The burgeoning economies of the East are changing the way the world does business. At The University of Western Ontario, a new guru of Asian business and joint ventures is steering the Richard Ivey School of Business towards the future.
“India and China represent one-third of the world’s population, but the average Canadian knows very little about them,” says Charles Dhanaraj, a new Indian-born associate professor of management at Ivey. He believes we have as much to learn from Asian corporations as they do from us.
Dhanaraj is internationally recognized for his teaching and research on joint ventures, management and transitioning economies. He has received dozens of awards and grants, spoken at conferences in North America, Europe and Asia, and been published in top-rated journals, including the Journal of International Business Studies.
All of this comes from a man who describes himself as an “accidental academic.”
“I never wanted to teach,” says Dhanaraj, recalling his three sisters, all teachers in India. “Life is pretty hard for them.”
Growing up near Madras, India, he was educated in robotics at the Indian Institute of Technology. Originally an engineer, he always wanted to be an entrepreneur.
“Technology was interesting, but I thought I should run a company.”
All was going according to plan, but a teaching stint in Singapore in 1992 changed everything. Dhanaraj had discovered his calling.
“Once I started teaching, I really liked it.”
Almost 16 years after discovering his passion, he has taught in Canada, the United States, and Denmark, but is still excited by teaching. He loves to “internationalize” his students and improve their outlook on the world beyond the West – exactly why he is a valuable asset to Ivey’s new focus on Asia.
“When you teach, what really drives you is the student.”
Dhanaraj fondly remembers the change in some of his students when he taught at the Kelley School of Business in Indiana.
“The world stops at Ohio for most of those students, and the farthest trip they’ve ever taken is Florida. You literally see the transition from ignorance and apathy to appreciation and excitement.”
Colleagues like Paul Beamish, a professor at Ivey, are excited to work with him.
“He’s a really bright guy, extremely hard-working; he has an absolute abundance of ideas,” says Beamish. “He’s is a builder; someone who really wants to make a difference.”
Dhanaraj’s research is often geared towards joint ventures, where two companies from different parts of the world – even competitors and bitter rivals – become partners to share ideas and expertise, greatly reducing the risk of losses.
“Partnering is the best thing to do,” he says. “It reduces all the negative factors.”
Though much of his time is spent on work, he is Catholic and devotes some of his free time to the church. “Religion is not my life, but it helps me keep focus,” he says. Helping others is a priority for Dhanaraj, an idea that is reflected in his love of teaching. “Life is about giving.”
Family is also very important to Dhanaraj, whose wife teaches chemistry at Indiana University, where his son is a student. He also has a daughter who works for Google. He maintains strong relationships, even though living in different places.
“It is impossible to think of life as a nationalist,” says Dhanaraj, who has lived and worked in so many different places that he thinks of himself as a global citizen.
Even still, he points out that London is like a home away from home to him, and that now he and his wife hope to make it their home for good. “Once my wife moves, we can really start living a full life here.”
Charles Dhanaraj
Education: Bachelor of Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, 1982;
Master of Engineering in Robotics, Memorial University, 1990; MBA, Wilfrid Laurier University, 1992; PhD, Ivey School of Business, 2000
Favorite Food: Thai
Favorite academic subject: Algebra & geometry
Lived and worked: India, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Denmark, United States
The writer is a graduate student studying Journalism. This feature profiles faculty members hired over the past two years.