About Ishtiaq Pasha Mahmood

Pasha Mahmood is a Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School where he studies and works with multinational firms and local enterprises on their emerging market strategies. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s international panel of experts, acting as the co-curator for the ASEAN Transformation Map. Pasha obtained his B.A. in Economics from Oberlin College and his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Prior to joining academia, he had worked as a management consultant for Gemini in Chicago. From 2012 to 2015, Pasha was a Professor of Strategy and Innovation at the IMD Business School in Switzerland. He has also held several Visiting Professor appointments at universities such as Waseda and Hitotsubashi in Japan, and St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Pasha’s work looks at the interface between innovation and strategy in the context of emerging markets. He won the Haynes Prize by the Academy of International Business (AIB). In 2014, Pasha also won the Aspen Award by the Aspen Institute for promoting sustainable business models in his research and teaching. His recent case on bKash, a fintech firm in Bangladesh, won the bestselling case award in 2021 from Ivey Publications.

Pasha’s research has been published at leading management journals including Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS), Management Science, Organization Science, Research Policy, Strategic Management Journal, etc. He has also served as an Area Editor for JIBS from 2010-2013 and as a Senior Editor for the Management Organization Review from 2013-2015.

Literature, history, coffee, and train rides are some of his passions. It is the opportunity to be useful to his students and colleagues that excites Pasha the most about his job as a business school professor.