September 2011: Vol. 6, Issue 8
Marketing Monthly Markathon Features Venky Shankar The following interview with Marketing professor, PhD Program Director, and Coleman Chair in Marketing, Dr. Venky Shankar, was recently published in Markathon, an Indian business magazine. Dr. Shankar: I had two career-changing points in my life. First, I was to pursue graduate studies in engineering at Rice University in the U.S. after my B. Tech. My original plan was to be at IIMC until I could get my US visa. However, during that short period, I enjoyed learning about management so much that I decided to continue my PGDM (MBA) at IIMC. Second, I was doing well as Business Development Manager at HSBC before I decided to do a PhD at Kellogg mainly to feed my intellectual curiosity. The biggest takeaways for me are: • Pursue with passion what fascinates you • Be flexible and be willing to learn • Aim for high impact in whatever you do.
Dr. Venky Shankar
Markathon: From IIT Kharagpur to IIM Calcutta to Kellogg Graduate School of Management--what, according to you, was the turning point in your career? What is your biggest takeaway from a long and illustrious career as a marketer in the industry as well as academia?
Markathon: In the Indian context, what is your take on disruptive innovation and marketing? Do you feel India is(has) been a pioneer in this field or a late adopter? Dr. Shankar: India has many ingredients that enable disruptive innovation—large and growing middle class, increasing aspirations, and low ability to pay. Because of the large customer base that needs/desires affordable goods and services, many innovations have to be developed outside the current customer mainstream (top end of the market), that is, they have to be disruptive. Many of the solutions are coming in the form of affordable/frugal/reverse innovations. GE's Mac 400 and Mac i, ultra-portable electrocardiogram (ECG) machines were made for India, all groundup, to be sold at 1/3-1/6 of the price of similar imported machines. Continued on page 2