27 Feb 2026

Behind the Research: The Long View with Krishna Palepu

ShareBar

by Shona Simkin

Krishna Palepu has spent more than four decades at Harvard Business School (HBS) building institutions, shaping leaders, and advancing the School’s mission in the world. Now a Baker Foundation professor and the senior associate dean for Business in Global Society, he continues to champion the integration of rigorous research and real-world impact. In this conversation, he reflects on the improbable path that brought him from a small village in India to Boston, the mentors who shaped his career, and the community he worked to build at HBS.

Take us back to how it all started. What inspired you to be a professor?
I grew up in a small village in India with no electricity. I had to finish my homework before sunset. We were not poor because my dad was a schoolteacher. We were middle class, lower middle class. But my dad is the one who inspired me to be a teacher. I have two elder sisters who became college lecturers in physics, so I kind of followed their lead.

Higher education was always interesting to me. I was in an MBA program in India in a very prestigious business school, the Indian Institute of Management. A professor from MIT came to give a talk and asked me, “Have you ever considered getting a PhD?” That's what planted a seed in my head, otherwise I never would have thought it. I asked how I could do it and he said they had financial assistance for people who are meritorious.

So, I applied to MIT, and I got into the PhD program. They gave me a scholarship, which is what made it possible. I also got a loan from a foundation in India to buy a one-way ticket from India to Boston. I finished in 1982 and joined here in January 1983. It’s now 42 years.

Why HBS?
My training at MIT allowed me to get offers from many schools. I had this vision even when I was a PhD student: I always thought Harvard Business School was a place I would like to be because I wanted to do something that is real-world, that has an impact on practice, not just a theory. And also, because of my inspiration from my dad, I always wanted to be in a place that emphasizes teaching. This ended up being the right kind of place.

What was your cultural acclimation to Boston and the US?
It was both easy and difficult in a funny way. India is westernized at some levels because many people speak English. So from an intellectual perspective, it was not a big cultural shock for me. I read a lot of books and knew what to expect.

From a pure academic perspective, being at MIT was also not that big a shock for me. The school that I went to in India was very selective in admitting people. So being a graduate student at MIT was challenging, but it wasn't like I had never experienced excellence.

But at the same time, I didn't even have a world map, so I had no clue where I was going when I came to Boston. It was the first time I ever got in an airplane.

I was 25 and had $300 when I landed, and I had borrowed it. Somehow, MIT misplaced my application for a dorm room and I had no place to stay. I slept in the airport that night. Then I came to MIT, and somebody heard my story and invited me to sleep on their couch until I found a room.

It was pretty tough, actually, the journey of getting comfortable here. The weather was very different; I'd never seen snow in my life. There were a lot of adjustments like that.

How do you reflect on that time?
I think that none of these details really are important. What's important is the generosity of people here. Right from admitting me and giving me a scholarship. I didn't know anybody, and the fact that somebody endowed a fellowship to benefit somebody like me, without knowing who I am—and the professors that admitted me, the community that embraced me every step of the way—whenever I needed help, people rising up. I don't think the story is about me. The real story is this society that was so welcoming and open to strangers showing up and judging me purely on my capability and nothing else.

Was that also your experience at HBS?
Definitely. In fact, my MIT advisor said, “Krishna, when you walk into that classroom, people will be surprised because they will be expecting a 50-year-old White male with gray hair. I'm not sure you'll feel very comfortable going there; Harvard is a very establishment kind of place.” I was the second faculty of Indian origin—faculty here were mostly North American and European at the time, and mostly male.

I have never found that to be an issue. My students were always generous. The first year I taught, I had the highest teaching ratings in my teaching group. I was the junior-most guy with an accent, and my students never judged me on anything other than who I am and what I can do. I think that's the real story of this amazing country and community that is willing to welcome people and really give them a chance. That's what inspires me to reciprocate it and do the same for others.

Who was formative to you in those years as a new professor?
I credit John MacArthur and Bob Kaplan with my success; they were my mentors and enablers. John very personally took interest in me and recruited me. He was very eager to recruit and support people like me with different backgrounds and strong academic orientations. Bob, who is a giant in our field, moved here a year after I joined. He had tried to recruit me to Carnegie Mellon when he was dean.

Bob Kaplan, Bob Simons, and I recruited Paul Healy and Srikant [Datar], and together we built the accounting and management group to include the next generation of super stars. What we have done is truly what Harvard Business School's mission stands for—nurturing professors who are intellectually very strong and produce great academic work, but who also have impact on practice. That's translated into teaching in our MBA and executive programs.

Being able to do all of those things simultaneously; there are very few people who can do it in academia. Almost every single person in our group can, and that's been a phenomenal success. We have a shared sense of values and a shared sense of purpose—we’re very collegial. It's a real joy to come here and see everybody thriving.

