Raj was born in India and spent parts of his childhood in Barbados, California, and Canada. He was educated as an electrical engineer from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS, Pilani). He received an MBA in Marketing from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai after which he earned a Ph.D. in Marketing and Business Policy from Columbia University. Raj is an American citizen residing in Boston, Massachusetts.
Until 1998, he was the Director of Executive Programs and Associate Professor of Marketing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. From 1985 to 1988, he was Assistant Professor of Marketing at Boston University. He also spent 15 years at Bentley University as Trustee Professor of Marketing, Department Chair and founder/director of the Center for Marketing Technology.
Raj has consulted with and taught executive programs for numerous companies, including
AT&T, Nokia, LG, DPDHL, POSCO, Kraft Foods, Whole Foods Market, Tata, Siemens, Sprint, Verizon, Volvo, IBM, Walmart, Rabobank, McDonalds and Southern California Edison. Since 2007, Raj has spoken over 1000 times on Conscious Capitalism and related topics to audiences around the world, including at the White House and the Vatican.
Raj has published fifteen books (including The Healing Organization, Conscious Capitalism, Firms of Endearment, The Rule of Three, Everybody Matters and Shakti Leadership) and over 100 academic articles. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, CNBC and many other media outlets. His book Awaken: The Path to Purpose, Inner Peace & Healing was published in April 2023. His next book Healing Leaders will be published in January 2026.
In 2003, Raj was cited as one of “50 Leading Marketing Thinkers” and named to the “Guru
Gallery” by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Bentley University honored him with the Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2007 and the Innovation in Teaching Award in 2008. He was named one of “Ten Outstanding Trailblazers of 2010” by Good Business International, and one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America for 2010 and 2011. In 2013 and 2015, Raj was named to the Thinkers 50 list of business and management thinkers from India. Raj received an honorary doctorate from Johnson & Wales University in 2016 and the Business Luminary Award from Halcyon in 2021.
Raj has served on the Board of Directors of The Container Store and Mastek Ltd. He is a Trustee of Conscious Capitalism Inc. He is on the Advisory Board of several organizations, including the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, ecountabl, Xapa and PayActiv.