Rajat Gupta born in Calcutta (Kolkata) in India in 1948, he undergraduate degree in engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi in 1971 and went on to do his MBA from Harvard Business School in US on a scholarship, which served as his introduction not only to business but to the ways of the West.

After graduation, Gupta started as an associate in McKinsey's New York office, followed by assignments in Copenhagen and Chicago. In 1994 when McKinsey decided to apponint a managing director for one of the largest general management consulting firms of the world, Rajat Gupta received enormous support. He is the first non-westerner to hold that position, he was 45 years of age at that time. It was the faith in him and his ability that led him to attain the position inspite of many people in McKinsey having a good track record than him were dropped.

One of the world's premier management consulting firms, McKinsey conducts business from 80 offices in 37 countries, with almost half of its 220 senior partners based outside the United States and 60 percent of its revenues coming from abroad.

Rajat Gupta, who was reelected managing director by the partners in 1997, is one of the few Indians who have proved the metal of minorities in Corporate America. One of the major factors that helped him achieve what he did in 1994 has been his extremely low-key style of functioning and unassuming manner.