Dr. Ajit Ranade is a distinguished economist whose 35-year career spans both academia and industry. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Brown University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Bombay in 2009.
Dr. Ranade has served as Vice-Chancellor and a member of the Board of Management at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. Prior to that, he was the Group Executive President and Chief Economist of the Aditya Birla Group.
He has served on the executive committees of leading industry chambers including CII, FICCI and MCCIA and has taught at universities in both India and the United States. He has served on the Boards of several companies and trusts and has written for more than two decades as a columnist on economics and contemporary issues. He is co-author of the award-winning book Rising to the China Challenge (2021).
Dr. Ranade is a co-founder and trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms, is a trustee of the Pune International Centre and an Honorary Senior Fellow at the Takshashila Institution.
At Persistent, he is a Member of the Audit Committee, Risk Management Committee and Nomination and Remuneration Committee.
Dr. Ranade is married to Alpana and they have two daughters.
