Dr. Archana Shukla, a distinguished academic leader and scholar in the field of organisational behaviour, is the Director of Hari Shankar Singhania School of Business (HSB). Prior to joining HSB, she served as the Director of the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM Lucknow) where she led major institutional initiatives focused on academic excellence, culture building, policy innovation and strategic engagement with government and industry.

With over three decades of academic and leadership experience, Dr. Shukla brings a rare blend of scholarly depth and institution-building acumen. A PhD in Psychology from IIT Kanpur, she has spent a major part of her academic career at IIM Lucknow, shaping minds and influencing the strategic direction of one of India’s flagship management institutions. Prior to joining IIM Lucknow, she occupied teaching and research roles at Allahabad University, Centre for Organisation Development in Hyderabad and Xavier Institute of Management in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Dr. Shukla’s approach to academic leadership is grounded in three core principles: providing individuals with space for experimentation, fostering institution building through shared vision and collegial culture, and promoting inclusive management to ensure stakeholder commitment and institutional evolution.

Her tenure at IIM Lucknow is a testament to these ideals — whether through her efforts in integrating cultures and processes across IIM Lucknow’s Noida and Lucknow campuses, conducting capacity building programmes like ‘Manthan’ for top government officials and policymakers, or mentoring the next generation of research scholars.

Research & Publications

A renowned scholar in the fields of knowledge management, team dynamics, strategic thinking and organisational learning, Dr. Shukla is the co-author of the acclaimed book Designing Knowledge Management Architecture: How to Implement Successful Knowledge Management Programmes (Response Books, 2002), which has become a reference and textbook across several business schools in India.

Her research has informed both public policy and corporate practice, especially in areas of leadership development, employee engagement and good governance.

Dr. Shukla has authored over 20 academic articles, more than seven book chapters, and 10 case studies on topics ranging from public-private partnership in e-Governance to knowledge management at Bharti Televentures and good governance at Regional Passport Office, Lucknow, among others.

Advisory Roles

In her illustrious career, Dr. Shukla has served on numerous governing boards, including the Boards of IIIT Allahabad, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), Uttar Pradesh Social Audit Organisation and Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management Society. She is on the Academic Councils of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development in Tamil Nadu and Jaipuria Institute of Management in Lucknow, besides being an AICTE representative on the Board of Governors of Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur and Member of the Research Steering Committee for Social Sciences and Humanities (RSC-SSH), University of Hyderabad.

Dr. Shukla has advised a wide spectrum of public and private sector organisations through management development programmes and consulting. Some of the organisations that have benefited from her expertise included Samsung, KPMG, Hero MotoCorp, GMR Group, Roche Diagnostics, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Axis Bank, ONGC, State Bank of India, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and the Reserve Bank of India.

While her management development programmes focus on team building, managerial effectiveness, developing a strategic mindset, and general management and leadership development, she offers consulting in areas of culture building, team building, coaching, and mentoring and assessment, among others.

Awards & Honours

At IIM Lucknow, Dr. Shukla was the recipient of a prestigious research award — Dr. Ishwar Dayal Chair for Futuristic Issues in the Behavioral Sciences — for a period of two years, from 2015 – 2017.

Among her many accolades, she was honoured with the Change Maestro and Institution Builder of the Year, 2020 by Industry Academia Conference (IAC), the Femina Spark Award (2021-22), Bharat Asmita Acharya Shreshtha Award (2023), and LMA Outstanding Management Professional Award 2019.

As the Director of HSB, Dr. Shukla is steering the business school into becoming a hub of innovation, ethical leadership, and a centre of excellence for global business education and research that can shape the next generation of changemakers.