Dr. Noam Wasserman Appointed Dean of Sy Syms School of Business, Effective May 2019

Dr. Noam Wasserman was appointed Dean of the Sy Syms School of Business, effective May 2019, President Ari Berman announced via email on Monday, March 4, 2019. Wasserman has served as a professor at Harvard Business School for 13 years and the Lemann Chair in Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California (USC).

“Dr. Wasserman embodies the values for which Yeshiva University stands,” wrote President Berman in his email. “His appointment represents our commitment to growing the quality of our education, preparing our students for great success in the marketplace of tomorrow and bringing Jewish values to the world.”

The search for a new Dean of Syms began in August 2018, when a job posting for the position was published by YU. Current Interim Dean Michael Strauss, who has served as Interim Dean since July 2017, will assume the position of Associate Dean, following the appointment of Dr. Wasserman.

Wasserman’s research has been published in top academic journals such as Management Science and Strategic Management Journal, and national periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and Forbes Magazine. His two books, published in 2012 and 2018, have both been bestsellers.

After growing up in Los Angeles, Wasserman spent a year learning at Yeshivat Sha’alvim. He then studied at the undergraduate level at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a BSE in computer science and engineering, as well as a BSECON in corporate finance and strategic management from the Wharton School at Penn in 1992. He then worked in consulting for several years, before returning to school to receive an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1999 and a PhD from Harvard University in 2002.

Wasserman was an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, from 2003 to 2016. Since 2016, he has worked at University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business, serving as Chair in Entrepreneurship and Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship.

“Dr. Wasserman is an incredible fit who will carry forward our mission and values into the future,” said Dean Michael Strauss. “The new Dean is the right person at the right time, to lead the charge. I am very honored and excited to partner with him as we navigate the future of Sy Syms”

Wasserman and his wife Chana have eight children and two grandchildren. They currently live in Brookline, Massachusetts.

This article has been updated since its initial publication.

Photo Caption: Dr. Noam Wasserman
Photo Credit: USC Marshall School of Business