# Gita Piramal

Gita Piramal (born 1954) is an Indian writer and business historian.

## Education

Gita Piramal completed her education in the United Kingdom and graduated from Bombay University. She holds a PhD in business history (1988), a Master's degree in History (1981), and a Bachelor of Art in History of the West (1977).

## Career

Gita Piramal serves as a Senior Associate Fellow at Somerville College, University of Oxford. She has worked as an entrepreneur and businesswoman, a journalist and writer.
Piramal founded The Smart Manager, a management magazine, which she led from 2002 to 2012. She also headed ERGO (2005-2012), a furniture manufacturer, from 2005 to 2012 and was a director at VIP Luggage from 1990 to 2005. Currently, she serves as a non-executive board member at Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Holdings & Investments.
Piramal conceptualized and created content for three programs on CNBC-TV18. She scripted, edited, and appeared in or anchored over 100 television documentaries and contributed more than 1,500 articles to international and Indian publications.

## Published writings
### Books

* Kamalnayan Bajaj: Architect of the Bajaj Group (2015), Kamalnayan Bajaj Charitable Trust Book, Pune
* The Quotable Tycoon (2008), with David Olive, Penguin Books India, New Delhi
* Managing Radical Change (2000), with Sumantra Ghoshal and Christopher Bartlett, Penguin Books India, Delhi
* Business Mantras (1999), with Aparna Piramal, Radhika Piramal, and Mukund Beriwala, Penguin Books India, Delhi
* Business Legend (1998), Penguin Books India, Delhi
* Business Maharajas (1997), Penguin Books India, Delhi
* India’s Industrialists (1985), with Margaret Herdeck, Three Continents Press, Washington

### Book chapters

* ‘The Bombay Plan and the Frustrations of Sir Ardeshir Dalal'. Chapter in Sanjaya Baru (ed). ‘The Bombay Plan’. Rupa Publications. 2018.
* ‘Ratan Tata’ and ‘J.R.D.Tata’ chapters in ‘The Tata Saga’. Penguin, 2018.
* ‘Animal Spirits: Stray Thoughts on the Nature of Entrepreneurship in India's Business Families after Liberalization'. Chapter in Rakesh Mohan (ed). 'India Transformed: 25 Years of Economic Reforms'. Penguin Random House India. 2017.
* 'Dhirubhai Ambani', 'Rahul Bajaj', 'Ratan Tata' and 'Walchand Hirachand'. Chapters in ‘The Portfolio Book of Great Indian Business Stories: Riveting Tales of Business Leaders and Their Times’. New Delhi: Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd. 2015.
* ‘Succession Planning Under The Banyan Tree'. Chapter in ‘Business Standard 2008’. BS Books, New Delhi, 2008.
* ‘The Old Fox'. Chapter in ‘The Non-Fiction Collection: 20 Years of Penguin India’. Volume 3, Penguin Books India, New Delhi, 2007.
* ‘The Elixir of Entrepreneurship’. Chapter in S V Prabhath (ed). ‘Women Entrepreneurs in India: challenges and achievements. National Institute of Small Industry Extension. Hyderabad. 2002.
* ‘Dhirubhai Ambani’, ‘GD Birla’, ‘JRD Tata’, ‘MK Gandhi’, ‘N Murty’, ‘Rahul Bajaj’, and ‘Sumantra Ghoshal’. Morgen Witzel (ed). Entries in ‘The Biographical Dictionary of Management’. Thoemmes Press. Bristol, UK. 2001.
* ‘New Maharajas’. Chapter in ‘Footprints of Enterprise – Indian Business Through the Ages’. FICCI. Delhi. 1997.
* ‘JRD Tata and GD Birla’. Chapter in Ayaz Menon (ed). ‘India 50 – the Making of a Nation’. Book Quest. Mumbai. 1997.
* ‘Entrepreneurs and Political Awareness - a Study of Bombay’s Business Groups’. Chapter in Dwijendra Tripathi (ed). ‘Business and Politics – A Historical Perspective’. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. 1991.

### Edited volumes

* Sumantra Ghoshal on Management: A Force for Good (2005), with Julian Birkinshaw, FT Prentice Hall. London
* Smart Leadership: Insights for CEOs (2005), with Jennifer Netarwala, Penguin Books India, Delhi

## Personal life

Gita Piramal married businessman Dilip Piramal, chairman and managing director of Blow Plast (VIP Luggage), in 1985. They have two daughters, Radhika and Aparna. The couple divorced in 2005.