CEO Summit 15 Practicum

Raj Sisodia is the FW Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. He is also Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Conscious Capitalism Inc. He was previously Trustee Professor of Marketing, the Founding Director of the Center for Marketing Technology and Chairman of the Marketing Department at Bentley University. Raj has a Ph. D. in Marketing & Business Policy from Columbia University, where he was the Booz Allen Hamilton Fellow.

Raj has written ten books and over 100 academic articles. He is the co-author (with John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market) of Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business (Harvard Business Review Publishing, 2013), a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. He is also co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family (Penguin/Portfolio 2015), named as the Best Leadership and Management book of 2015 by 800-CEO-READ and one of 15 best books of 2015 by Forbes. His most recent book is Shakti Leadership: Embracing Feminine and Masculine Power in Business (Berrett-Koehler, 2016). His book Firms of Endearment: How World Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose is considered a foundational work in explaining the precepts and performance implications of pursuing a conscious approach to business. It was named one of the best business books of 2007 by several organizations, including Amazon.com. Raj’s next book The Conscious Capitalism Field Guide (with Timothy Henry and Thomas Eckschmidt) will be published by Harvard Business Review Publishing in 2018.

In 2003, Raj was cited as one of “50 Leading Marketing Thinkers” and named to the “Guru Gallery” by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Bentley University honored him with the Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2007 and the Innovation in Teaching Award in 2008. He was named one of “Ten Outstanding Trailblazers of 2010” by Good Business International, and one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America for 2010 and 2011. In 2013 and 2015, Raj as named to the Thinkers 50 list of business and management thinkers from India. Raj has published over one hundred articles in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Business Strategy, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Marketing Management and California Management Review. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Economic Times, and numerous other publications, along with radio shows and television networks such as CNN, CNBC and Fox. In 2016, Raj was awarded an honorary doctorate by Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI.

Raj serves on the Board of Directors of The Container Store.

I deeply believe the most valuable currency in today’s workplace is meaningful work, not just a paycheck. In April of 2000, I became a founding member of a job board called Jobing.com. Over an 11-year period, I helped build the company from 5 employees and a few thousand dollars in revenue to nearly 400 employees and $38M in revenue – the secret to our success was hiring people who aligned to our purpose and values. I consulted with nearly a thousand employers on their employment brand, employee value proposition, and employment advertising strategies. Through this experience, I saw first-hand the power of values, the power of culture, and the power of unwavering purpose – when done right, it was the ultimate competitive advantage.

I started Y Scouts with the belief that today’s leaders must authentically connect to the purpose and values of the organizations they lead. If disconnected, the strength of their experience (i.e. their resume) will only compensate for so long. With more than 70% of the workforce unhappy with their work experience, and the associated half trillion loss in productivity this disconnect yields (not to mention the host of additional ripple effects), there has never been a more critical time to re-examine how we find and connect the right leaders with the right companies.

I joined the board of Conscious Capitalism in January of 2016 to more fully engage with other leaders who are making a meaningful difference. When I’m not focused on transforming how people and companies connect to work that matters, you will find me spending time with my wonderful wife of 17 years and 2 gorgeous daughters. I’m also guilty of spending my free time learning to play guitar, perfecting my Texas hold ’em skills, and traveling to see my favorites musicians and bands.