Avik Chanda

Avik Chanda holds degrees in economics from Kolkata’s Presidency College and the Delhi School of Economics. With two decades of global Big 4 Consulting experience, he is a business adviser, entrepreneur, trainer and a speaker at the Outstanding Speaker’s Bureau.

He has published two poetry collections, Jokhon Bideshe, in Bengali (Protibhash, 2006) and Footnotes (Shearsman, 2008), besides two novel, Anchor (HarperCollins, 2015) and Dara Shukoh (HarperCollins, 2019). His acclaimed business book, From Command to Empathy: Using EQ in the Age of Disruption (HarperCollins, 2017), co-authored with Suman Ghose, was featured in 2018 in Amazon India’s Best Reads, under ‘Business, Strategy and Management’. A global soul, Avik divides his time peripatetically between the Middle Ages and the twenty-first century.

Praise for Books by Avik Chanda:

“‘The world of work is rapidly changing because of technology and globalization, but it is impossible to predict where jobs will be. The only preparation for this new world is a strong foundation of basic skills, layered with an emotional intelligence, that makes us mindful, empathetic and resilient. This book does a wonderful job of thinking about emotions in the Indian workplace. With its rich brew of personal experiences and learnings, engaging case studies, research and questionnaires, From Command to Empathy is essential reading for employees and their leaders.’ —Manish Sabharwal, board member, Reserve Bank of India, and CEO, Team Lease

‘As the world hurries towards a path of unsustainable growth and increased disparities, next generation of corporate leaders and managers will have to bring in empathy as an important element in running inclusive businesses. I sincerely believe this book will provide a direction to the younger generation of future CEOs, CTOs and CFOs—that pure business as usual will not work and they will have to bring in an environment or culture that combines heart and the mind.’—Harish Hande, chairman, SELCO India, Ramon Magsaysay Award–winner and chosen by Business Today as one of the ‘twenty-one young leaders for India’s twenty-first century’

‘Rapid changes in technology are disrupting the old order like never before. Professionals today need to constantly reinvent themselves to cope with these changes. Ironically, it is emotional maturity that will be required more than anything else to succeed in a world run by robots and machines. From Command to Empathy provides a well- researched and easy-to-apply framework of how to succeed in such an environment. An essential book for our times!’ —Hitesh Oberoi, co-promoter, MD and CEO, Naukri

‘This book is one of the best books I have read on bringing EQ into the workplace. I loved the examples, case studies, assessment tools and excellent practical approach of the book. I highly recommend it to every Indian manager!’ —Prasad Kaipa, CEO Coach, board member, Indian School of Business, author of From Smart to Wise and TEDx speaker