Rajat Gupta

Rajat Gupta
Name	Rajat Gupta
Birth date	1948-12-01
Birth place	Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Alma mater	University of Cambridge; Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Occupation	Management consultant; business executive; philanthropist
Years active	1973–2012
Known for	Former managing director of McKinsey & Company
Criminal charge	Insider trading

Rajat Gupta

Rajat Gupta was an Indian-born management consultant, corporate director, and philanthropist who served as managing director of McKinsey & Company and held board positions at Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, American Airlines Group, and Mediobanca. He presided over initiatives involving World Economic Forum, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United Nations, and International Monetary Fund. His career combined leadership at McKinsey & Company with global governance roles at World Bank, Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, and Council on Foreign Relations before a high-profile insider trading investigation and conviction.

Early life and education

Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), he attended St. Xavier's Collegiate School and earned a Bachelor of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology Madras where he was awarded a University of Cambridge scholarship to study at Cambridge University. At Cambridge, he read Christ's College, Cambridge and obtained a Trinity Hall-linked postgraduate degree in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-adjacent engineering studies before moving into management, later completing programs at Harvard Business School and engaging with alumni networks at IIT Madras and Cambridge Alumni Association.

Business career

He joined McKinsey & Company in the 1970s and worked on assignments across Asia, Europe, and North America, advising firms such as General Electric, AT&T, IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Unilever, Nestlé, Siemens, Toyota, Honda, Samsung, Boeing, Airbus, BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Procter & Gamble. He transitioned from consulting to corporate governance, joining the boards of Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, American Airlines Group, Mediobanca, Macy's, and advisory councils at The Aspen Institute, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Brookings Institution.

Role at McKinsey & Company

As managing director of McKinsey & Company from 1994 to 2003, he led global expansion into markets including China, India, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, and Mexico and oversaw practices in strategy consulting, operations consulting, technology consulting, and financial services. Under his tenure the firm advised multinational corporations such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, ING Group, Santander, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies on organizational transformation and CEO succession planning. He supported initiatives with World Economic Forum and collaborations involving United Nations Development Programme, International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Philanthropy and board memberships

He served as director and trustee for philanthropic and educational institutions including The Global Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, World Health Organization, India Habitat Centre, Asia Society, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Teach For India, NAACP, ACLU, Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, and Princeton University initiatives. He chaired or participated in advisory groups at World Economic Forum, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Council on Foreign Relations, and International Chamber of Commerce, and supported public health and education projects in partnership with Clinton Foundation and Ford Foundation.

Insider trading investigation and conviction

In 2011 he was charged in connection with an insider trading investigation involving shares of Goldman Sachs and alleged information passed to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation pursued criminal and civil actions culminating in a 2012 trial in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York where he was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy. The case involved testimony referencing communications with figures associated with McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, P&G, ImClone Systems, and several hedge funds including Galleon Group, and led to sentencing by the United States District Judge, restitution orders connected to transactions at Goldman Sachs and The New York Stock Exchange-traded securities. His conviction was affirmed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit before he was released from prison after serving part of his sentence.

Personal life and legacy

He was married to Anita Gupta and resided in New York City and maintained ties to India, particularly Mumbai and Kolkata. His legacy is debated across corporate governance, consulting ethics, and philanthropy, influencing discussions at Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, INSEAD, London Business School, Wharton School, Yale School of Management, and policy forums at World Economic Forum and United Nations General Assembly. He received honors and faced revocations affecting affiliations with institutions such as IIT Madras and corporate boards, prompting reforms in boardroom oversight at firms including Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, and McKinsey & Company. Category:Indian businesspeople