Vikram Mansharamani, Ph.D.
Global Trend-Watcher, Harvard University Lecturer, & Investor - Author, Boombustology: Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst
Price range
- $40,000 - $40,001
Expert
- Agriculture
- Economy
- Food
- Future
- Geopolitics
- Global Economics
- Risk Management
- Trends
Experience
- Colleges and Universities
- Finance
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About
Vikram Mansharamani first gained widespread attention with his book Boombustology: Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst. Since then he’s gone on to show business leaders and investors how to look at the world differently in order to manage risk and navigate radical uncertainty. His strategies help them peer into the future on crucial areas like China, food, the global economy, Africa, housing, investing, financial cycles, energy, and much more. So valuable are his insights that LinkedIn named Vikram #1 on their 10 Top Voices for Money, Global Economics, and Finance for both 2015 and 2016. Worth magazine listed him on their “Power 100” list for 2017 – one of the 100 most powerful people in global finance.
Vikram believes that the future doesn’t have to surprise us – and won’t – if we regularly step away from our expertise and look at the world through multiple lenses. He calls this the generalist’s mindset. When encountering information that seems irrelevant most people think, “So what?!” Generalists think instead, “Isn’t that interesting,” and look to connect disparate dots. When they do, the conclusions they draw and decisions they make may be very different from the more narrow-focused “experts.” Vikram shows audiences practical ways to use this approach to spot opportunities and reduce risk.
From 2009 until 2017, Vikram was a Lecturer at Yale University where he taught three popular classes: “Financial Booms and Busts,” “Economic Inequality,” and “Adventures in Business Ethics.” He is now a Lecturer at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences where he teaches a course called “Humanity and Its Challenges.” His research is focused on navigating complex uncertainties and risk.
Vikram Mansharamani is a global equity investor with more than 20 years’ experience investing in public and private markets. He served as a Managing Director of SDK Capital (and its predecessors) until 2011 and founded Kelan Capital in 2017.
Vikram is currently a regular contributor to Worth magazine and a columnist for the PBS NewsHour. He has also contributed to Bloomberg, MarketWatch, CNBC, Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, YaleGlobal, The South China Morning Post, The Korea Times, The Khaleej Times,and The Daily Beast, among others. Vikram contributed the summary chapter for the book A Force for Good (2015) synthesizing lessons drawn from the collection of essays written by the world’s most prominent thinkers on the role of finance and capitalism in today’s increasingly interconnected and unequal world.
He is a frequently sought-after speaker by a wide range of organizations. And while corporations from virtually every industry have sought his insights, he continues to have a very strong following in the investment community. He regularly speaks with those focused on allocating large pools of capital. Audiences of sovereign wealth funds, family offices, endowments, foundations, and registered investment advisors have found tremendous value in his unconventional thinking.
As a consultant Vikram helps clients analyze the business impact of global trends, with a particular emphasis on economic, political, and social risks that might generate instability. He conducts many executive education seminars for senior leadership teams on how to integrate disparate (and seemingly contradictory) information into actionable analysis to drive business decisions. His thematic analysis and risk management is always focused on identifying opportunities within the risks.
He earned a Ph.D. and MS from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, an MS in Political Science from MIT, and a BA from Yale University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
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Video Clips
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Topics
Patriotism in a Polarized Time: Implications for Your Industry
One of the greatest independent thinkers of our time, Dr. Mansharamani offers an informed outsider’s perspective on the deeply polarized political culture of our time. As a former candidate for federal office in New Hampshire, he has developed a unique and fresh perspective on the political process and believes that patriotism may offer a path for us to move beyond our current divisive dynamics. Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Mansharamani also helps audiences make sense of what various US political scenarios might mean for the economy, geopolitics, and the business environment in 2025 and beyond.
Navigating Uncertainty: An Unconventional Approach
In this stimulating and entertaining talk, Dr. Vikram Mansharamani applies a unique combination of practitioner experience and academic perspective to help audiences navigate the seemingly unending crosscurrents of global economic, financial and geopolitical uncertainty. He explains how we got to the current world of protectionism, nationalism, populism, and currency conflicts and explores how the combination of political, social, technological, demographic, and economic pressures will impact future trends. After presenting several scenarios, he considers the risks and opportunities emerging from a recession or an escalation of global tensions. While audiences often find themselves agreeing with Dr. Mansharamani each step of the way, they’re frequently surprised by what turn out to be unconventional conclusions.
Think For Yourself
In a fast-paced world driven by complex and changing factors, connecting the dots is often more important than developing them. As a result of the overwhelming flood of information that pours at us daily, we run headlong into the arms of experts and technologies. We’ve stopped thinking for ourselves and now habitually – perhaps unconsciously – outsource our thinking about important decisions. Rather than turn to specialists, Dr. Mansharamani guides us to think bigger and look across the silos of expertise, leaving listeners empowered and energized to think for themselves. This memorable talk is filled with stories from a variety of industries and settings about how we got to where we are and how we can reclaim control.
Boom or Bust: Spotting Bubbles Before They Burst
Our dynamic global economy seems to be producing boom and bust cycles more frequently than in the past. There’s always something that seems ahead of itself, having reached unsustainable levels. In direct contrast to the prevailing academic thinking, Dr. Vikram Mansharamani believes it’s possible to identify financial (and other) bubbles before they burst. Drawing on entertaining examples from art markets, architecture, and popular culture (as well as economics and politics), he powerfully demonstrates that you need not be an expert to anticipate the future. Audiences leave this talk feeling empowered to think independently and connect the obvious dots to generate not-so-obvious conclusions.
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Testimonials
3 people have recommended this speaker
“Vikram was very well received by our audience. Politically related speakers can be tough to book, not knowing how they’ll connect with different audiences. Vikram shared the same beliefs as many of our audience members but he was still able to push their way of thinking.”
“Vikram has been a speaker at several of our client events in the past. His dynamic and entertaining talk on the boom & bust cycles is not only very engaging but it really pushes the audience to think outside the box. He leaves us inspired about 'connecting the dots.'”
“Easily one of the best I've seen, Vikram's presentation was a clear standout among the dozens of conferences I've attended over my twenty years in the investment industry. I found his conversational style remarkably engaging and his perspectives the most innovative and fresh-thinking I've seen to date. His message was thought-provoking, informative, and I'd even say inspired; a rare combination indeed.”