Dr. Sunil Gupta: Professor of Business
Sunil Gupta is a leading Harvard Business School professor and digital strategy expert who helps organizations navigate digital transformation, customer value creation and data-driven growth.
- Highlights:
- Harvard professor leading research at the intersection of digital transformation, customer analytics and firm strategy
- Multiple award-winning scholar with more than 80 publications and influential books
- Advisor to global companies navigating digital disruption and customer-centric growth
- Creator of cases on Amazon, TripAdvisor, YouTube, Angry Birds, Adobe and more
- Formats:
Digital strategy keynote speaker, academic thought leader and executive educator
- Audiences:
Executive teams, digital leaders, strategy groups, innovation teams and organizations undergoing digital transformation.
- Outcomes:
- Clear frameworks for designing and executing digital growth strategies
- Evidence-based tools for customer value measurement and marketing investment decisions
- Insight into how digital technologies reshape business models and competitive dynamics
- Travels from: Boston, MA
- **Fee range: On Request
Keynote Topics
Digital Transformation
The fact that digital technology disrupts existing businesses is no longer news. We have seen and heard many case studies of incumbents struggling in the digital age as new and nimble players emerge with innovative business models. How should large established companies respond to these changes and how should they transform their businesses in this dynamic environment? My research addresses this fundamental question to help large established companies transform their businesses for the digital era.
Talent Short Bio
Sunil Gupta is the Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Chair of the General Management Program. A global authority on digital strategy and customer analytics, he also co-chairs the executive program Driving Digital Strategy and has taught Digital Marketing Strategy to MBA students and senior executives worldwide.
Gupta’s current research examines how digital technologies reshape consumer behavior, business models and competitive strategy. Earlier work in customer management, pricing and marketing ROI established him as a foundational scholar in the field. He has published more than 80 articles, cases and book chapters, earning multiple top awards including the O’Dell and Paul Green Awards for major contributions to marketing science, as well as honors from the Marketing Science Institute, Journal of Interactive Marketing and International Journal of Research in Marketing.
His cases analyze both digital-native companies such as Amazon, Hulu and YouTube and legacy firms undertaking digital transformation, including Adobe, Bank of America and The New York Times. Gupta has advised global organizations across industries from financial services and healthcare to consumer packaged goods and telecom.
Read Full Bio
Sunil Gupta is the Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration and Chair of the General Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is also the co-chair of the executive program on Driving Digital Strategy. In the recent past, he has taught an elective course on Digital Marketing Strategy to MBA students and Advanced Management Program to senior managers. From 2008-2013, he served as the Head of the Marketing Unit.
Sunil’s current research is in the area of digital technology and its impact on consumer behavior and firm strategy. His previous research focused on customer management, pricing, and return on marketing investment. He has published two books and over 80 articles, book chapters, cases and notes on these topics.
His research has been well recognized in national and international circles and his articles have won several awards including the 1993, 2002, and 2009 O’Dell Award and the 1998 and 2005 Paul Green Award of the Journal of Marketing Research for the most significant contribution in the field of marketing; the 1998, 2000, and 2003 Marketing Science Institute award for the best paper; the 2004 best paper award for the Journal of Interactive Marketing and the 1999 best paper award for the International Journal of Research in Marketing. Sunil is co-author of two books. His last book, Managing Customers as Investments, was selected as the 2006 winner of the annual Berry-AMA book prize for the best book in marketing.
Dr. Sunil Gupta has written several case studies to understand the impact of digital technology on business practices. These cases include startups such as Angry Birds, Eko, Groupon, Hulu, and PatientsLikeMe; well-established digital companies such as Amazon, TripAdvisor and YouTube; as well as legacy companies that are trying to go through a digital transition – examples include Adobe, Bank of America, BBVA Compass Bank, and the New York Times.
Dr. Sunil Gupta advises and speaks to companies around the world. Some of his representative clients include American Express, Amway, AutoTrader, Avon, BJ Wholesale Club, Duracell, IBM, GfK Academy, Heineken, Henkel, Johnson and Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, L.G. Electronics, MasterCard, McKinsey & Company, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, NPD Group, Pfizer, SK Telecom, Sanofi, TD Bank, Telefonica, Turkcell, Unilever and Vodafone.
As a business expert, Sunil Gupta has frequently appeared on several national and international television programs, such as CBS, CNN, NPR and BBC, and has been quoted in Forbes, The Fast Company, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Prior to joining Harvard, Sunil was the Meyer Feldberg Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and Assistant Professor at UCLA. In 1996, Sunil spent his sabbatical with McKinsey & Co.
Sunil Gupta holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.
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Talent Videos
Professor Sunil Gupta: A Framework for Learning Through Cases and Digital Transformation
Sunil Gupta explains how case-based storytelling uncovers patterns in digital transformation, shaping frameworks that guide global leaders through real organizational change.
Read Summary & Key Moments
Summary
This 3 minute 25 second video features Professor Sunil Gupta describing why the case method is such a powerful tool for developing strategic understanding, especially in the context of digital transformation. He begins by noting that people learn best through stories; from childhood onward, stories and their morals stay with us. The case method mirrors that process by placing learners inside a narrative with a specific problem and context, enabling lessons to take hold through practical relevance rather than abstraction.
Gupta explains that case research exposes him to a wide breadth of real-world situations across industries. Speaking with companies, startups and venture capitalists reveals patterns not visible from a single example. By comparing how different organizations respond to similar challenges, a generalized framework emerges—one that can then be brought back into the classroom and refined further.
He shares how early cases, including a 2013 case on Adobe’s shift from packaged software to the cloud, sparked deeper inquiry into digital transformation. Over time, he developed a series of cases on companies such as Amazon, Apple and The New York Times. Together they revealed best practices, recurring challenges and common opportunities that informed his executive program Driving Digital Strategy.
The program now attracts more than 100 senior leaders from around the world, including CEOs navigating digital change. Gupta notes that the cases give executives a grounded sense of what digital transformation looks like in practice, providing a structure and approach they can apply inside their own organizations. Many later reach out for customized programs or advisory support.
Key Moments
- 00:27 How case research reveals patterns across companies and leads to generalized frameworks.
- 01:05 Early digital transformation cases such as Adobe and the expansion into Amazon, Apple and The New York Times.
- 01:55 Development of the Driving Digital Strategy executive program and global participation.
- 02:33 Practical value for executives applying the framework inside their organizations.
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