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During the peak of the Ebola crisis, the recovery process in Africa was not going according to plan. Failure after sobering failure forced BCG’s Shalini Unnikrishnan to recognize that they had approached the crisis from the wrong direction.

Shalini Unnikrishnan is the Global Lead for Societal Impact in the Consumer and Social Impact practices at Boston Consulting Group. 

Shalini’s work at BCG is focused at the intersection of the private, public, and social sectors. She is the co-author of “Total Societal Impact,” which explores how companies can gain business and societal value through their core operations. Shalini gained expertise in this subject through her work with private sector clients. She also supports public and social sector clients on private sector engagement. Shalini has worked extensively in emerging markets–on value chains of private sector companies in agriculture, financial inclusion, women’s empowerment, and economic development. Her experience includes supporting the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response in West Africa, working within presidencies in Africa as an advisor on economic development, supporting global health and education coalitions, and designing public-private partnerships for consumer companies. 

Shalini has taken leaves of absence from BCG (2009-10, 2012) to serve with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's Africa Governance Initiative (AGI). She was embedded within President Kagame's government in Rwanda to support private-sector development, and she was a day-to-day advisor to President Banda in Malawi. 

Shalini is a recent Presidential Leadership Scholar, a selective program led by former President George W. Bush, and she has written and published extensively on various topics in societal impact including a TED talk on new models for tackling humanitarian crises. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Tony Blair Foundation.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

EDUCATION

  • MBA, health care management, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
  • MA, international relations, Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
  • BA, economics and sociology, Davidson College

HONORS AND AWARDS

Publications and Videos

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Global Food Systems Are Under Pressure. Innovation Hubs Can Help.

Investments in food innovation aren’t scaling fast enough. But with the proper mechanisms and strong cross-sector collaboration among stakeholders, transformative and sustainable progress is possible.
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Climate-Smart Agriculture Needs a Better Yardstick

Investment in sustainable agriculture will be key in order for farmers to keep up with rising global food demand.

Regenerative Agriculture on the Menu

BCG’s Shalini Unnikrishnan joins Unilever’s Hanneke Faber to discuss what it will take to scale regenerative agriculture and the collaborations that are key.

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Making Regenerative Agriculture Profitable for US Farmers

Regenerative agriculture has the potential to reduce GHG emissions, increase biodiversity, and boost farmers’ profits—if financing and other obstacles can be overcome.
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Beyond “Carbon Tunnel Vision” in Food Systems

The global food system depends on nature, but it also contributes to its destruction. With a nature-positive approach, companies can preserve the resources necessary to ensure a healthy food supply.
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New Business Models—Not New Technologies—Will Unleash Sustainability in CPG

CPG companies will fall short of their net-zero goals unless they move from reengineering existing products services and business models to reimagining them.
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Consumer Companies Must Innovate to Drive Impact on Climate

To gain the greatest sustainability advantage, they should act now. Three strategies can make a big difference.
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Farmers Wanted: The Labour Renewal Canada Needs To Build the Next Green Revolution

Canada will need lots of new agri-talent to boost output while transitioning to Net Zero, especially since 40% of farm operators are expected to retire by 2033. Our latest research looks at potential solutions.
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Fertile Ground: How Soil Carbon Can Be a Cash Crop for the Climate Age

By embracing sustainable agricultural practices, Canada can leverage soil as an asset to fight climate change and the biodiversity crisis. New financial instruments are required to reward farmers not only for what they produce, but also for what they preserve.

Demonstrate Your Commitments

BCG's Shalini Unnikrishnan speaks with Bayer's global head of public affairs and sustainability, Matthias Berninger, about the ongoing food crisis and the actions businesses can take in transforming the global food system.

Rethinking Food and Agriculture

Conflict, climate change, and COVID-19 have upended fundamental assumptions of our industrial food system. Here, BCG’s Shalini Unnikrishnan joins Evan Fraser of the Arrell Food Institute to discuss the future of agriculture, examining the need for smart policymaking and new technologies.

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Four Futures for the Global Food System

The cost of food is rising rapidly, and hunger is on the increase. What will it take to build a better way to feed the world?