·Work, Careers & Personal Mastery
The Best Business Books of 2025
Ten essential reads on money, leadership, and navigating a changing world
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner at Advent International
Shivakumar is Operating Partner at Advent International. Before this, he was President (Corporate Strategy and Business Development) at Aditya Birla Group. Earlier assignments include: Chairman & CEO at Pepsico India and prior to that, Managing Director at Nokia India. Before joining Nokia, he worked with consumer electronics maker Philips and top consumer goods firm Hindustan Unilever. He is an engineer from IIT Chennai and an MBA from IIM Calcutta.
Shivakumar has written three books: Reflections - a collection of Shivs articles; The Right Choice - Resolving Ten Career Dilemmas; and The Art of Management. The latter two are business bestsellers.
My Work
·Leadership & Organisation
My 10 best business books of summer 2025
On what makes a leader, how to stop wasting energy on the wrong things, speaking well, the history of attention, understanding India’s economic planning, and more
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Business & Strategy
My top ten business books of 2024
The best books of the year on how the past informs the future, tackling tough situations, and technology
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Work, Careers & Personal Mastery
My 6 best business books of summer 2024
The best books of the year so far, on being better, power of rituals, bad leaders, thriving, and being super communicators
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Business & Strategy
Eight best business books of 2023
An annual round up of the most memorable books of the year
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·FF Life
My six summer must-read books of 2023
FF Life: My choice of the 2023 summer books is reflective of the times we live in and the key topics on executives’ minds
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Business & Strategy
12 Deadly Sins That Bedevil Incumbents
Here’s a pattern that I’ve observed throughout my career: incumbents mostly lose; they somehow survive but don’t thrive. An incumbent growing faster than the market over a decade is more an exception, rather than the rule.
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Work, Careers & Personal Mastery
A personal brand is a must
It is the intersection of what you say about yourself and what others say about you
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Leadership & Organisation
The Top 10 business and leadership books of 2022
Books about a fearless industrialist, building a great culture, regret and fulfilment, building careers, world strategy, reinventing work, and becoming a strategist
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Economy, Policy & Society
Top Ten books of 2021
This year’s list reflects and helps us decode a lot that has changed since the pandemic
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Work, Careers & Personal Mastery
My five summer books of 2021
Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna's work on gene editing; the courage to stand up for what's right; which habits will stay, which will change; adaptive leadership; and giving your career a different direction
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Leadership & Organisation
The 10 best business and leadership books of 2020
An inside look at US presidency, leadership, changing trends, and life after the pandemic
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Business & Strategy
My five summer business books
A history of GDP; pursuing social value; inside Samsung; how longer life is redefining life, learning and work; the four-day work week
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Work, Careers & Personal Mastery
What you can do in uncertain situations
Three great books on handling uncertainty
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Leadership & Organisation
Ten best business books of 2019
What Uber, Netflix and Walt Disney Company show us about thriving in a tech world; leadership skills for sustainable success; and how human behaviour shapes decisions
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Leadership & Organisation
Must reads: Five books on the surprising traits of best employees & leaders
The best books of 2019 (so far) on finding people with unique strengths, coaching, productive meetings, and bad bosses
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International
·Leadership & Organisation
Top 10 Business Books of 2018
Books about the evolution of India's billionaires, understanding data, shared values, the economy, organisational culture, the risks and rewards of technology, and the rise of strongmen
DS
D Shivakumar
Operating Partner, Advent International