25 May 2023
The Case Centre pays tribute to case author Professor J Barkev Kassarjian.
The Case Centre was deeply saddended to learn that IMD Professor Emeritus of Strategy and Organization, J Barkev Kassarjian has passed away after a short illness.
JB joined the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in the mid 1980s with a joint appointment at Babson College, where he served as Professor of Management and Chairman of the Management Division from 1981 to 1987. Prior to this, he was a faculty member at Harvard Business School.
Throughout his illustrious career he was deeply committed to the case method, both as an instructor, and as the author of many cases and accompanying materials. His case, Shaping Spaarbeleg: Real and Unreal, won a Case Award in the Policy and General Management category in 2000, and his Sony Europa case series, authored with long-time collaborator and colleague Professor Kamran Kashani, was a bestseller in multiple years.
Kamran Kashani commented:
"JB was a true educator dedicated to writing and teaching cases. His classes were nothing short of a theatre of intensive, animated dialectics with JB leading with provocative questions often challenging his students, and even the executive participants, to defend their arguments with facts or own experiences. He was master of the art. He was the MBA students' favourite faculty member winning the "Best Teacher" awards throughout his career."
Committed to case writing to the last, JB was working with co-authors at the American University in Armenia to publish their first case. The case will feature in the upcoming Issue 4 of our Case Focus journal.
Vicky Lester, CEO of The Case Centre, said:
“JB was a talented case teacher and writer who sought to pass on his knowledge and expertise to colleagues new to the field. On behalf of everyone at The Case Centre I send my deepest condolences to JB's family and loved ones, he will be sadly missed.”
Read the tribute from IMD here.
