C K Prahalad voted as most influential mgmt thinker

Non-Resident Indian C K Prahalad, has been voted as the most influential living management thinker for the second time in a row, according to a biennial ranking of business gurus.

Coimbatore Krishna Rao Prahalad, better known as C K Prahalad, is Professor of Strategy at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Professor Prahalad, who introduced the term "core competencies" to the management lexicon, is the author of several bestselling management books, notably 'The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid', published in 2004, which argued that the world's poor represented a market worth up to USD 13 trillion a year.

Prahalad's influence on the business world is immense," said Des Dearlove, co-creator of 'the Thinkers 50 ranking', in a statement.

Prahalad is one of six Indian-born management thinkers to make the 2009 listing. Joining him are Ratan Tata, chief executive of Tata Industries, at No.12; Ram Charan, executive coach, at No.13; S (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, founder of Infosys, at No. 15; Vjay Govindarajan, of Tuck Business School, at No.24; and Rakesh Khurana, of Harvard Business School at No.44.

The Time, works with Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer, visiting professors at IE Business School in Madrid and associates at London Business School's Management Innovation Lab, to compile 'The Thinkers 50', a biennial list of the most influential living management thinkers.

While Prahalad maintained his top slot from the 2007 edition, the global economic slump has significantly changed the rest of the ranking.

Thirteen thinkers make their first appearance on the list in 2009, including Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and author of Banker to the Poor.

Only 19 of the original 2001 thinkers are in the 2009 list. Paul Krugman and Don Tapscott, who were included in 2001, return after a break.