C K Prahalad: Distinguished Thinker and Visionary

Passes Away
OIFC: May 13, 2010

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 Ind

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 o
Michigan, he mentored and energised hundreds of students who incorporated his principles into their
daily work. Prof Prahalad was always approachable 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 tha
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 Ti
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 upo
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 time
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