the Broad Center to SOM. David is admired by students, appreciated by staff, respected by his faculty colleagues, and trusted by university leadership. It would be insincere to pretend that his departure will not leave important voids.”

The dean noted that while Bach assumes his new role at IMD, he will stay connected to SOM as a senior advisor to Charles on major initiatives, including the buildout of SOM’s digital programs. “He will also teach in key SOM programs, including those associated with the Broad Center, primarily during the summer,” added Charles. “Lastly, IMD is a member of the Global Network and David’s new responsibilities in Lausanne will include working with us and other member schools to advance programmatic innovation, particularly in executive education.”

Charles also praised Bach for his recruitment of “a group of extraordinary professionals who will advance SOM’s important work in the key areas that he has overseen. This includes Camino de Paz’s leadership of the Global Network, Wendy Tsung’s stewardship of the MBA for Executives, Kavitha Bindra’s role as the head of Executive Education, and Carol Li Rafferty’s leadership of Yale Center Beijing. I will seek their input, along with that of other school leaders, to inform my decisions regarding how to best guide and support their work and that of their teams going forward.”

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