Soulaymane Kachani

Senior Vice Provost

346 S.W. Mudd

Tel(212) 854-1804
Fax(212) 854-8103

Soulaymane Kachani conducts research in the fields of dynamic pricing, revenue management, machine learning, logistics, supply chain management, algorithmic trading, statistical arbitrage, traffic flow modeling, and transportation analysis. He is an affiliated member of two centers of the Columbia Data Science Institute: The Financial and Business Analytics Center and the Foundations of Data Science Center. He is also an affiliated member of the Columbia Center for Financial Engineering and the Computational Optimization Research Center. He teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the areas of quantitative corporate finance, industrial economics, operations consulting, logistics, pricing, and production and inventory planning.

Soulaymane Kachani serves as Columbia University’s Senior Vice Provost.  In this role, he oversees the development of Columbia University’s teaching, learning, and innovation strategies, supporting schools, colleges, and departments. He spearheads initiatives to enable the University to accelerate the expansion of its innovation in online and hybrid offerings. He also focuses on propelling Columbia’s excellence as a global university, working to enhance existing international academic partnerships and develop new ones, and to make its campuses ever more welcoming to students and scholars from around the world. He assists with budget and administrative planning across the units of the Office of the Provost, and coordinates efforts to enable excellence in all that the University does for its student employees.

Prior to this role, Professor Kachani served as Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation. He led the establishment of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in 2015. The CTL played a key role in the University’s transition to online and HyFlex teaching during the pandemic, and is now an essential resource for faculty and graduate instructors across Columbia. The Provost’s Teaching and Learning Grants program has enabled faculty from all schools to fold new educational methods and technologies into their classrooms and learning environments, and the Science of Learning Research (SOLER) Initiative has developed a vibrant hub for cross-disciplinary research that advances the scholarship of teaching and learning. 

 

Research Interests

PRICING, SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS ANALYTICS, ALGORITHMIC TRADING, OPTIMIZATION, AND MACHINE LEARNING

At Class Day Ceremonies, Professor Kachani was honored with the Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association 2005 Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award for excellence in teaching and devotion to mentoring students, the 2007 Edward and Carole Kim Award for Faculty Involvement for going above and beyond the call of duty to foster student success, and the 2010 Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award for outstanding performance in enhancing diversity in departmental, school and university programs at Columbia. He was also the recipient of the 2012 Egleston Distinguished Service Award for exceptional achievement, leadership and contributions to the excellence of Columbia University.

Prior to joining Columbia in 2003, Professor Kachani was a senior consultant at McKinsey & Company. He has continued to consult to McKinsey, large corporations and startups in the areas of pricing, supply chain management, operations, asset management, and corporate finance.

Professor Kachani received a Diplôme d'Ingénieur in applied mathematics from École Centrale Paris, France, and both a Master of Science and a PhD in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

 

Professional Experience

  • Senior Vice Provost, Columbia University, 2022-Present
  • Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia Engineering, 2013–Present
  • Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, Columbia University, 2014–2021
  • Senior Vice Dean, Columbia Engineering, 2011–2022
  • Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia Engineering, 2008–2012
  • Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia Engineering, 2003–2008

Honors & Awards

  • Knighted by the King of Morocco on July 30, 2015, Morocco's National Day. Inducted to the class of Commander of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite (equivalent to France's Légion d'Honneur), for meritorious service and excellent civil conduct
  • Young Global Leader (YGL), World Economic Forum, 2013–2019. OGL, 2020-Present
  • Egleston Distinguished Service Award, for exceptional achievement, leadership and contributions to the excellence of Columbia University, 2012
  • Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award, for outstanding performance in enhancing diversity in departmental, school and university programs at Columbia, and for marked commitment to diversity, in particular, as a mentor and advisor of women, 2010
  • Edward and Carole Kim Award for Faculty Involvement, for going above and beyond the call of duty to foster student success, Columbia University, 2007
  • Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, for dedication to teaching and devotion to mentoring students, 2005

Selected Publications