Story by contributing writer, Griffin Warlow
Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business is preparing for growth and welcoming a new leader. Dr. Anil Menon was named dean on June 9th, succeeding Dr. Deborah Crown.
“I appreciate the opportunity to be here and the trust that the trustees, the president, and the faculty have put in me,” he told the32789.
His academic experience includes the Texas Tech University Graduate School of Business, where he was an associate professor and achieved tenure. He moved on to Emory University’s Goizueta Business School as part of the graduate teaching faculty. The research for his doctoral dissertation was conducted at the Strategic Planning Institute in Cambridge.
Menon left Goizueta Business School in 1994 to serve in the business sector. His resume includes companies such as Cisco and IBM and most recently for Atlanta-based Sharecare, Inc. from 2021-23.
He also served The Prince of Wales – now King Charles III – as a senior advisor on sustainable markets. Menon also helped advise him on Urbanism, a lifelong project and something that Menon said remains a passion since Charles became King.
“He’s an extraordinarily warm person,” said Menon. “Who you see as HRH the Prince of Wales is a very different person when you see him in his office.”
Menon fondly reflected on the time he suggested his daughter write to Prince Charles; she received a handwritten note in less than a week. “This is a guy that gets a thousand letters a day, but also took the time to write back to [my daughter],” he said. “Even now that he is the King, he is still very committed.”
Being offered his new position at Crummer was a move that Menon described as “serendipitous.” While not officially searching for a professional change, Menon had considered the idea of returning to education. “I couldn’t see myself going back as a full-time professor, but a dean would be an interesting combination of an executive role with an academic context.”
He is also looking forward to working at a smaller college, noting that Rollins is big enough to make meaningful changes, but not so big that changes cannot happen. “It is the perfect connection between a small school and a big idea,” he said, adding that he is focused on building a world-class learning environment. In addition to soliciting comments and insight from community leaders, Menon wants to broaden the meaning of business education to fit evolving industry landscapes. “I think the future of business education is ready for a transformation.”
To that end, Rollins plans a new Crummer addition for its Innovation Triangle project. The 47,138-square-foot building will be located next to a new Rollins Museum of Art facility, and Menon is excited for the new space and what it means for the program.
“The space is a manifestation of what we are trying to accomplish for Crummer and trying to accomplish at Rollins,” he said, adding that his goal for Crummer’s growth is “to attract people and build something that is worth coming to; a place where leaders can learn.”
