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Speakers List / Overview

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Platzhalter Speakers
Deepa Prahalad
US

Strategy consultant; Co-author with Ravi Sawhney of Predictable Magic: Unleash the Power of Design Strategy to Transform Your Business

Biography

Deepa Prahalad is an author, business strategist and consultant specializing in opportunities at the intersection of consumer experience, technology and strategy. Passionate about emerging markets and innovation, she began her career researching how to improve efficiency in UN procurement and later moved to Singapore to become a commodities trader with Cargill. Deepa has worked as a management consultant with firms from start-ups to large multinationals. In 2008, she researched and co-authored the book, Predictable Magic: Unleash The Power of Design Strategy To Transform Your Business (Wharton School Publishing).



Deepa speaks at business schools such as USC and Harvard on design strategy using the EMPOWER framework she developed and conducts workshops for executives. A frequent blogger on the Huffington Post and Harvard Business Review, she has also written about the business case for design in Bloomberg Businessweek and other magazines. She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Lappeeranta University of Technology (Finland) and the Challenge:Future global youth think tank and student competition. Deepa also works with several initiatives that support the work of her late father, CK Prahalad, such as the Prahalad Center for Emerging India in Chennai and the Prahalad Initiative at the University of Michigan.


Deepa is a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and is on twitter at @deepaprahalad.


She lives in Southern California with her husband and son. 

Abstract

«Why the Bottom of the Pyramid Matters for Everyone»
The Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) approach first put forth by CK Prahalad almost a decade ago argues that modern MNCs have a critical role to play in resolving one of the biggest challenges of our time: converting the 4 billion poor around the world  into a vibrant consumer market. The argument was that for-profit enterprises could work where and charity and aid have failed because it provides a sustainable model for business in place of traditional CSR activity.  It also forces companies to pay attention to the needs and desires of the poor and innovate new products and services.  Many firms have taken up the challenge, and some have created new markets and scalable business models in the process.  More importantly, the BOP is now seen as a place to create goods and services with global relevance because of its unique characteristics.  Even for businesses whose core consumers are outside the BOP, this market is important for learning about  evolving patterns in innovation, collaboration and new business model creation.  Understanding the BOP and what it has to offer is more important than ever with income inequalities rising around the world and widespread introspection on the role of the corporation in society.  

Video