SANJAY SARMA

Sanjay Sarma, distinguished leader in academia and business, is CEO, President, and Dean of the Asia School of Business. He is also a professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and has a courtesy appointment at the Sloan School of Management. He co-founded the Auto-ID Center at MIT, pioneering the technical concepts and standards of modern RFID. Today, the suite of standards developed by the Auto-ID Center, called EPC, has become a global standard utilized by over a thousand companies. Sarma also previously chaired the Auto-ID Research Council, establishing six labs worldwide. He co-founded OATSystems, later acquired by Checkpoint Systems, and serves on the boards of several companies including Aclara Resources (TSX:ARA) Rekor Systems (NASDAQ:REKR) and GS1. 

Sarma received his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, his Masters from Carnegie Mellon University and his Bachelors from the Indian Institute of Technology. His expertise includes RFID, sensors, manufacturing, autonomy, AI, sustainability and innovation. He has authored over 150 publications and played a key role in India’s Aadhaar unique ID system. Sarma’s contributions have been recognized with multiple awards, including the MIT MacVicar Fellowship and National Science Foundation CAREER Award. He has been honored by Business Week, Fast Company, and RFID Journal for his innovations. 

In addition to his academic achievements, Sarma has been highly influential in education, helping establish Singapore University of Technology and Design, serving as the first Director of Digital Learning at MIT and as the Vice President for Open learning at MIT. His initiatives include MIT Open Learning, MicroMasters, the Jameel World Education Lab, the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative and MIT xPro. Sarma’s multifaceted career is a testament to his commitment to innovation, education, and technological advancement.