C K Prahalad: Distinguished Thinker and Visionary Passes Away

An Insight into the life of the Eminent Global Indian

( August 8, 1941 – April 17, 2010)

"Prahalad's brilliance was dazzling. He was widely acclaimed as one of the most
influential management thinkers ever and his contribution to modern business theory and
practice was invaluable....We will miss him as a very fine human being and someone who
we could turn to for advice and guidance on many important matters."

Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India

CKP, as the affable, gentlemanly Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad was known in industry
circles, is no longer in our midst. The thinker, known for his powerful and mesmerising
oration and world-famous strategies captivated all.
He was an eminent management expert and visionary who gave his might to the industry
community through his vivid, yet crystal-clear thoughts and opinions.

The Management Guru: His Values and Virtues

After graduating in physics from Loyola College, Chennai, Prahalad worked four years
for Union Carbide before his post-graduation in management at Indian Institute of
Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

His doctorate thesis on multinational companies (MNCs) at Harvard proposed a

contrasting approach to Mike Porter’s market entry strategies. His radical concepts such
as ‘core competencies’, ‘strategic intent’ and ‘co-creation’ are being adopted as
management mantras by top global companies across the world.

Post his doctorate, for a considerable stretch of time, he taught at his alma mater, IIM
before joining the University of Michigan as a professor in the year 1977. As a teacher of
strategy at the University of Michigan, he mentored and energised hundreds of students
who incorporated his principles into their daily work. Prof Prahalad was always
approachable, affable and generous with his advice and suggestions. He was an
inspirational and lucid speaker and his powerful messages motivated his listeners.

C K Prahalad propounded the well-known Bottom of Pyramid (BoP) theory in his book
“The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profit”, which
revolutionised private sector participation in poverty alleviation, and redefined the power
of innovation.

He believed in India’s potential to become a source of global innovations. His efforts

succeeded in India becoming the centre of global recognition. Prof Prahalad was amongst
the first to recognise and publicise the immense innovation and social transformation
taking place in India.

Stickler for punctuality and with a deep sense of commitment, he went ahead with his
The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) lectures at Chicago and Atlanta, despite the raging
neighbourhood forest fires that put his own home to danger. He was a passionate art
lover.

The soft-spoken Tamilian was an overseas Indian resident of San Diego, near Atlanta in
the US. He is survived by his wife, Gayatri and two children, Deepa and Murali, and his
grand-children, with whom he made it a point to spend quality time, despite his busy
schedule.

An Outstanding Personality: His Achievements

Prahalad was a distinguished professor of corporate strategies at Ross School of

Business, University of Michigan and author of innumerable critically acclaimed articles.
He was rated number one in the Thinkers50 (the most influential thinkers in management
alive today) poll conducted by Suntop Media and the Times of London. His book on BoP
was rated as one of the best books of the year 2004 by ‘The Economist’, ‘Fast Company’
and ‘Amazon.com’. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of TiE, a global
organisation devoted to democratising entrepreneurship.

He has been honoured for his contributions with a Life-Time Achievement Award by the
Ross School of Business. He received honorary doctorates from the University of London
(Economics), Stevens Institute of Technology (Engineering), University of Abertay,
Dundee (Business) and University of Tilberg (Business).
In 2009, he was awarded the leading Pravasi Bharatiya Sammaan award. In the same
year, he was also conferred with Padma Bhushan civilian award by the Government of
India in recognition of his contributions.

He was on the Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council for Overseas Indians,
constituted to draw upon the experience and knowledge of eminent people of Indian
origin in diverse fields from across the world.

Prof Prahalad was a true friend, mentor and guide. Two years ago on 8th May 2008, CII
launched the “India@75” in the presence of an elite gathering.
To contribute effectively to the society, CII has internalised his dream to turn the ‘vision
for India’ into a reality. His strategy guided CII in almost all spheres and added new
dimensions to its existing efforts. CII was truly fortunate to have experienced Prof
Prahalad’s boundless genius and affection at close quarters
.
Prof Prahalad’s three principles towards the creation of an idealistic vision have inspired
CII in more ways than one. These principles are:

 Aspiration (vision) must always exceed present resources-in other words the
vision must be a big stretch, and it should not be obvious how it will be attained
 The vision must not be an extrapolation from the past. Rather, the process of
progressing towards the vision must be a process of discovery, of 'folding in the
future' as it is created by visionary action; and
 Adoption of 'best practices' will not help to realise a vision that is not an
extrapolation of the past. Rather, there must be innovation, and development of
'next practices'

Warm Tributes from around the world

Condoling the death of the management guru and out-of-the-box thinker, Indian
industry paid rich tributes to Prof Prahalad. “We have lost an outstanding management
guru and a visionary who was committed to contributing towards India’s growth and
development,” CII Director General and Co-Chairman, OIFC, Chandrajit Banerjee said.

Immediate Past President CII Venu Srinivasan said , “In the passing away of Prof C. K.
Prahalad, CII—indeed, India and Indian industry—has lost a great visionary and
strategist. Prof Prahalad played an exemplary role in bringing Indian manufacturing to
the centre stage. CII had an opportunity to work with him for over two decades on
leadership and competitiveness. He was a thought leader on many subjects and wrote in
eminent journals about his vision for the manufacturing industry, which he termed as
Manufacturing 2.0.”

“He was always teeming with new, big ideas that would have the power to change the
way we think about business and the world. But most of all, I will remember two things
about him that stand out. First, he was intensely passionate about his birth country, India,
and dedicated to being a catalyst for bringing lasting change to that land. He tirelessly
flew back and forth from the US to India many times a year on a quest to help spur minds
and hearts to create new wealth and opportunity there. Second, he was gracious in the
extreme…” said Timothy C. Moore, VP, Publisher at Wharton School Publishing.