Is that what you feel most proud of during of your time here?
Yes, without any question.

It's a very improbable story, because building an academic department from scratch is not easy—more often than not, it doesn't happen.

What are other aspects of your work that you’re proud of?
It, of course, starts with my teaching and research. I developed two successful second year electives in the MBA program—Business Analysis and Valuation; and Globalization of Emerging Markets. I also developed a new Comprehensive General Management Program—Senior Executive Leadership Program (SELP). I have done impactful research in the areas of global strategy and corporate governance. And I teach in our corporate governance programs, where I have interacted with several hundreds of sitting board members over the last two decades.

I have also been quite lucky that I have played leadership roles in the School in many different areas. I helped build the Global Initiative—it was a relatively small enterprise when I started as senior associate dean, and I really helped it scale. We created this amazing network of research centers that are an extension of our footprint around the world. That's something that I'm very proud of.

I also led the DRFD [Department of Research and Faculty Development] and created things that still are staples of our community today: the annual faculty research symposium, the weekly faculty publications newsletter—these things bind the community together because they create visibility about what everybody is working on, and helps the sharing of ideas. I love doing those kinds of things.

It was also a real privilege to work with [former University president] Drew Faust for six years, and for one year with the next president, Larry Bacow, on thinking about the University’s global engagement. After that I was very happy to just focus on my research and teaching.

Then last year, Srikant wanted me to lead the Global Initiative again and BiGS [Business in Global Society]. I'm hoping to scale it like I did with the Global Initiative, and make it much bigger, more engaging to large groups of faculty, and work on a broad set of issues.

I’m also proud of the work I do with companies to help them grow and develop into great companies. I do a lot of work in emerging markets, because that connects with my research. I’ve had a long relationship with the Tata Group—I’ve seen them grow from a relatively small India-only company to now a $175 billion global group. When you do work like that, and see the impact on practice, that's very gratifying.

And my students, they have gone through the programs and go on to do great things.

All these things make me continue to feel young and active.

What do you think was instrumental in the success of the unit?
It’s this notion that as a professor, you can have this 360-degree impact on ideas and other academics, but also on practice, in the boardrooms, and with students. That these are integrated activities rather than silos. In academia, people think of these as trade-offs—that if you spend more time on teaching, that means that you will do less time on research; or if you spend time with companies, that means that you'll spend less in the classroom or with your research. I think what we have demonstrated is that they’re mutually reinforcing activities—by doing one, you're able to do the other much better.

As a result, you can get more time out of 24 hours—literally—because doing one thing benefits another. It’s not easy to believe unless you demonstrate it. But once you demonstrate it, I think people say, “That's the kind of professor I want to be.”

I think together we are inspiring the next generation. That shared sense of possibility; doing what other people think is not doable, I think that's really what holds us all together and makes it a joy.

Coming to work every day and feeling like you're with a great group of people that are all trying to do the same thing—we don't see the interactions as zero-sum, but as collaborative—that gives you a lot of energy. I’m not coming here because of some selfish reason; I’m doing it because there's a community. And that's phenomenal.

How have you balanced your work with your personal and family life?
The first thing is that I just can't believe I'm actually doing what I'm doing, given where I started, studying without electricity. To end up in a place like Harvard is just unimaginable. This is not something that happens very often.

I feel eternally grateful for it, and that inspires me a lot in terms of my personal life, and wanting to give back and inspire other people with what is possible. My family in India is quite proud of it.

And I have a wonderful family. My professional success is firmly rooted in my family success. My wife Laurie (MBA 1990) has been instrumental in my ability to do what I do. She encourages me to take risks, celebrates with me when I succeed, and supports me when I fail.

My kids always ask me for stories from my past. I've taken them back to my village because I just wanted them to see where I came from and for them to get a sense of perspective about the world. They live in a much more privileged way, and I wanted them to understand how the world actually works. So I took them back to the little elementary school that I studied in.

I think that my professional life definitely informs my personal life. But my personal life is the reason why I think I'm very grounded in my professional life. So I find it very harmonious.

Also, it gives me more a sense of a mission in terms of wanting to affect the world, rather than just seeing it as a job. I’ve ticked off a lot of things in my work, and I could retire, but what keeps me working is this possibility of having an impact. I feel quite blessed.

What do you consider to be your legacy with your family?
I think what I have given my children most is this sense of possibility—what you can actually do with life, and the impact you can have, if you seize the opportunities in front of you. But also, a sense of modesty in terms of being comfortable with a range of environments, from very privileged to the modest environment that I came from—having that bandwidth and seeing people with dignity wherever you are. I think that's a blessing that I have and that I pass on to my children and my family. That is very valuable to me.

Post a Comment

Comments must be on-topic and civil in tone (with no name calling or personal attacks). Any promotional language or urls will be removed immediately. Your comment may be edited for clarity and length.