Caesar is joined by Madhav Rajan to discuss his journey to becoming dean of the Chicago Booth School of Business and how Madhav has factored the risks and rewards of a career in academia.

Madhav started out as a faculty member at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, before teaching at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and finally joining the Chicago Booth School of Business as its dean. Madhav shares transparently about the transition from working as a faculty member to serving as a dean, including how he calculated the impact the career leap would have on his family.

As dean, Madhav said he is the face of the school, driving fundraising, managing alumni relations and more. He breaks down what type of students are drawn to the Chicago Booth School of Business and the newly launched master’s in management and master’s in finance programs.

Madhav also unpacks his experience serving as Director of BlackRock's iShares, Inc. While the position took him by surprise, he came to understand that his role on the board capitalized on his accounting background as he represented investors and measured profitability. Ultimately, Madhav said, being a board member is all about people skills. He now also serves on the boards of CM Capital Corporation and WellBe Holdings.

Madhav shares his approach to personal finances and how his career intersected with his partner’s career and parenting. He discusses how tenure, faculty housing and diversifying investments all informed his financial planning over the years. As listeners consider the next steps in their professional or academic path, Madhav encourages them to always be learning and have resilience.

Madhav Rajan: Factoring the Risks and Rewards of a Career in Academia