Fellow Highlights

Not On My Resume: Gautam Mukunda

November 17, 2022

Gautam Mukunda is a 2005 Fellow, a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, a lecturer at the Yale School of Management, and author of Indispensable, Picking Presidents, and the forthcoming The Innovator’s Revolution. Gautam was born in Washington, DC and is the child of naturalized Indian immigrants.

Why did you (or your family) come to America?
My parents came to America for the classic reason—economic opportunity. Both of them were educated in India but struck out across the seas to find a better life here.

Which living New American do you most admire? I know it’s a cliche, but it has to be Barack Obama. I just wrote a book about Presidents, how could I pick anyone else? But seriously, I think it’s impossible to overstate the difficulty of the challenges he faced and the skill—and grace—with which he overcame them. Even when I disagreed with him about something, there was never a moment that I didn’t admire how he handled every aspect of the hardest job in the world.

What is your current state of mind?
A mixture of optimistic and deeply concerned. On a personal level, I’ve never imaged being so happy—I got married a year ago and the glow is still very real, and on a professional level, I’m enjoying a new job and excited for the new book. But I’m deeply worried for our country. American democracy has not been in so much danger since the 1860s, and I think very few people realize that if we don’t make the right choices over the next few years, we could very well lose the Republic that was born in 1789. That’s the biggest reason I wrote Picking Presidents—I wanted to do what I could to help.

When was the last time you felt imposter syndrome?
When I first joined the Harvard faculty, it took months before it felt real. Every time I walked into my office I would look around thinking that it had to be some kind of dream and I was about to wake up.

What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is that we’re not going to get through the next few years intact. If the 2024 election really is disputed or, even worse, stolen, I think it could easily escalate, even to large-scale violence in the worst-case scenario, and we’re not prepared for that at all.

If you could change careers and do anything, what would it be?
I’ve already changed careers so many times! I started out as a consultant, then I became an academic, and now I’m a venture capitalist and an author (and still an academic some of the time). I wouldn’t be surprised if I changed again in a few years – but I have no idea what it would be.

What is your idea of a good life?
A good life is one spent surrounded by friends and family while whatever gifts and talents I have are fully engaged in some worthwhile task that will leave the world a better place than I found it.

What is the one habit that you can’t live without?
I can’t go to sleep without reading a novel. I read nonfiction during the day, but at bedtime, it has to be fiction of some kind.

What one piece of advice do you live by?
You can’t do something special by doing the same thing as everyone else.

Who or what makes your heart beat faster when you think about them/it?
My wife. Every morning I wake up and look at her and can’t believe I’m this lucky.

This interview was originally published in the October, 2022 issue of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships’ monthly Distance Traveled newsletter. Sign up to receive the latest issue here. ∎