Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan is Professor of Corporate Strategy & Policy at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). He served as the Director of IIMB between 20 July, 2020 to 19 July, 2025.

Professor Krishnan has been one of the key intellectual voices shaping the Institute’s engagement with strategy, innovation, and competitiveness. Over the course of his academic career, he has combined rigorous scholarship, institutional leadership, industry engagement, and public policy participation to build a distinctive profile as a scholar of innovation in emerging economies. His work has been particularly influential in examining how firms in India and other emerging markets can transition from resource-constrained, improvisational innovation to structured, globally competitive innovation capabilities.

Professor Krishnan’s academic foundation reflects strong interdisciplinary grounding. He earned his MSc in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, followed by an MS from Stanford University, and later completed his Fellow Program (PhD equivalent) at IIM Ahmedabad. His doctoral thesis proposal received the Outstanding Thesis Proposal Award instituted by the Industrial Finance Corporation of India, signalling early recognition of the quality and relevance of his research. This blend of training in science, technology, and management has informed his long-standing interest in the interface between technological capability, strategic management, and organisational performance.

Before entering academia, Professor Krishnan gained valuable industry and entrepreneurial experience. He worked as General Manager and Partner in a high-technology telecommunications firm and co-founded ventures in engineering software and knowledge-based industries. He later served as CEO of a knowledge-enabled networks firm. These experiences provided him with first-hand exposure to technology management, entrepreneurship, and competitive markets, grounding his academic insights in real-world practice. His continued engagement with industry—through consulting, board memberships, and advisory roles—has reinforced this integration of theory and practice.

At IIM Bangalore, Professor Krishnan has been closely associated with the Strategy (Corporate Strategy & Policy) area and has played a pivotal role in shaping academic programmes and institutional systems. He has served as Chairperson of Research & Publications and of the Centre for Development of Cases & Teaching Aids (C-DOCTA) from 2004 to 2009, contributing to strengthening IIMB’s research systems and case-writing culture. Earlier, he served as Chairperson of the Postgraduate Program in Management (PGP), one of the Institute’s flagship academic programs, from 2002 to 2004, where he played a role in shaping curriculum delivery and academic standards. He has also been associated with multiple academic committees across programs such as PGP, doctoral studies, and executive education. He held the Jamuna Raghavan Chair in Entrepreneurship from 2007 to 2010 and later, the Ram Charan Chair Professorship in Innovation & Leadership, underscoring his engagement with entrepreneurial ecosystems and innovation-led growth.

His contributions to teaching span a wide range of programs, including the PGP (MBA), doctoral (FPM/PhD), and executive education programs, as well as international modules in collaboration with institutions such as the National University of Singapore and Georgetown University.

Professor Krishnan’s research lies at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and competitiveness. His broader scholarly concerns include strategic management, new product development, knowledge management, new venture creation, business ethics, and leadership. A consistent theme across his work has been understanding how firms in emerging markets, particularly India, can build sustainable innovation capabilities. His scholarship emphasises the need for firms in emerging economies to move beyond incremental adaptation and develop robust innovation systems supported by strong organisational processes and institutional frameworks.

A defining contribution of his intellectual work is captured in his widely cited book, From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation: The Challenge for India. In this work, he argues that while “jugaad”—improvisational innovation—demonstrates ingenuity, sustainable global competitiveness requires systematic approaches to innovation. Along with his co-authored book 8 Steps to Innovation: Going from Jugaad to Excellence, his work has influenced both academic thought and managerial practice, offering a roadmap for innovation-led growth in India and other emerging markets.

Professor Krishnan has an extensive body of scholarly and practitioner-oriented work, with over 140 publications including journal articles, books, case studies, and popular articles. His research has appeared in leading journals such as MIT Sloan Management Review, Global Strategy Journal, and Management International Review, as well as in Indian journals such as Economic & Political Weekly. His case studies are widely used in institutions such as Harvard Business School, IMD Lausanne, and the IIMs, contributing significantly to management education with contextually grounded teaching materials.

Internationally, he has engaged with leading academic institutions as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania and Visiting Fellow at the Indian School of Business. These engagements have helped situate his work within global debates on innovation, multinational strategy, and emerging market competitiveness. His contributions have been widely recognised: he has been consistently featured in the Thinkers50 India list of influential management thinkers since 2013 and received the Thinkers50 India Innovation Award. In recognition of his teaching excellence, he received the Dewang Mehta Award for Best Teacher in Strategic Management in 2010.

