Professor Tarun Khanna: Harvard Business School Expert on Emerging Markets to Speak at NDTV World Summit 2025

Tarun Khanna, the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School, will be among the distinguished participants at the upcoming NDTV World Summit 2025 in New Delhi. This prestigious two-day event, hosted at Bharat Mandapam, will gather leaders from political, business, scientific, and cultural spheres to address global innovation, foster collaboration, and tackle emerging challenges.

Professor Khanna has maintained his position at Harvard Business School since 1993, following his academic journey at Princeton University and Harvard University. Throughout his nearly three-decade career, he has dedicated his research and teaching to exploring entrepreneurship as a catalyst for social and economic development in emerging markets. His academic portfolio includes courses on strategy, international business, and economic development, which he has taught to a diverse range of students from undergraduates to senior executives.

His scholarly contributions include the co-authored book "Winning in Emerging Markets" (2010), which synthesizes his research on developing economies. Khanna has also authored two books based on his personal experiences with entrepreneurship in China and India: "Billions" (2008) and its follow-up "Trust" (2018). More recently, he co-edited "Leadership to Last," featuring interviews with prominent entrepreneurial leaders from emerging markets, and "Making Meritocracy," an interdisciplinary examination of meritocracy in China and India that provides valuable insights into entrepreneurship, social dynamics, and inequality.

In 2010, Khanna became the inaugural director of Harvard's Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute. Under his guidance, the institute has engaged more than 150 faculty members across various disciplines and established offices in New Delhi and Lahore, creating a significant regional presence. Additionally, he has overseen Harvard Business School's initiatives throughout South Asia.

One of Khanna's most significant educational contributions is his popular elective course, "Contemporary Developing Countries," where students collaborate in multidisciplinary teams to create practical solutions for complex social challenges. He has extended the reach of this course through a free online version titled "Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies" on the edX platform, which has attracted approximately 750,000 students from over 200 countries.

The World Economic Forum recognized Khanna's contributions by nominating him as a Young Global Leader in 2007. He was named a Fellow of the Academy of International Business in 2009 and received the Academy of Management's Eminent Scholar award for Lifetime Achievement in International Management in 2016. Between 2015 and 2019, he served on several national commissions for the Indian government, including leading initiatives to develop entrepreneurship policies.

Beyond academia, Khanna participates in various corporate and non-profit boards across the United States and India, including AES, Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited, and inMobi. His entrepreneurial spirit has led him to co-found multiple ventures across India, China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, including Axilor, a Bangalore-based business incubator.

Khanna currently lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with his wife and two children.

The upcoming NDTV World Summit 2025 will unite global thought leaders, innovators, and cultural icons to discuss our changing world. This year's summit focuses on the theme "Risk, Resolve and Renewal," examining the challenges, opportunities, and solutions that will likely shape the next decade of global development.