Hari Nair

Vice President Emerging Markets and New Products

As part of the founding team which established Innosight's Asia presence in 2006, Hari is a thought leader and expert in applying disruptive innovation in emerging markets having advised several Fortune 500 companies as well as several Asian companies, including P&G, Unilever, Medtronic, Reliance and Godrej on building and incubating new growth businesses.

Hari has spent nearly half of his 20-year professional career living and working in emerging markets, launching new businesses and products in China and India which helped hone a deep on the ground understanding of the opportunities these markets offer and in particular unmet ‘jobs’ which exist for the millions. Hari led the engagement which helped conceive and develop ChotuKool, an innovative refrigerator launched by Godrej Industries. From 2008 to 2010, as part of the leadership team of Innosight Ventures, Hari led the incubation of several disruptive ventures, targeting non-consumers and the emerging middle class in India. Notably, Village Laundry Service, a franchised laundry service venture, recently raised its Series A financing and has been featured as one of India’s most innovative startups.

Prior to joining Innosight, Hari was with the Global Research and Development group at Procter & Gamble for 14 years. Hari led numerous product and packaging innovations including the launch of several new brands and markets, including spending four years in Beijing, China where he helped lead P&G's scaled up efforts serving low-income markets across Asia. 

Hari received his BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he graduated with honors; he is also an inventor/co-inventor on eight patents. 

Publication Highlights

“New Business Models in Emerging Markets,” Harvard Business Review, January-February 2011.

“Innovation Vs. Poverty,” Forbes, October 2008.