Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Summit: Can Indian Family Businesses Compete?

John A. Davis is a global authority on family enterprise, family wealth, and the family office. Since the 1970s, he has been a researcher, author, advisor, and speaker on multigenerational business strategy, creating some of the field's most widely used frameworks. At the MIT Sloan School of Management, he teaches MBA and executive courses on family enterprise and family social impact, and directs MIT's family enterprise programs. He previously taught at Harvard Business School for 21 years, where he founded the family business studies area.

Davis also serves as Chairman of the Cambridge Family Enterprise Group, which he founded in 1989. He has advised families in more than 70 countries, including many of the world's largest enterprises. His work has helped families build shareholder value, strengthen leadership, professionalize their businesses and family offices, and prepare future generations to carry on their legacy.

Farhad Forbes is Co-Chairman of Forbes Marshall and Global Chair of Family Business Network International (FBN). A second-generation leader, he joined Forbes Marshall in 1982 and today oversees the company's Industrial Process Automation and Control Group.

Forbes Marshall, founded in 1926, is a global leader in steam engineering and control instrumentation. Its products and services help industries save energy, improve process quality, and operate safely. Guided by its purpose of energizing businesses and communities worldwide, the company emphasizes innovation, customer engagement, workplace culture, and community partnerships. Its values of integrity, family spirit, excellence, and good citizenship anchor its mission.

In his role at FBN, Forbes leads a network of 4,000 family enterprises across 65 countries. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, the organization provides a trusted space for families to share experiences, strengthen relationships, and advance the role of family businesses in society. FBN includes more than 17,000 individual members, with nearly 7,000 from the next generation.

Jamshyd N. Godrej is the Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej & Boyce, part of the Godrej Enterprises Group. He was appointed Director of Godrej & Boyce in 1974, Managing Director in 1990 and was elected Chairman in 2000. In recognition of his contributions to Indian industry and sustainability, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India on April 3, 2003. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, USA. 
 
Beyond his leadership at Godrej & Boyce, Mr. Godrej plays an active role in advancing sustainability, energy efficiency, and corporate governance. He serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, India Resources Trust, and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). He is a Director at the World Resources Institute (USA) and a Trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature – India and the Asia Society (USA). Additionally, he is a board member of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society. He is the Past President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and also the Past President of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association (IMTMA). 
 
Mr. Godrej serves as the Chairman of the CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, (CII GBC) Hyderabad. Under his leadership, the CII GBC became India's first platinum-rated green building and was recognised as the world's greenest building in 2003, and it stands as an IGBC-certified Net Zero Energy Building since 2019. He plays a pivotal role in guiding seven key councils under the Centre, namely – Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Indian Green Building Council, GreenCo, Green Products and Services, Green Entrepreneurship, Green Cooling, and Green Mobility. Each of these councils is led by industry leaders driving sustainability initiatives across various sectors. 

Gaurav Dalmia is Chairman of Dalmia Group Holdings, a holding company with investments in private equity, real estate, public markets, structured debt, and fixed income. He is an early investor in and board member of True North, one of India's leading private equity funds managing $3.5 billion, and the founder and Chairman of Landmark Holdings, a real estate investment firm. He also co-founded GTI, a long-term vehicle for India-focused investments.

Beyond business, Dalmia serves on the board of Brookings India and on the governing board of the Institute for New Economic Thinking in New York. He chairs the Indian Advisory Board of Room to Read, a global education charity, and contributes op-eds to leading publications including The Economic Times, The Times of India, and Financial Times. In 2000, he was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Global Leader for Tomorrow. He holds an MBA with Beta Gamma Sigma honors from Columbia Business School.

Meher Pudumjee is the Chairperson of Thermax Ltd, a global leader in energy and environment solutions. A chemical engineer from Imperial College, London, she began her career at Thermax in 1990 as a trainee engineer and went on to play a central role in the turnaround of the company. She was appointed Vice Chairperson in 2002 and became Chairperson in 2004, succeeding her mother, Anu Aga. Under her leadership, Thermax has expanded its reach and impact with a strong focus on sustainability, clean energy, and social responsibility.

Pudumjee has been widely recognized for her professional achievements and contributions to society. The World Economic Forum selected her as a Young Global Leader in 2008, and Business Standard named her CEO of the Year in 2009. She has represented India at the Asian Business Women's Conference in Osaka and has held leadership positions within the Confederation of Indian Industry, including chairing its Pune Zonal Council. She remains a strong advocate for innovation, inclusive growth, and the role of women in leadership.

Vidhan Bhaiya is an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School and Co‑Founder of Cortex, building AI systems that unlock manufacturing intelligence for industrial firms. A Chemical Engineering graduate from Northeastern University (Summa cum Laude), he previously ran supply chain operations at his family's specialty chemicals company, Chemcrown Group, helping the business navigate COVID-era disruptions. He also founded Dr. Brinsley, a medical-grade diabetic footwear brand serving 45+ hospitals across India.

