Quick Facts
Biography
Gita Piramal, also known as Dr. Gita Piramal (born c.1954) is an Indian writer and business historian. She is the former wife of Dilip Piramal, who runs VIP Industries and Blow Plast Ltd.
Education
Born into a business family, Gita spend several childhood years in the United Kingdom. She holds an MA in History. After she married into a prominent business family, Gita developed an interest in business history and earned a PhD in that subject from Bombay University in 1989.
Marriage
Around 1979, Gita married Dilip Piramal who runs VIP Industries (the suitcase makers) and Blow Plast Ltd. Dilip's brother Ajay Piramal runs Nicholas Piramal, the pharmaceutical major. Dilip and Gita have two daughters, Radhika and Aparna.
The month of June 2005 was a momentous one for the family. Early that month, Dilip and Gita were divorced after well over twenty years of marriage. On 12 June 2005, their daughter Aparna was married to Amit Raje, a gentleman of Maratha background. Six days later, on 18 June 2005, Dilip (aged 56) married Shalini Agarwal (aged 42), a woman with whom he had a long-standing relationship.
Career
- Gita Piramal worked as the Bombay correspondent of the Financial Times from 1988 to 1992.
- Gita Piramal had worked as the Associate Dean for the Indian School of Business' publishing arm - ISB Interactive.
- She has also worked as a Member of the LBS Regional Advisory Board.
- She has been working as managing editor of The Smart Manager, a management magazine, based in Mumbai, since 2002.
- She has written for many years on the corporate sector for leading Indian and international publications such as The Financial Times and The Economic Times and is a consulting editor of the World Executive’s Digest. She also has been involved in the making of television programmes on Indian business for the BBC and Plus Channel.
Books and Writings
She has authored several books:
- Business Maharajas
- Business Legends (1999)
- Managing Radical Change (co-authored with Sumantra Ghoshal) (Delhi Management Association prize for the best management book)
- World Class in India (co-authored with Sumantra Ghoshal) (Delhi Management Association prize for the best management book)
- Business Mantras
- Sumantra Ghoshal on Management: A Force for Good (co-authored with Julian Birkinshaw)
- Smart Leadership (2005)
- The Smart Manager, managing editor since Feb 2002.
- India's Industrialists, Vol. 1 (co-authored with Margaret Herdeck)
Awards and recognition
- Gita had received the Business Today Award for being one of India's 25 most powerful women in 2004.
- She has also received the Scholar of the Year 2004 award from Ness Wadia College, Pune, India.
- Two of her books have been adjudged as 'best management book' by Delhi Management Association.