Faculty directory

Homi Patel

Marketing

Adjunct Professor of Marketing

Portrait of Homi Patel, Faculty at the Kellogg School of Management
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312-543-8013
Jacobs Center Room 487

Homi B. Patel is retired Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and director of Hartmarx Corporation. After obtaining an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University in New York and spending four years at Corbin Ltd. Homi joined Hartmarx Corporation (HMX – NYSE) as Vice President and General Manager for the company’s Fashionaire Division. He held various marketing and divisional positions leading to his appointment as President in 1992, Chief Operating Officer in 1993, Chief Executive Officer in 2002 and Chairman in 2004.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the Amalgamated Life Insurance Company and is a Trustee of the National Retirement Fund. He is a former director of Mrs. Fields Cookies, TCBY yoghurt and Neways Corporation.

Homi serves the larger apparel industry as President of the Clothing Manufacturers Association of America and Chief Labor Negotiator for the industry.

Homi’s other civic activities include serving as a global advisory Board member of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, a director of the Chicago Botanic Garden, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Lake Forest Hospital . He is a past trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, the Jane Addams Hull House, the University of South Carolina School of Hospitality, and the Lake Forest Country Day School. Among his various recognitions, Homi has received the Good Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America, the American Heritage Award from the Anti-Defamation League and was the keynote speaker and recipient of the Delta Pi Epsilon Distinguished Lecturer Award at the National Business Education Association Convention.

Homi lives in Lake Forest, Illinois, with his wife, Anne, and has two sons and a daughter.

  • BS, Economics, University of Bombay
    MBA, 1974, Marketing and Finance, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University

C Suite and Boardroom Dynamics (MKTG-478-0)

This course deals with a wide variety of subjects that are a top priority for Boards of Directors, CEOs and others in the C-Suite. It will expose you to how boards function, what their responsibilities are, and how an effective CEO manages so many diverse roles where financial, legal, social and ethical priorities are constantly in conflict. There are two modules in this class: Module One: Understanding the Boardroom Topics Include: - Roles and Responsibilities of the Board - Corporate Governance - Succession Planning - Activists in the Boardroom - Crisis Management - Corporate Social Responsibility - Diversification and Acquisition - How Great Companies Collapse - Keeping Strategies and Brands Relevant Module Two: You as a CEO - Leadership Skills Designed to build skills in the "gray" areas of management, you will play the role of a decision maker facing conflicting responsibilities, ambiguous standards and ethical conflicts. Topics Include: - Managing Change - Ethical Dilemmas - Human Behavior - Group Dynamics - Negotiation Skills - Conflict Management This course includes a mixture of case discussions, lectures, role-playing and weekly discussion of current events. It deals with several discrete topics holistically with emphasis on the practical realities in the C-Suite and the Boardroom. It is a particularly useful platform of learning for students who wish to understand the "real world" implications of being in the C-Suite. Unlike most classes, the subjects are non-linear and do not necessarily build on each other. There will be a number of guest speakers at the C-level.

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