Tarun Khanna (born; 1968) is an Indian-born American academic,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, and an economic strategist. He is currently the

Jorge Paulo Lemann Jorge Paulo Lemann (born August 26, 1939) is a Brazilian billionaire investment banker and businessman with dual Brazilian and Swiss citizenship. Early life In 1939, Lemann was born in Rio de Janeiro to Paul Lemann, a Swiss immigrant who founde ...

professor at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

; where he is a member of the strategy group, and the director of Harvard University’s

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

initiative since 2010. He joined the HBS faculty in 1993, after obtaining a B.S. degree in electrical engineering and computer science from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

(1988) and a Ph.D. in business economics from

(1993). His areas of interests include diasporas, economic development, emerging markets, globalization, international business, and strategy. Khanna has authored several scholarly works, articles and books; with the most notable being, his 2008 book - '' Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours'', and 2010 co-authored book - '' Winning in Emerging Markets: A Roadmap for Strategy and Execution''. In 2007, he was nominated to be a young global leader (under 40) by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

; and in 2009, elected as a fellow of the

Academy of International Business Academy of International Business (AIB) is the leading association of international business scholars and specialists. Established in 1959, it has over 3400 members in about 90 countries. Membership is open to organizations as well as individuals ...

. Khanna also sits on the boards of AES Corporation,

SKS Microfinance Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (formerly known as SKS Microfinance Limited) or BFIL is a banking & finance company (NBFC), licensed by the Reserve Bank of India. It was founded in 1997 by Vikram Akula, who served as its executive chair unti ...

Aragen Life Sciences
and TVS Logistics.

Early life and education

Khanna was born in India, in 1966. After schooling in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, he moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to pursue his higher education. In 1984, he enrolled for a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree program, with a major in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

from

, which he completed in 1988,

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. He then turned to business studies and economics; and earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

business economics Business economics is a field in applied economics which uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms with ...

from

in 1993.

Career

Academic career : 1993 to present

After earning his PhD, and an interim stint on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

, Khanna joined the HBS faculty in 1993 as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

, and later in 1998 became

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and a

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...

fellow. In May 2004, he was appointed

professor of economics. Since then, he has dedicated his academic schedule on studying, and working with multinational and indigenous companies, and investors, in

emerging markets An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...

worldwide. He has served as the course head of the required 'strategy course' in the Harvard MBA program; and has chaired the executive education program on

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

, and

governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, social norm, norms, power (social and political), power or language of an organized society over a social system (family, tribe, formal organization, formal or informal organization, a ...

. He is the director of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

initiative since 2010, and also the faculty chair for HBS activities in India. Currently, he teaches in Harvard's comprehensive general management executive education programs. Khanna has been a prominent interviewer in the Creating Emerging Markets project, designed to facilitate research and teaching on the business history of emerging markets, which includes interviews with long-time leaders of firms and NGOs in Latin America, South Asia, Turkey and Africa. His areas of interests include

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, emerging markets,

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

international business International business refers to the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale. It involves cross-border transactions of goods and services between two or more ...

, and

Other work

In 2014 Khanna co-founded Axilor Ventures, a venture capital network for young entrepreneurs.

Bibliography

Dr. Khanna’s scholarly works and articles have been published in a number of economics and management journals. He also authored / co authored books on topics - drivers of

entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and how to approach and be successful in emerging markets. A selection of his books and articles, are the following; *Books (author) ** ** ** ** *Articles ** ** ** **

Boards and honors

Khanna sits on the boards of the global power company,

AES Corporation The AES Corporation is an American utility and power generation company. It owns and operates power plants, which it uses to generate and sell electricity to end users and intermediaries like utilities and industrial facilities. AES is headquart ...

, and

, a major

micro finance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

company in India. He also sits on the boards o
Aragen Life Sciences
a leading CRO and TVS Logistics. In 2007, he was nominated to be a young global leader (under 40) by the

; and in 2009, elected as a fellow of the

Personal life

He is married; and resides in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

with his wife, daughter and son.

References

External links

www.tarunkhanna.org

Biography

Tarun Khanna at Google Tech Talks
March 12, 2009
Creating Emerging Markets
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khanna, Tarun Living people 1968 births Harvard Business School faculty Princeton University alumni Harvard Business School alumni Indian business theorists Business educators Indian emigrants to the United States Place of birth missing (living people) American male writers of Indian descent 20th-century Indian economists