ABOUT MADAN BIRLA

Madan Birla is a veteran of the “hard” side of business. In his 22 years at FedEx, he worked closely with Fred Smith (founder and CEO) and the senior management team in evaluating strategic “what-ifs.”

His life experiences in two rich cultures, East and West, and his broad educational background have prepared him to creatively meld ideas from engineering, business, and psychology to develop comprehensive “Leading for Innovation and Growth” models.

After completing undergraduate work in Mechanical Engineering at BITS-Pilani, India, he received his Master of Science in industrial engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from IIT, he joined RCA in Indianapolis. While in Indianapolis, he did graduate work in business at Butler University. After moving to Memphis to join FedEx, he received a Master of Science in counseling from the University of Memphis. He has been inducted into Alpha Pi Mu, Honor Society for Industrial Engineers, and the University of Memphis’ College of Education’s Alumni Hall of Fame. He serves on the dean’s advisory council.

Book Collection

Discover All My Book Collection You Were Looking For

Ever an active volunteer, Madan led a massive effort to establish the Indian Community Fund for Greater Memphis that has funded several permanent cultural exhibits, including the Gandhi exhibit at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

Testimonial

Hear from Our Satisfied Readers The Joy Our Books Bring

4.5/5
4.5 Review from our book reader

Madan, this is your best work because other leadership books in the market don’t address technical people.

– Rob Carter
– Rob Carter

CIO, FedEx

"As a business visionary, Madan inspires us with stories of breakthrough innovations and provides a step-by-step guide for how we can make a creative difference in our careers and companies…"

– Ethan Willis
– Ethan Willis

CEO, Prosper Inc. NY Times Best-Selling Author

LinkedIn Posts

Discussions, Recommendations, and Inspiration for Book Lovers

One day I found myself standing in my physician’s office. "Lately I have not been as effective at work as I used to be, especially in dealing with people," I told him.

I started my career as an industrial engineer at RCA in Indianapolis, manufacturing Elvis Presley records and tapes. Technology transformed the world of music from analog to digital. RCA switched to making CDs.

Last Tuesday, I was the guest speaker in the graduate counseling class at the College of Education at the University of Memphis.

Talks Seminars Keynotes