FacultyDr. Vikram Murthy
Dr. Vikram Murthy is a senior leadership expert with over thirty-five years of global experience in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, and Oman (where his companies were the first technology IPOs in the Muscat Stock Exchange). He is the Founding Director of the Being Leaders Academy, which works with organisations to underwrite their growth and profitability, and with people to catalyse their professional renewal and personal transformation. He received the Lord Mayoress of Rotorua, New Zealand’s Commendation for his work in 2017.
Vikram has a Bachelor (Honours) in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, a Masters, and Doctorate in Management from the Waikato Management School, New Zealand, where he was also the inaugural recipient of their “Outstanding Doctoral Candidate Award.”
His first book, “Please don’t stop the music: An Ensemble Leadership Repertoire for Productive Sustainability, and Strategic Innovation in Uncertain Times,” was released in September 2009 and has been the reference text for executive leadership programmes at universities in New Zealand. His Ensemble Leadership Repertoire™ features in book chapters and academic publications.
His second co-authored book, “Being: Five Ways of Leading Authentically in an iConnected World” released in November 2019, has been called “a refreshing tour de force that eschews the usual business-book pabulum,” by David and Alice Kolb, and “a book that balances brevity with nuance, and breadth with depth,” by Robert Diener.
Vikram is also co-authoring “Switching! Productive Change in an iConnected World,” a book on leading and managing change, scheduled for release in late 2022.
Dr. Murthy has held a Senior Fellowship in Waikato University, New Zealand, and adjunct professorial positions in Massey University, New Zealand, and AUT University, New Zealand. He has also been a visiting professor to BITS University, India. He lectures and supervises research on general management, business strategy, leadership, change, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Executive MBA, International MBA, Corporate Education, BBA and MBM programmes.
He is on the International Advisory Board of the World Association for Sustainable Development (www.worldsustainable.org), the Editorial Advisory Boards of the International Journal of Development and Management, and the Journal of Research: The Bede Athenaeum. He is also on the Board of the NPeW Education Trust, New Zealand.
He speaks regularly at conferences and gatherings across the Asia-Pacific region.
Aasha Murthy
Aasha Murthy has lived and worked in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, USA, Europe, and England. Her senior corporate roles have included amongst others: CEO of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders (ACEL), CEO of AFS Australia, Managing Director of Starbucks Coffee – Australia and New Zealand, Head of Operations Asia-Pacific of Weight Watchers, Director of Meal Solutions of the Woolworths Group NZ, and Marketing Director of Genetco and National Training Institute, Oman.
Aasha has a proven track record of delivering growth in revenue and bottom-line profitability for the organisations she has led. She builds strong brand equity by reinventing product portfolios, expanding into new markets, designing new delivery channels, and delivering operational excellence. She has stewarded the regional operations of many large multi-national organisations. This has given her an informed perspective on markets in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America across several industry sectors, and a keen and insightful understanding of the key drivers of success in the prevailing global context.
Professor David Hopkins describes Be!ng as a “leadership book for our time” that “goes deep in helping us understand the complex dynamics surrounding us in our post-truth society.” Aasha is also co-authoring “Switching! Productive Change in an iConnected World,” a book on leading and managing change, due for release in late 2021.
Aasha has been the Executive in Residence for the Business School in Auckland University and visiting faculty at the Waikato Management School, Waikato University. She lectures on Leadership, Strategic Planning, Strategic Innovation, and Reaching Global Markets.
Aasha has a passion for leadership and developing early-career and mature professionals by providing them with exciting learning opportunities through both formal education and experiential learning. She delivers a suite of Executive Leadership programs aimed at high-performing school and system leaders. She regularly speaks at conferences and seminars across the Asia-Pacific on topics that include leveraging diversity, challenges of female leadership and leading multi-cultural teams.
Her work in the education sector has led to her inclusion in the prestigious Educator’s 2020 Hot List that recognises and celebrates professionals who represent the cutting edge of educational excellence in Australia.