Shashank Shah

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Shashank Shah is an Indian stakeholder management strategist, researcher, and author. His research and writings focus on economic and social value creation through leadership, stakeholder-centric decision making and inclusive strategies. He was awarded the Chevening Gurukul Fellowship for Leadership and Excellence at the University of Oxford in 2021-22 and was the South Asia Institute (SAI) Fellow at Harvard University in 2015-17. Penguin Random House released the national bestselling edition of his book ‘The Tata Group’ in 2021. Since 2022, he serves as Director at NITI Aayog, the public policy think tank of the Government of India.

Early life and education

Shashank Shah was born in Mumbai. His maternal grandparents were participants in the Quit India Movement and had courted arrest for over two years in 1942-44. Shah completed his schooling at St. Xavier's Boys' Academy in 1997. He attended H.R. College, where he was conferred the Saraswati Award and Gold Medal by the Bruhad Mumbai Gujarati Samaj in 1999. He completed his graduation in Commerce from the University of Mumbai and received the ‘Mr. Mumbai University’ Award in 2001. He was awarded the President of India and Governor's Gold Medals for standing first in the Master of Business Administration and Master of Philosophy programmes at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in 2004 and 2006. He received a Doctor of Philosophy in stakeholder management under the joint supervision of Sudhir Bhaskar and Peter Pruzan, and was awarded the 'AIMS International Outstanding Doctoral Management Students Award 2010'. Between 2011 and 2014, he pursued postdoctoral research in leadership with a firm level focus on the Tata Group and industry level focus on India’s banking and financial services industry.

Career

Shah taught graduate and doctoral courses at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning from 2004 to 2014. In 2011, he was a visiting scholar at the Center for CSR, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. From 2014 to 2017, he was visiting scholar at Harvard Business School and worked with V. Kasturi Rangan on corporate responsibility and inclusive business.

He held joint appointment as project director at Harvard University South Asia Institute and co-led the project on 'Livelihood Creation in India through Social Entrepreneurship and Skill Development' with Tarun Khanna.

He served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard University Postdoctoral Editors Association (FASPEA) in 2016-17 and as a reviewer for academic publications including Cambridge University Press.

As editor of Business India, he anchored three issues on corporate social responsibility, inclusive business, and Sustainable Development Goals between 2018 and 2022.

He was board research chair of the Institute of Risk Management India, and also delivered leadership development programmes for middle and senior management leaders at Larsen & Toubro.

Research & Publications

Shashank Shah has authored research-based papers, articles, case studies and technical notes in peer-reviewed national and international publications in the areas of stakeholder management, public policy, higher education, innovation and entrepreneurship, leadership and ESG. R. Edward Freeman acknowledged his contribution to research on stakeholder management in Indian corporations. He has authored three books. His first book ‘Soulful Corporations: A Values-Based Perspective on Corporate Responsibility’ was published by Springer as part of the India Economy Series in 2013. His second book ‘Win-Win Corporations: The Indian Way of Shaping Successful Strategies’ was published by Penguin Random House in 2016. His third book ‘The Tata Group: From Torchbearers to Trailblazers’ was also published by Penguin Random House. It was launched at the Tata Lit Fest 2018. In his Foreword, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata writes, 'The author’s first-hand interactions with an impressive number of Tata leaders, his visits to Tata plants and archives and honest conversations with employees across all hierarchies add much deserved credibility and authenticity to the already well-composed narrative.' Several Indian newspapers, periodicals and journals have reviewed his books and featured excerpts on business and management.

Other work

He has addressed gatherings in India and overseas on Indian culture and scriptures, human values, social responsibility and service, Yoga and Vedanta, Sanātana Dharma and unity of religions, and authored/edited books on these themes.

Select Book Reviews

Soulful Corporations (Springer, 2013)

“The book presents the findings of a multilayer research project in the form of a reference book for academics, researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and CSR practitioners. It attempts to cater to the needs of international readership but is rooted in the Indian experience spanning many millennia of wisdom and scholarship, practice and preaching, processes and procedures worthy of emulation by business executives.”

- Gabor Kovács, Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion

Win-Win Corporations (Penguin Random House, 2016)

"This book adds considerable value to the bleak storehouse of contemporary Indian management literature. All inputs are authentic. There are no assumptions and conjectures. Every single attributed quotation, statement and datum carries an endnote. There are hundreds of them, neatly and methodically indexed chapter wise to provide a gold mine of reference material for researchers in subjects related to management."

- Sujoy Gupta, Hindustan Times

The Tata Group (Penguin Random House, 2018)

"Shah has provided an incredible and exceptionally well-researched, historical narrative. He does not submit to a pie-in-the-sky evaluation, but notes that even with its failed industries, Tata has striven to learn from its mistakes and continues to be respected for its working principles of transparency, accountability, desire for diversity in its workforces, and fashioning working partnerships with its stakeholders."

- Elizabeth Gingerich, Journal of Values Based Leadership

Select Bibliography

Papers/Cases:

• Shah, Shashank and Sudhir Bhaskar, “Corporate Stakeholder Management: Western & Indian Perspectives – An Overview”, Journal of Human Values, Vol. 14(1), April 2008, pp. 73-93.
• Shah, Shashank, Ajith Sankar, and David J. Sharp, “Hindustan Unilever Limited: Meeting Employee Expectations”, Richard Ivey School of Business - Case Study Series 9B13C036, December 2013.
• Rangan, Kasturi and Shashank Shah “An Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility in India (A) & (B).” Harvard Business School Note 515-080, May 2015.
• Shah, Shashank and Sunder, Vijaya, “Mission Possible: Overcoming challenges to bring clean water to rural India”, Asian Management Insights, Vol. 9 (I), May 2022, pp.27-32.

Monographs:

• Khaire, Mukti, Shashank Shah and Kundan Madireddy, Innovation in Tradition: Rural Livelihood Creation in the Indian Crafts Sector, Harvard University South Asia Institute - Tata Trusts Publication, January 2017.
• Khanna, Tarun, Shashank Shah and Kundan Madireddy, Science for Society: Science and Technology Based Social Entrepreneurship, Harvard University South Asia Institute - Tata Trusts Publication, January 2017.

References

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