Award-winning, Southern California-based industrial design firm RKS Design named Harvard and MIT-trained designer and innovations manager Rajib Adhikary to the position of Executive Vice President for the firm in mid 2005. In Dec 2006 Adhikary accepted the position of CEO & President of RKS Guitars which is considered to be the world’s most innovative electric guitar manufacturer. Adhikary earned his Master of

Design Studies (MDesS) in Innovation Management from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, encompassing studies at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan for programs in Innovation, Marketing and Strategy. At RKS Design, his responsibilities includes insuring the smooth operation and integration of all departments and advising on business protocols for every aspect of the company’s endeavors. As CEO of RKS Guitars, Adhikary is determined to spearhead the company to become the market leader in the electric guitar industry.  

 

Throughout his career, Adhikary engaged in multiple parallel programs with the mindset that “life is too short”. Prior to RKS and Harvard, Adhikary was Principal/Chief Designer for The Designwave USA, a product development consulting firm engaged in a strategic partnership with Ikon Design (India) and Somerswell International (China) for the design and manufacture of various goods in India & China. That entrepreneurial experience overlapped with the last half of Adhikary’s six year tenure as a Professor of Industrial Design at the ITT Tech, where in addition to teaching, he authored and developed curriculum for five courses including Design Methodology.

 

Adhikary’s career began in his native India with the 1993 launch of his first entrepreneurial venture Ayatan Design, in Ahmedabad. From there, he went on to become Senior Product Designer for The Bombay Store, one of India’s leading lifestyle

products retailer. In addition to managing the 14-member in-house design team and many major projects, Adhikary was the Director of Ikon Design. Adhikary was responsible for the incubation, management and growth of Ikon Design, a product development firm owned by one of the leading greeting cards manufacturers Ikon.  

 

In addition to his MDesS from Harvard University, Adhikary earned a Masters in Industrial Design from National Institute of Design, India.

 

Rajib Adhikary plays a Ruby Red electric guitar from RKS Guitars.

 

 

India is undoubtedly destined for substantial economic and social growth. Design and innovation is certainly going to play a critical role. The foreseeable challenges lie in the domain of cultural acceptance and adoptions. Products and services are currently designed for a very small upper middle class population. The successful brands address a larger audience by leveraging declining technology costs and tailoring the offering to suit the life styles, traditions and mindsets of the masses. I urge the global design community to "leverage andintegrate" - not "force".