Associate Director, Centre for India Australia Studies (CIAS)
Associate Professor in Marketing and Vice Dean (Research), Jindal Global Business School


Laknath has worked in India since July 2017, and is currently the Associate Director of the Centre for India Australia Studies, housed at O.P. Jindal Global University. He is also Associate Professor in Marketing and Vice Dean (Research) at Jindal Global Business School. Australian born and raised, and with strong ancestral ties to the Subcontinent, he is excited about facilitating tight Australia-India relationships and partnerships.

With over twenty years professional experience, Laknath’s career straddles the nexus of academia and qualitative marketing research. He holds a PhD in consumer research from the University of Melbourne, as well as an MPhil in Australian cultural studies from the University of Queensland, and is an experienced facilitator, administrator, qualitative researcher, and teacher. He has taught at leading Australian universities, including the University of Queensland, Monash University, Macquarie University, and University of Newcastle.

Laknath has also worked at premier advertising agencies and strategic brand research firms in Australia, including most recently a stint as Research Director at Ward6 Sydney and research consultant roles at Latitude Insights and Forethought Research in Melbourne. He began his career in marketing as an advertising media planner at the globally renowned media investment firm, Mediacom. Throughout his career, Laknath has advised and assisted numerous firms (from start-ups to iconic brands) with their launch and expansion into the Asian region.

Laknath’s scholarly research on Australian suburban family consumption, published in the prestigious Journal of Consumer Research, was recently listed by the acclaimed Marketing Science Institute as one of 16 “must read” papers of scholarly marketing research published globally in 2013. Apart from his scholarly journal articles and book chapters, his work has been published in iconic venues such as Harper’s Magazine, and in other leading media outlets such as The Australian, The Age, B&T, and New Matilda.

Laknath is passionate about bringing together future leaders of India and Australia--across the political, business, cultural, and policy domains--and views his role at CIAS as facilitating this aim.