Beyond academia, Prof. Krishnan has been actively involved in policy and industry. He has served on several Government of India committees, including the Justice Srikrishna Committee on Data Protection, and has contributed to policy discussions on innovation, technology, and industrial development through bodies such as DST, DBT, and NASSCOM. His consulting and executive education engagements span leading corporations including British Telecom, DaimlerChrysler, Wipro, Siemens, and the Aditya Birla Group, as well as public sector organisations and various governmental bodies including those of the Governments of India and Karnataka. He has also served on corporate boards and advisory councils, further strengthening his engagement with industry and governance. Through these roles, he has contributed to national conversations on innovation systems, research and development, intellectual property, and industrial competitiveness.

In terms of institutional leadership, Professor Krishnan served as Director of IIMB from 20 July 2020 to 19 July 2025, guiding the Institute through a period of transformation with a focus on enhancing impact, strengthening research, and expanding global engagement. He previously served as Director & Professor of Strategic Management, Indian Institute of Management Indore from January 2014 to December 2018, and Mentor Director at the Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur from July 2015 to March 2017.

Under his tenure as Director, IIMB sustained its commitment to strengthening research and teaching, striving to capitalise on technology and innovation to enhance teaching and learning. As a thought leader in education management, IIMB earned recognition nationally and globally, with strong performance in global MBA and executive education rankings, as also Positive Impact ratings. IIMB was reaccredited by EQUIS (the European Quality Improvement System Certification) in 2021. The Institute, in particular, was lauded for its environmentally friendly initiatives and sustainable practices on campus.

IIMB continued to expand its academic programmes, committed to remaining relevant, competitive, challenging and cutting edge, with the curriculum being consistently upgraded to stay abreast of the changing digital landscape. A major landmark for IIMB was that it increased admissions to PGP and PGPBA to cross 600 students, during 2023-24. The same academic year, the Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management which had been discontinued, was revived, with a revised curriculum and mode of offering.

The Institute’s focus on research is aided by Centres dedicated to specialised areas of learning which progressed with their programs and activities to boost industry relevant knowledge and training. For instance, the NSRCEL added to its portfolio of incubation centres and proceeded with its cohort of programs such as the Women Startup program; IIMBx, IIMB’s digital learning vertical, launched the ‘Professional Certificate in Hospital Management’ program for doctors and hospital administrators managing government hospitals across districts of Karnataka. IIMB MOOCs had a significant growth of learners, particularly through SWAYAM.

During Professor Krishnan’s tenure, partnerships with leading global organisations such as Mphasis, Goldman Sachs, Ford Foundation, Infineon, and others continued to enhance the value of the school as a leading hub for cutting-edge management research. The Institute continued and enhanced its outreach and deep engagement with international networks, international universities covering a plethora of programs, activities and research. The Institute’s student exchange network continued with reputed universities across the world including those in Europe, China, South Africa, and South Korea.

Professor Krishnan led IIMB’s efforts during the challenging times of the COVID 19 pandemic when the institute continued with its cohort of activities and programs, and sustained its commitment to excellence through its innovative delivery of programs. Of note was the involvement of the alumni, as with their fundraising initiative to vaccinate 100,000 people from underprivileged sections of society.

In 2023, the Golden Jubilee of the Institute was celebrated with a series of commemorative events, including an address by the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu.

Professor Krishnan is regarded as a thoughtful academic leader and mentor who bridges theory and practice with remarkable clarity. His emphasis on innovation-driven growth, strategic thinking, and institutional capability-building has influenced several cohorts of students, scholars, and practitioners. His role in strengthening research culture, doctoral education, and curriculum development at IIM Bangalore has had a lasting institutional impact. His work continues to inform debates on how emerging market firms can evolve into innovation-driven enterprises and how management education can support that transformation.

In sum, Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan’s career exemplifies the integration of scholarship, leadership, industry experience, and policy engagement. His sustained focus on innovation and competitiveness has contributed significantly to understanding how emerging market firms can evolve into globally competitive enterprises. Through his teaching, research, and leadership, he has left a lasting imprint on IIM Bangalore and on the broader field of management thought in India.

Link to Golden Jubilee publications, films and commemorative events conducted during Prof. Rishikesha Krishnan’s tenure as Director
https://www.iimb.ac.in/archives/index.php

Link to the Golden Jubilee Week Report on the commemorative events and activities
https://www.iimb.ac.in/sites/default/files/inline-files/Golden-Jubilee-Week_Report.pdf