R.A. Farrokhnia, Faculty Director

Teaches at Actors Connection New York

Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School
Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia Engineering

With joint appointments at the Schools of Business and Engineering, Prof. Farrokhnia’s academic endeavors center on the integration of industrial, operational, and business analyses with practical development and deployment of inventive, design-centric solutions. He also serves at a lecturer and board member of Columbia Journalism School’s Knight-Bagehot Program.

Prof. Farrokhnia is currently the Founder and Executive Director of a multi-disciplinary program at Columbia University, blending business, engineering, design, and storytelling as the fundamental building blocks of impactful ideas and startups. He is also the founder of an Applied Solutions, Data Analytics, and Design DevLab as well as a new ventures launch platform in New York.
He attended Columbia University for both his undergraduate and graduate studies and has extensive global professional experience, including long-term residency abroad and fluency in several languages.