March 2026
A Message from the Incoming Director
Dear Colleagues, Students, and Friends,
I am delighted to be writing to you for the first time since rejoining the Columbia Business School community to lead the Deming Center for Operational Innovation and Excellence. Coming back feels like coming home — I spent ten formative years here as a faculty member, from 2006 to 2016, before a wonderful decade at Stanford GSB. Columbia has always been a special place for me, and returning in this capacity is a true honor.
I want to begin by recognizing Professor Nelson Fraiman '71, whose leadership, vision, warmth, and generosity have shaped the Deming Center into what it is today. Earlier this year, Nelson retired from his roles as Professor of Professional Practice in the Decision, Risk, and Operations Division and Faculty Director of the Deming Center. We are grateful that he will continue teaching as an Adjunct Professor. Nelson joined Columbia Business School in 1995 and, over three decades, he taught the core Operations Management course and several electives, and founded the landmark Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness (EC) programs — ECLA, started for Latin America in 2010, and EC-Africa, started for Africa in 2021.
What Nelson has built — from the Deming Cup and PhD fellowships that foster applied research, to study tours, ECLA, and lectures featuring some of the world's most remarkable business leaders — is nothing short of extraordinary. His heartfelt commitment to bringing academic work to life in practice, in service of people and organizations, will continue to inspire the Deming Center and the broader CBS community. As I take on the responsibility of leading the Deming Center, I do so with deep admiration for his legacy and with humility, grateful for the strong foundation he has created. Join us in celebrating his remarkable contributions, with more celebrations to come.
As we look ahead, our goal is to deepen the Deming Center’s mission of bridging academia and industry in operational innovation and excellence, while expanding its impact across three core pillars: industry engagement, faculty research, and the MBA community. We aim to strengthen industry partnerships, foster high-quality applied research, and deeply engage MBA students—highlighting both the excitement of Operations and the breadth of career opportunities it offers. Our work will focus on foundational operations topics, modern supply chains and manufacturing, and the transformative impact of AI and technology on operations.
Thank you for being part of this community. Exciting things are ahead — stay tuned for our upcoming newsletter with programming and events. I can't wait to see what we build together.
Warm regards,
Gabriel Weintraub