Management guru Dr. C K Prahalad, known for his international bestsellers including "The Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits", passed away on Saturday morning in San Diego after an illness. He was 68. Prahalad is survived by his wife Gayatri Prahalad, son Murali Prahalad, daughter Dheepa Prahalad and his grandchildren.
C K Prahalad was born on 8 August 1941 into a family of 9 children. At the age of 19, he joined Union Carbide, after obtaining a Physics degree. He graduated from IIM Ahmedabad 4 years later. He also went to Harvard Business School, where he obtained his Ph. D, after which he taught at his alma mater IIM-A. Later, in the US, he held the position of a professor at Ross School of Business, University Of Michigan.
He was known as a corporate strategist and thought leader committed to corporate governance and India's economic development. Prahalad has been on the board of NCR Corporation, Hindustan Lever Limited and TVS Capital Funds, among other companies. He was co-founder of Praja Inc., a company that was sold to TIBCO.
He was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Sanmaan and the Padma Bushan (for his contribution in the field of literature and education) in 2009. The same year, he was named the world's most influential business thinker in a Times list.
Prahalad has authored Competing For The Future (with Gary Hamel), The Future Of Competition (with Venkat Ramaswamy) and The New Age Of Innovation (with M S Krishnan).