THINKERS present an annual list of Thinkers in the filed of management. The list looks at thinkers who have made an important contribution to management thinking in the global arena. The list is based on a set of objective metrics and input from a team of advisors led by Amit Kapoor. The Thinkers50 has 10 established criteria by which thinkers are evaluated. Some of the criteria are Rigour of Research, Presentation of Ideas, Accessibility/ Dissemination of ideas, International Outlook, Originality of Ideas, Impact of Ideas, Practicality of Ideas, Business Sense, Power to Inspire et al.
The list is in alphabetical order.

Arvind Rangaswamy
Jonas H. Anchel Professor of Marketing, SMEAL College of Business, PENN State University
Bala V Balachandran
J. L. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Accounting and Information Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Dilip Soman
Corus Chair in Communication Strategy & Professor of Marketing, Rotman School of Management
Gautam Kaul
John C. and Sally S. Morley Professor of Finance in the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Jagdish Sheth
Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Goizueta Business School of Emory University
Jagmohan Raju
Joseph J. Aresty Professor and Director of the Wharton-Indian School of Business Program at Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania
Jaideep Prabhu
Jawaharlal Nehru Professor of Business and Enterprise, Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, England
Mohanbir Sawhney
Scholar, Teacher, Consultant and Speaker in Strategic Marketing, Innovation and New Media
Nirmalaya Kumar
Member - Group Executive Council Tata Sons & Professor of Marketing, London Business School
Radhakrishnan Pillai
Director, Chanakya Institute of Public Leadership of Philosophy, University of Mumbai
Raj Sisodia
Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism, Babson College
Ranjay Gulati
Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration Unit Head, Organizational Behavior, Harvard Business School
Shankar Jaganathan
Founder & Chief Executive, Cimplyfive Corporate Secretarial Services Private Limited.
Srikant M Dattar
Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Business Administration, Faculty Chair of the Harvard Innovation Lab, HBS
Thinkers50 India has released the definitive list of most influential management thinkers from India for the year 2015. The list seeks to honor and celebrate the best management thinkers from India. Thinkers50 India is a joint initiative of Institute for Competitiveness and Thinkers50 London.
The objective of Thinkers50 India is creation, expansion and enhancement of thought leadership in India. The Thinkers50 India management thinkers were selected based on their work in the domains of management, leadership, business marketing, finance, people management and corporate strategy. The basis of selection in the elite group is on the timely relevance and presentation of ideas, rigor of research, international outlook, originality and impact of ideas, business sense and power to inspire change.
This year’s review does an alphabetical grouping of thinkers with a view to create a group of eminent thinkers whose work has had a significant bearing on the Indian management thought. Some prominent names among the grouping include Nirmalya Kumar of Tata Sons. His contributions to the theory and practice of management include authoring six books in the domain of marketing strategy and publishing extensively in the Journal of Marketing Research and Harvard Business Review. Similarly, Ravi Venkatesan, of Social Venture Partners has had powerful bearing in recent years on management thinking especially for multinationals by publishing the much acclaimed book on how to succeed in Indian context and drawing lessons for markets elsewhere. Along with this his ideas on future of manufacturing raise timely questions for management practicioners in India and beyond.
Other thinkers on the list include dons from Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management and the all important Indian Institute of Management system and ISB, etc. These include professors who have distinguished themeselves in their chosen specializations within the broad management domains like Prof. Tarun Khanna, who has been a known expert in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Most recently he is working with the NITI Aayog for fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in India. Similarly, Prof. Rakesh Khurana, has been at the forefront of organizational theory and leadership development and has contributed immensly to the theory and practice of management. Prof. TT Ram Mohan from IIM Ahmedabad and Prof. R. Vaidyanathan, similarly are known for their work in the areas of finance, banking and capital markets. Their seminal work has led to considerable developments in the areas of banking and finance in India.
The list further also includes independent public intellectuals and thinkers in the management domain like Gurcharan Das who has been on the instrumental in developing classical liberal ideas for business leaders today. Others in the list include the business advisor Ram Charan who has helped organizations as large and diverse as GE through his distilled insights on business strategy and leadership. Prasad Kaipa similarly has been engaged in writing and developing ideas on leadership and wisdom. Navi Radjou, similarly is engaged in understanding innovation and how frugal innovation can benefit not just developing societies but can radically improve the outcomes for developed societes as well.
Dr. Amit Kapoor, Editor-in-Chief, Thinkers and Curator of Thinkers50 India said that, “Indian has had a long history of though leadership that goes back centuries. Management as a discipline may be new but the principles of management are time tested. India has always been at the forefront of thought leadership in the domain of management. But the challenge has been in recognizing management thinking and practice. Thinkers 50 India list 2015 is an embodiment of this spirit and I hope in the coming years several pathbreaking ideas in the domain of management come from Indian Thinkers.”
Leading Thinkers in Management | 2015