Thinkers50 Hall of Fame: Subir Chowdhury

Subir Chowdhury has been inducted into the
Thinkers50 Hall of Fame 2023.

Champion of the theory and practice of quality in organisations across the world, Subir Chowdhury has been labelled the “Quality Prophet” by Business Week. 

Born in Bangladesh, Subir is chairman and CEO of ASI Consulting Group and a philanthropist. He is the author of fifteen books, which have been translated into more than 20 languages, including Management 2IC(Financial Times, 1999), The Power of Six Sigma (Dearborn Trade, 2001), Next Generation Business Handbook (Wiley, 2004), and The Ice Cream Maker (Doubleday, Random House, 2005). The Power of Design for Six Sigma (Kapan Business, 2002) was the first book written on the subject.

Subir has also co-authored three books with the Japanese Quality guru, Genichi Taguchi: Robust Engineering(McGraw Hill, 1999), The Mahalanobis-Taguchi System (McGraw Hill, 2000), and Taguchi’s Quality Engineering Handbook (Wiley-Interscience, 2004). His most recent book, The Difference: When Good Enough Isn’t Enough (Penguin Random House, 2017), explores the reason why some organisations succeed and others don’t. It outlines Subir’s STAR framework of tools and actions that improve organisational success and explains the required mindset that is the difference between success and failure.

An honorary member of the World Innovation Foundation, Subir has been inducted into the Engineering, Science and Technology Hall of Fame, and honoured by the Automotive Hall of Fame. The US Department of Homeland Security presented Subir with the Outstanding American by Choice award for his contributions to the field of quality and management.

Here is Subir in conversation with Thinkers50 co-founder, Stuart Crainer, who began by asking about his formative years in Bangladesh, which led the young Subir to the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology and a degree in aeronautical engineering. 

• Subir Chowdhury’s bio
• Full press release