Ranjay Gulati is the Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and former Unit Head of the Organizational Behavior Unit. He specialises in leadership, strategy, and organisational issues, focusing on challenges in building high-growth organisations in turbulent markets. His recent research examines how firms can enhance performance through collaboration within and across boundaries.
Ranjay previously chaired Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program and directed various executive education programmes. Before joining Harvard, He received multiple teaching awards, including the Best Professor Award at Kellogg School.
His latest book, Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies (2022), argues for the importance of purpose in management, highlighting its role in improving performance and fostering loyalty among employees and customers. Forbes and others recognised it as one of the best business books of 2022, and it received a bronze medal from the Axiom Business Book Awards.
Ranjay's earlier works include Principles of Management, which provides a contemporary overview of management fundamentals, and Reorganize for Resilience, a finalist for the George Terry Best Book in Management Award, which discusses how resilient companies thrive by focusing on customer needs. His book *Managing Network Resources* (2007) explores the implications of inter-firm connections.
He has served as past president of the Business Policy and Strategy Division at the Academy of Management and is an elected fellow of the Strategic Management Society. His research has appeared in leading journals and contributed to publications like the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Ranjay advises various corporations globally and has appeared on CNBC to discuss innovation and leadership. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, a Master’s from MIT, and two Bachelor’s degrees from Washington State University and St. Stephens College, New Delhi.
Ranjay Gulati illustrates how leaders can drive exceptional results by instilling a profound sense of purpose within their organisations. Through compelling stories of courageous front-line employees, he demonstrates that work can be deeply inspiring rather than just a job. Attendees will learn how purpose-driven organisations foster shared responsibility and trust among stakeholders, as highlighted in his book, Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies.
