NEW YORK – Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger announced today that Dr. Costis Maglaras, a deeply respected academic who has been a consummate presence at Columbia Business School for more than two decades, has been appointed the 16th Dean of Columbia Business School. Dr. Maglaras, the David and Lyn Silfen Professor, will begin his term on July 1, 2019. He succeeds Glenn Hubbard who concludes 15 years as Dean of the Business School and will return to Columbia’s faculty as the Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics.

In announcing the news, President Bollinger remarked: “Costis has consistently demonstrated a commitment to embedding the widely applicable lessons of [his] data-focused scholarship more fully into Columbia’s business education and to supporting related initiatives at the University-level. He is a talented educator and a generous colleague, beloved by his students and peers, and he is known for his thoughtful and probing approach to business pedagogy, grounded in real-world examples, experience and analysis.”

“I am extremely grateful to President Bollinger and the members of the search committee for their trust as I embark on this exciting opportunity,” said Professor Maglaras. “For more than 100 years, Columbia Business School has been educating future business leaders and changing the practice of business across the world. The groundbreaking ideas advanced by our faculty and the innovations of our students and alumni have had a widely recognized impact on industry and society. I am deeply honored to be a part of this continued journey.”

Professor Maglaras believes that Columbia Business School is poised to be a leader in addressing the demanding and rapidly-evolving needs of business in the digital future.

“This is an exciting time to be at Columbia Business School. The proliferation of data and advancement in technology will continue to disrupt business for the foreseeable future. Leaders must be equipped with advanced skills and knowledge to effectively seize new opportunities and thrive in this evolving ecosystem,“ said Professor Maglaras. “We have a strong foundation, and thanks to the intellectual leadership of our faculty, a diverse and engaged alumni population, a position as part of a world-renowned university and a location in the most dynamic business center in the world, Columbia Business School will be the preeminent institution to prepare our students for lifelong career success in the digital future. I look forward to building on the School’s incredible trajectory thus far; realized more fully with our transformative move to the Manhattanville campus.”

A Career of Accomplishments

Professor Maglaras joined the faculty of Columbia Business School in 1998 after earning his MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College, London. A respected collaborator and leader, Professor Maglaras served as Director of the PhD Program from 2011 to 2017; Chair of the Decision, Risk, and Operations Division from 2015 to 2018; and is a member of the Executive Committee of Columbia University’s Data Science Institute since 2016. In 2003 he received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence for the Managerial Statistics course, and in 2018 he received the Dean’s Award for Innovation in the Curriculum for his design and launch of the School’s Technology and Analytics curriculum. Throughout his tenure he has consulted for Fortune 500 companies primarily in the areas of financial market microstructure and quantitative trading.

Professor Maglaras is an award-winning scholar whose interests center on the areas of operations research and data analytics. He is the author of an extensive library of research articles spanning theory and application of stochastic modeling in queueing networks, service systems, quantitative pricing and revenue management, and quantitative finance. His most recent research explores two areas: modern financial market microstructure and quantitative trading; and data analytics, focusing on questions that range from the design of machine learning algorithms to the study of the information diffusion via social networks. He has advised 18 doctoral students in the disciplines of business, engineering and applied mathematics, and several of his former students are now in leadership positions in academia and industry.

A Track Record of Expanding the School’s Digital and Analytics Footprint

Professor Maglaras pioneered the development of the School’s Technology and Analytics curriculum, a first-of-its-kind set of courses designed to help students develop actionable insights based on big data. The curriculum encompasses more than 15 courses ranging from data analytics, coding and computational science to data mapping, machine learning and technology disruption; areas that continue to transform the practice of business across every major sector of industry. These electives currently represent the most sought-after courses at the School.

At the time of the digital curriculum’s launch, Professor Maglaras remarked: “The next generation of business leaders will need to understand the intersection between technology and decision-making in an era of information abundance. Fluency in these areas is increasingly becoming foundational for success in the business world, and yet many business schools are failing to deliver this vital knowledge to their students.”

Professor Maglaras was instrumental in the conception and launch of Columbia’s Master of Science in Business Analytics, a joint program offered by Columbia Business School and Columbia Engineering. The degree program combines a rigorous curriculum grounded in methodological and applications training with an analytics capstone project, an intense real-world consulting engagement where students partner with companies to examine real data sets and develop actionable solutions. Graduates of the program are positioned to serve as leading business analysts and data scientists in fields of financial and professional services, consulting, technology, advertising and media.

A Pivotal Moment in the Business School’s History

Professor Maglaras assumes the deanship of the Business School as it prepares to enter a new era of teaching, scholarly research and community building when it moves into its new facilities on Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus. Spanning more than 490,000 square feet, the Business School will inhabit two new buildings designed to reflect the pace of education and research in the 21st century, the Henry R. Kravis Building and the East Building. The buildings feature spaces that encourage collaboration across disciplines and facilitate social interaction across the community, including flexible classroom space with the latest technology; dedicated spaces for recruiting, events and networking; and a welcome center for alumni.