Vidhan's work has been recognized with Boston's 25 Under 25 and Northeastern's Presidential Global Fellow honors, and has been featured in Forbes and The Better India. At HBS, he leads community initiatives and hosts Table Talk, a dinner series with leaders across business and policy. Outside work, he's a cyclist, certified mixologist, and a lifelong Manchester United fan.

Aashray Thatai is Director of FA Home and Apparel Pvt Ltd, where he manages global client capabilities and key partnerships. He began his career as an industrial engineer at Williams Sonoma, Inc. in 2013 before joining FA in 2015. Since then, he has expanded the company's digital and analytics capabilities while driving its global growth.

At FA, Thatai has introduced Cloud ERP systems, process mapping, and sustainable practices aimed at reducing the company's carbon footprint. He also co-founded PostFold, an online apparel start-up, and continues to strengthen client and supplier networks. His focus on innovation and sustainability has made him a driving force within the organization.

Thatai envisions FA becoming the largest textile company in Southeast Asia by 2030. He describes FA as “about its people, employees, clients, and suppliers, delivering promises and happiness through on-time delivery, product innovation, community contribution, and technology.”

Ashish Chugh is a Portfolio Manager and Head of Global Emerging Market Equities at Loomis, Sayles & Company in Boston. In this capacity, Ashish manages long-only and hedge fund portfolios and a dedicated team of equity research analysts. He joined Loomis Sayles in May 2018 from Och-Ziff Capital in Hong Kong, where he was a managing director and manager of an emerging markets portfolio for the firm's multi-strategy hedge fund.

Prior to this, Ashish spent a decade at the Wellington Management Company in Boston as a managing director, where he focused on investing in long-short equities in global emerging markets. Previously, he was an associate at Blue Chip Venture Company, responsible for venture capital and private equity investments. Since the beginning of his investment industry career in 2003, Ashish has gained extensive expertise in managing emerging market equities and developing a scalable and repeatable investment philosophy and process. Earlier in his career, he was an engineer at IBM in Toronto and an analyst at Hitachi in Tokyo.

Ashish earned a BASc in electrical & computer engineering from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the firm's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory Board. Ashish is fluent in Hindi. 

Kimberly A. Eddleston is the Schulze Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business. An award-winning researcher, she is recognized for her work on family businesses, women entrepreneurs, and career dynamics. She has guided many students in joining their family firms or launching new ventures and created a small business consulting curriculum featured in Inc. Magazine and at entrepreneurship conferences.

She is also an Academic Scholar at Cornell University's Smith Family Business Initiative and has been a visiting professor at Jönköping International Business School in Sweden and a research fellow at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Before Northeastern, she worked at the University of Connecticut and Cornell University and gained management experience at Westin Hotels and Marriott.

Eddleston serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Business Venturing and Senior Editor at eix.org, and sits on editorial boards including Academy of Management Review, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and Family Business Review. She has co-chaired academic conferences and served as president of the Family Business Special Interest Group of the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Her research and leadership continue to shape the study of entrepreneurship and family enterprise.

Jayanth (Jay) Narayanan is an Associate Professor in the Management & Organization Development group at Northeastern. He also holds a joint appointment with the Bouve School of Health Sciences. Before joining Northeastern, Jay was an Associate Professor of Management & Organizations at the NUS Business School. He received his PhD from the London Business School and has held academic positions at IMD Business School in Switzerland. Jay is a highly published researcher, with work appearing in journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and the Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. His research interests include the impact of human biology on workplace phenomena, the nature, and effects of mindfulness on well-being, and the role of social power and status dynamics in organizations. He is currently focused on studying the impact of psychedelics on well-being in healthy individuals. In addition to his academic pursuits, Jay has taught executives around the world and has provided coaching to startup founders on the importance of personal well-being for the success of their ventures. Before entering academia, Jay was an entrepreneur in India and co-founded one of the country's largest skills assessment companies. He was also recognized as a distinguished alumnus by his alma mater, XLRI Jamshedpur.

Ravi Ramamurti is a University Distinguished Professor of International Business at Northeastern University and Founding Director of the Center for Emerging Markets. Today, CEM is a leading center of its kind that supports faculty research, organizes international seminars and conferences, promotes student exposure to emerging markets, and organizes outreach events for practitioners. 

Ramamurti does research and consulting on strategy and innovation in emerging economies. His earlier work also focused on business-government relations in emerging economies. He has published seminal articles and books on multinationals from emerging markets and on the topic of “reverse innovation.” He teaches courses on the global business environment and global strategy, and electives on competing in emerging markets.

A survey ranked Ramamurti among the top 1% of all scholars in his field. He is the author or editor of eight books, including three published by Cambridge University Press and one by HBR Press. His article on “Reverse innovation, emerging markets, and global strategy” won awards for best article in innovation management and the best article published in Global Strategy Journal. He was elected in 2007 as Chair (president) of the Academy of Management's International Management Division. He is a six-time winner of the ADL Prize for Professor of the Year based on his teaching. In 2008, Ramamurti was elected a Fellow of the Academy of International Business (AIB). He is currently Deputy Dean of the AIB Fellows.