A Maverick Academic with a Hands-On Approach
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Reuben Abraham was never really meant to be a business school professor. The maverick academic, whose lofty intellectual nature is grounded by a hands-on business approach, could have easily become India’s first Richard Branson. Instead he opted for a different route, one that has given him the chance to shape the country’s future in a more radical and entrenched manner.
Born in the communist-ruled Kerala, Abraham’s love for business is borne out of a deep scepticism of the socialist roots of independent India. He often fantasises about how India could have developed earlier if its independence leaders had been trained in more pro-market American universities rather than the socialist-friendly institutions in Britain. “We would be miles ahead now. Honestly,” he says.
