Supply Chain Guru Jimmy Anklesaria Funds Rady School’s First Endowed Presidential Chair

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A gift made by Jennifer and Jimmy Anklesaria and a UC Presidential match established the first endowed faculty chair at the Rady School of Management.

How do supply chain costs impact industry, including Fortune 500 companies?

“The answer to that question changed my entire career,” said Jimmy Anklesaria, one of the world’s most sought-after speakers on cost management. “In 1984 when I was in my early 30s, I was a chartered accountant (a CPA) with a law degree, earning an MBA after having worked for a few years as a C-level officer in a conglomerate owned by my family in India. I thought procurement, which was later called supply chain, was a low level administrative function. Then a professor helped me imagine the financial impact of taking people who have strong backgrounds and are experts in business, finance and manufacturing, and making them responsible for procurement.”

Anklesaria’s passion and mission for the last 33 years has been to refocus industry and bring the supply chain profession to the level that it really deserves in an organization—a seat at the CEO’s table. That passion inspired the Anklesaria family to help establish the Jimmy Anklesaria Presidential Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management. Endowed chairs provide a dedicated source of funds, in perpetuity, for the chair holder’s scholarly activities as well as support for faculty salaries and graduate fellowships. The funds provided by the Anklesaria family will be matched by the University of California Presidential Match for Endowed Chairs.

“Endowed faculty chairs are vital to UC San Diego’s efforts to attract and retain top-flight faculty,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “Donors like Jimmy Anklesaria ensure excellence at our campus today, and contribute to UC San Diego’s innovation and success for future generations.”

Jimmy Anklesaria, FCA, LLB, MBA, is the founder, president and chief executive officer of Anklesaria Group, which specializes in consulting on cost management solutions for Fortune 500 companies. He has been a consultant to such iconic organizations as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Shell Oil and LG Electronics. Author of “Supply Chain Cost Management: The AIM & DRIVE Process for Achieving Extraordinary Results” and co-author of “Zero Base Pricing: Achieving World-Class Competitiveness Through Reduced All-In-Costs,” he has also published multiple articles and cases in leading purchasing and financial journals in the United States and abroad. Since 1985, Anklesaria has taught graduate and undergraduate level courses in strategic cost management, finance, investments and supply chain management.

“I was born and raised an entrepreneur,” said Anklesaria, who has been involved with the Rady School since its inception, including teaching for nearly 10 years. “What I saw in Rady was this MBA program that was, to me, a startup company. I’ve been very fortunate to have been involved with every single cohort since we started. So, I feel I was part of the startup and it allows me, with whatever little I have, to put a stamp on this great company that is now 12 years old.”

The Rady School of Management was founded at UC San Diego in 2003.

Currently, Anklesaria teaches a graduate course in supply chain management. “The thing I love about Rady is that I have this mix of entrepreneurs, biotech specialists, engineers, semiconductor people, defense contractors—I’ve got such a fantastic range of students,” he said. “I don't teach people the tools to become mere analysts. What I tell them is ‘I want you to understand what I did not understand when I was at the C level: the value of supply chain.’ By teaching them these tools I feel it can impact their careers, impact their companies, and impact their stock price.”

He feels the word “supply chain” has been totally misunderstood to mean the logistics of moving product from point A to point B. “And that is totally wrong,” explained Anklesaria. “The supply chain includes everything from design of the product, selecting the sources that you will buy this product or service from, then there’s the actual operation and management of manufacturing, inventory control, logistics and customer service. That’s the whole supply chain.”

“We thank Jimmy Anklesaria and his family for establishing a lasting legacy through the Jimmy Anklesaria Presidential Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan, “An expert in supply chain cost management, Jimmy has been a loyal supporter of the Rady School of Management since its inception—so it’s fitting that our first UC Presidential faculty chair be named after him.”

In the Anklesaria family, philanthropic investment in education is a key focus. The endowed faculty chair at Rady is not their first gift to the school: in 2015, the Anklesaria Endowed Fellowship was established to support the school’s focus on innovation and the education of ethical leaders for innovation-driven organizations. They also helped to fund the construction of the Rady School of Management’s Otterson Hall.

“Education is clearly one of the reasons why we’ve given to Rady, but if you were to ask ‘why Rady,’ the answer is only two words: ‘Dean Sullivan.’ I do not have enough words to describe my appreciation for what Bob has done for this school, and the support he has given to people like us.”

With a focus on talent development, innovation, practices and methods to drive an efficient supply chain, the Rady School of Management aligns with the University of California’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative that aims to leverage the scale and diversity of UC’s ten campuses, five medical centers and three affiliated national labs to build a vibrant and innovative entrepreneurial culture across the system.

Since its founding more than a decade ago, the Rady School has distinguished itself as a pioneer in a new model of business education. The school’s concentration in innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration has led to rapid success—borne out by outstanding achievements of its students, faculty and alumni. To date, there are over 115 Rady School-related startups, generating an estimated $150 million in revenue per year with total employment of over 1,025 people.

“The Rady School is a great opportunity for donors to shape the future, not only at UC San Diego, but also in San Diego, California, the United States, the whole world,” said Anklesaria. “To me, that is compelling. I can’t tell you how excited I am.”

For more information about a philanthropic investment to UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management, visit rady.ucsd.edu/invest.