C K Prahalad "Strategy is about stretching limited resources to fit ambitious aspirations.

" He was ranked as the world's most influential business thinker in The Thinkers 50 list, published by The Times in 2009. Professor, researcher, speaker, author and consultant, CK Prahalad dons many roles. His book titled, 'The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits', highlights the need for multinational companies to realize that the huge growth market of the under-served, the bottom of the pyramid. He co-authored the bestseller, 'Competing for the Future', with Gary Hamel. Click NEXT to read on. . . Prahalad was born and brought up in Coimbatore. He started his career at a young age of 19 at the Union Carbide after taking a degree in Physics. The Union Carbide experience was an unforgettable experience for him. When he left, his colleagues gifted him a gold chain. "I learned about the extraordinary wisdom of ordinary people," he said on his first job. Four years later, he did his post graduation in management from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He then moved to the US. At the Harvard Business School, Prahalad wrote a doctoral thesis on multinational management in just two and a half years. He then returned to India, where he taught at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Currently, he is the Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan Business School and offers corporate strategy consultation to a number of multinational corporations. He also heads a high-technology company called Praja Inc.

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Ram Charan "Real leaders, I have found, exhibit an enthusiasm for selecting people who are better than they are."

Ram Charan is one of the world's most popular business advisors. Known for his ability to solve the toughest
business problems, he has worked with some of the most successful companies, including GE, Verizon, Novartis, Dupont, Thomson Corporation, Honeywell etc over the last three decades. Born in 1939 in Uttar Pradesh, Charan participated actively in the family's shoe business. With an engineering degree, he left India to take up a job in Australia and then in Hawaii. He later did his MBA and doctorate degrees from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction. After receiving his doctorate degree, he started teaching at the Harvard Business School faculty. Charan is known for offering timely and relevant advice to solve complex business problems. He is the author of multiple books, including his latest publication, Owning Up: The 14 Questions Every Board Member Needs to Ask. He served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on corporate governance and was selected as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources. He sits on the boards of Austin Industries and Tyco Electronics. Charan runs his business management consulting company under the name Charan Associates located in Dallas

Vijay Govindarajan "Glocalization means that multinationals target only the top of the pyramid in these markets, the wealthiest 10%. But the real potential lies in unlocking the other 90 per cent." Vijay Govindarajan is one of the world's leading experts on strategy and innovation. Govindrajan says the biggest opportunities for multinationals in next 25 years will be customers moving from poor countries. He is the Professor of International Business and the Founding Director of the Center for Global Leadership at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is also the chief innovation consultant for General Electric. Govindarajan has ranked among the top five most respected executive coach on Strategy by Forbes. He has also be rated as an outstanding faculty member by Business Week. Govindarajan has been a member of the faculty at the Harvard Business School and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Shiv Khera "If we are not a part of the solution, then we are the problem."

Shiv Khera's story is truly inspirational. Three decades ago, he used to wash cars and sell insurance policies in the
United States. Today, he has a multi-million dollar empire. Shiv Khera is the founder of Qualified Learning Systems Inc. He has established himself as an educator, business consultant and a successful entrepreneur. He motivates and encourages people to explore their true potential and succeed in whatever they do. He has been recognized as a "Louis Marchesi Fellow" by the Round Table Foundation. Shiv Khera's client list includes, among others, Lufthansa, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola, Nestle, GSK, Tetrapak, Phillips, Gillette, HSBC, Carrier, IBM, Ericsson and GM. He has authored 12 books including the best seller book, 'You can win

Bala Balachandran

Bala Balachandran is one of the top management gurus of Indian origin in the United States. Two decades ago,
Balachandran was the only Indian professor at the prestigious Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Chicago, where he has specialized in accounting information systems and decision sciences. He has been with Kellogg School for the past 34 years. He has played a key role in building the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. He has also set up his own B-school, the Great Lakes Institute of Management, in Chennai. Earlier he worked as a advisor in the planning commission. He is on the board of directors of the Credit Rating Information Services of India (CRISIL). He is working on projects to integrate information technology in states like Gujarat, Maharashta, Punjab and Rajasthan. He is also a consultant to the governments of Israel, Malaysia and Peru