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The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.

May - 2010 - issue > A Tribute

A Tribute to C K Prahalad (August 8, 1941 - April 17, 2010)

ST Team
Monday, May 10, 2010
ST Team
It is nothing less than losing a fortune for the makers of the new India as well as the change agents of a new world order. The sudden death of CK Prahalad has created a void among the business and technology leaders of India. A man of ideas and a social thinker, his ideas and thoughts laid the foundation of new India with his significant impact on management literature and the practice of business globally for a long time..

From company chairmen to entrepreneurs to students of management, Prahalad’s popularity has transcended beyond other thinkers of his times. The man who saw fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, was intensely passionate about his country, India, and dedicated to being a catalyst for bringing lasting change to the land. He tirelessly flew back and forth from the US to India many times a year with a quest to help spur minds and hearts to create new wealth and opportunity there. His ideas will endure and will help many others seek new hope and wealth.

Prahalad was recognized as one of the top 10 management thinkers and was well known for his book The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. It is this theory that many corporations are following in global emerging markets. He indulged in consulting engagements for Indian corporates such as the Tatas and HLL and even emerging companies like inverter maker Su-Kam. His research specializes in corporate strategy and the role and value added of top management in large, diversified, multinational corporations.

Born into a big family - he was one of the nine children of his parents - Prahalad joined Union Carbide after obtaining a degree in physics from the University of Madras. Later did a post graduation course at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and went to Havard Business School for Doctor of Business Administration degree in 1975. After teaching in IIM-A he went back to the U.S. and joined University of Michigan.

Prahalad was the first recipient of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Award for contributions to management and public administration in 2000. He was also awarded the country's third highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan, in 2009.
Prahalad did try his hand in business and founded Praja Inc. However, he sold the company off soon after.

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