Padma Bhushan awardee and eminent cardiac surgeon Devi Prasad Shetty has been appointed the chairperson of the Indian Institutes of Management Bangalore's Board of Governors.

The decision was taken by the Board of Governors of IIM-Bangalore at its 167th meeting held on October 9. Shetty assumed charge on October 22 and his term of office is four years. "It is a great privilege and an honour to serve as chairperson of the Board of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Over the years, IIM-B has grown to become India's leading management institute that attracts the best and brightest students from across the country. The alumni of this institution are sought after by leading companies from across the world, including my own," he said.

"Surgeons are like artists and we approach the world through feel, touch and instinct. However, the world of business is more complicated than an open chest, and only the devotees of technology who can synthesize multiple data points will be able to make good decisions," Shetty added.

He founded the Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH), a hospital group with pan-India presence of 32 hospitals. He was also nominated to the Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India between 2010 and 2011 and was tasked with reforming medical education and medical practice. He was elected representative of the President of India in the Board of Governors of Indira Gandhi National Open University and launched a Diploma in Community Cardiology programme to train 2,000 specialists for treating heart patients in rural India.

Shetty also launched India's first telemedicine programme, in partnership with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), to offer cardiac care across remote locations in India and Africa. This programme treated over 53,000 patients free of cost.