Vijay Govindarajan
2011 Ranking: #3
Winner: 2011 Breakthrough Idea Award
Vijay Govindarajan, known as VG, is the Earl C. Daum 1924 professor of international business at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He is one of the world’s leading experts on strategy and innovation.
Govindarajan has published nine books including international bestsellers Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators and The Other Side of Innovation. His most recent book, The Other Side of Innovation focuses on how to turn an innovative idea into a successful commercial business.
In 2008, Govindarajan took leave of absence from Tuck to join General Electric (GE) for 24 months as the company's first Professor in Residence and Chief Innovation Consultant.
Govindarajan also worked with Jeff Immelt, GE’s CEO, to produce the Harvard Business Review article “How GE is Disrupting Itself” (September 2009). The article, written with Immelt and long-term collaborator Chris Trimble, introduced the concept of reverse innovation and is rated by Harvard Business Review as one of the ten big ideas of the decade, and is the title of his forthcoming book, (with Chris Trimble), to be published by HBR Press in April 2012.
Govindarajan is also responsible for posing the question that sparked a global challenge to build a $300 house.
