Head of School

A renowned and respected educator, award-winning teacher, thought leader in the fields of business and entrepreneurship, and Torah scholar, Dr. Wasserman comes to Ramaz from Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business, where he served as dean for the past five years. Dr. Wasserman also spent 13 years at Harvard Business School as professor of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship. 

Dr. Wasserman’s educational philosophy is rooted in using innovative strategies and teaching methods to prepare students to be Torah-grounded, intellectually curious, and socially responsible Jews who will thrive in college, in the workplace, in their communities, and beyond. Among his many accomplishments at YU, Dr. Wasserman developed and implemented curricular innovations, attracted top faculty, led the development of a distinctive mission statement, increased undergraduate enrollment by 32%, increased the number of donors by about 85% each year, and wrote extensively on behalf of the school.

Heavily invested in early Jewish education, Dr. Wasserman was the founding chairman of the Board at Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael High School in Boston, MA, and was chairman of the Board at Torah Academy of Boston Elementary School in Brookline, MA. Prior to leading YU’s Sy Syms School of Business, Dr. Wasserman was a professor at Harvard and then at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, where he founded and built a new center focused on founder research and education.

Dr. Wasserman received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with High Honors as a Baker Scholar. As an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, he received his B.S.E. in Computer Science and Engineering and a B.S.E. in Finance and Management from the Wharton School of Business. Dr. Wasserman is frequently sought out as a conference keynote speaker, podcast guest, and scholar-in-residence at schools and synagogues, where he discusses “Torah U’Business”: how we should bring together the insights from our mesora/Torah with modern entrepreneurial and business thinking to make unique and impactful contributions to the world. Dr. Wasserman is the best-selling author of The Founder’s Dilemmas and Life Is a Startup and his articles on business management have been published in numerous publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Barron’s. 

Dr. Wasserman is the proud parent of eight children and 11 grandchildren. His wife, Dr. Chana Wasserman, is chief of Ob/Gyn at MIT Health in Cambridge, MA. Dr. Wasserman is passionate about learning Gemara and is in the midst of his fourth Daf Yomi cycle, having made his third Siyum HaShas just before Rosh Hashanah 2023 to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of Daf Yomi.