Bala Shankar has experienced many different professions for sustained periods and in different geographies. He has had careers in corporate, teaching, entrepreneurship and writing. His own new pivots in life and career have prompted him to reflect on the skills journey and its impact.

Bala qualified as a management post-graduate (MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, one of the premier management institutions in the world. He also obtained a Bachelors degree in Statistics. For over twenty five years, his corporate career spanned sales, account management, global account leadership and regional profit center responsibility at a global multinational in the fragrance and flavour business (current turnover of the company USD 2.5 billion) across Asia, the US and Europe. During his experience, he oversaw new market entry, geographical expansion, managed two large global accounts (Unilever, Johnson and Johnson), oversaw transition through a merger and private equity ownership and rolled out a global programme for sales growth.