Eight Dollars and a Dream

My friend Raj Gupta, former CEO of Rohm and Haas, has written his personal story, Eight Dollars and a Dream—My American Journey. I highly recommend you get the book. There are many teaching-learning moments in Raj’s life story.

With complete candor, Raj Gupta has captured his life—from his boyhood in India, to coming to the states to study, work, and raise a family with Kamla, his career at Rohm and Haas and the sometimes unsteady ladder, personally and professionally, that led to his being chosen CEO and the lessons learned from the corner office after the dot-com crash in 2000 to the Great Recession of 2008.   The final segment concludes with his life now in private equity, what his board positions have taught him and reflections on the American dream, being an Indian-American in a white man’s world and what he believes corporate leaders owe their stakeholders. 

This is a must read.