Member Advisory Board
Ms. Khursheed Khurody’s background and education span four countries and several disciplines. Raised and educated in the U.K., and the U.S.A, Ms. Khurody completed her formal education at Harvard University.
Together with her academic education, both in the humanities and in the sciences, she has a strong background in the Western performing arts and several international diplomas, prizes, and awards in Western classical music. She studied classical ballet and music in the UK and in the USA and plays the piano, cello, and violin at music festivals, the world over.
Interdisciplinary scholarship begets a generous world view and nurtures wide-ranging competencies. While representing Harvard Alumni in India, Ms. Khurody seeded the Harvard Club of Mumbai. She also undertook the restoration of a 160-year-old heritage property in the hills of Western India. This was a detailed and painstaking project that took over 5 years, during which every artifact, painting, and the buildings at large were restored back to the Victorian era. Ms. Khurody managed and undertook the design and all the allied processes – project execution, administration, and accounts.
She is also a Director of Khurody Technical Services Private Ltd. providing management services and human resources, specifically, modules for leadership training for senior management across a wide range of organizations.
Ms. Khurody has conducted seminars and workshops on ‘Leadership – Lessons through Music & the Humanities’ – for senior management, vice- presidents, and CEOs of corporations, such as Larsen and Toubro. She says, “The parallels between music and management are astounding.”
Ms. Khurody is particularly driven to work outside the narrow confines of business and is passionate about the not-for-profit space. More recently, she was Executive Director in India for a UK wildlife organization, whose joint presidents are Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales, and The Duchess of Cornwall. She currently works towards leading growth and change, especially in India.
Presently, Ms. Khurody sits on several Not-for-Profit Boards and helps to: align the purpose and architecture of organizations; develop strategy and direction; shape organizational design, values, and standards; fortify the philosophy of organizations and lead change within and without, in an effort to ensure sustained growth and excellence. Projects include wildlife conservation, sustainability, solar power, preservation of rural arts, girls’ education, skill development, blindness, and poverty alleviation through a myriad of programs.
Ms. Khurody is presently Executive Chairman of Shiva – India, an international not-for-profit organization working for the poorest of the poor through its livelihood development programs. She is also Strategic Advisor & Consultant to several other Global Not-for-Profit Organisations on fundraising; organizational development; governance; strategy; risk and change management; partnerships; culture and performance.
Today, leadership and managerial talent call for alternate pathways; for people who enliven innovation and creativity; for greater curiosity; for imagination; for a sense of wonder and tolerance; and above all for a sound sense of values. With increasing relevance, the humanities fashion leaders who are organic and passionate, and the inter-connects of managerial dynamics are more readily grasped.
The humanities – their study and purpose – have equipped Ms. Khurody to fuse what is explicit with that which is implicit and tacit; to bring to the table a fresh and distinct dimension, a renewed spirit.
