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Four Indian-origin names on Thinkers50 Radar 2026
The annual list recognizes emerging management thinkers shaping debates on AI, workplace culture, leadership and social impact.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 07, May 2026
- 15:06 EDT
- 22
(Top L-R) Arvind Karunakaran, Nidhi Tewari (Bottom L-R) Sunita Sah, Vilas Ghar / thinkers50.com
Four Indian-origin academics and business thinkers were named to the Thinkers50 Radar 2026 list, which recognizes 30 emerging voices expected to influence the future of management and leadership thinking.
The list includes Arvind Karunakaran, Sunita Sah, Nidhi Tewari and Vilas Dhar.
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Karunakaran, an assistant professor at Stanford University, studies how emerging technologies including generative AI, predictive analytics and labor platforms are deployed and governed in workplaces. His research focuses on worker well-being, accountability and inequality, and examines how organizations can design and manage technology responsibly while supporting meaningful work.
His scholarship spans ethnography, comparative-historical methods and computational text analysis. Karunakaran earned his PhD from MIT Sloan School of Management, and his work has appeared in journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Academy of Management Journal and Research Policy.
Sah, a professor at the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, studies influence, advice and defiance in healthcare and society. In her 2025 book “Defy,” she argues that defiance should be understood not as rebellion, but as acting in alignment with personal values despite social pressure to conform.
A physician-turned-organizational psychologist, Sah previously worked as a medical doctor in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service and later as a management consultant in the pharmaceutical industry.
Her recent commentary and research on compliance and decision-making have appeared in publications including Psychology Today, The Conversation, Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.
Tewari’s work focuses on mental health, workplace culture and communication. In her 2026 book “Working Well,” she argues that organizations perform better when employees are treated as “whole, complex beings” rather than being expected to separate personal and professional lives.
Tewari, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist, introduced the concept of “attunement” as an evolution of emotional intelligence aimed at strengthening workplace relationships and reducing burnout. Her work has been featured in outlets including Forbes, Oprah Daily, Yahoo and VICE, and she has spoken at forums including the World Economic Forum and NPR.
Dhar, president of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, was recognized for his work on AI governance and the social impact of technology. His writing and public speaking have focused on responsible innovation, AI as civic infrastructure and the need for institutions to evolve alongside advances in machine intelligence.
Dhar has served on the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence and is the U.S. government’s nominated expert to the Global Partnership on AI. In 2022, the World Economic Forum named him a Young Global Leader.
Thinkers50 publishes its Radar list every two years to highlight emerging thinkers in management, leadership and workplace innovation.
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