Our Story

The Journey of Thought Arbitrage

Thought Arbitrage (TA) was set up in 2011, propelled by the belief that tomorrow's arbitrage will have less to do with labour, cost and capital and more to do with knowledge, ideas and thought. Our fundamental objective is to be an intellectual link between business and society where business can be more responsive to the needs of society and can add greater value, while society can create an environment in which business can thrive.

TA was set up by Kaushik Dutta and Kshama V Kaushik, both Chartered Accountants by qualification. Kaushik spent over 20 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), of which 18 years were spent as a senior partner at the firm. After 2 decades in the corporate world as a senior partner, Kaushik decided to do something different and "give back" to society in the form of intellectual labour. He therefore quit PwC and started TA with Kshama. Kaushik also sits on and chairs the boards of some of India's largest enterprises and start-ups such as Eternal (formerly Zomato), Ather Energy, PB Fintech Limited, BharatPe, Zinka Logistics Solutions Limited, Hero FinCorp, Shiprocket etc. He has also served as a director on the boards of HCL Infosystems and NDTV. This illustrious experience led to Kaushik authoring the 'Handbook for Independent Directors' (Lexis Nexis, first and second editions).

Kshama started her career at Coopers & Lybrand and went on to work for several years in corporate financial management. She devoted the next 13 years toward writing and research, and co-authored two books during that time – Corporate Governance: Myth to Reality (LexisNexis) and India Means Business (Oxford University Press). Other books she has authored include the latest titled, "CSR in India – Steering Business towards Social Change" (LexisNexis). Kshama also serves as a director on the boards of several companies such as HDFC Education, Baghpat Steel, Delhi Safe Deposit Company Ltd (NBFC); she is also a trustee of Delhi Chinmaya Mission.

Kaushik's and Kshama's shared vision of creating an intellectual enterprise which aids in creating a holistic and sustainable economy, resulted in the incorporation of Thought Arbitrage.

Independence is the cornerstone of TA's philosophy which permeates the research process, governance structure and operating workflows. Intentionally, the research produced by TA is funded by a wide spectrum of Indian and global companies, firms and organisations who share its vision and goal of building intellectual capital for the country.

Over the past 15 years, TA's journey has been fuelled by the support of a fantastic team and numerous research and thought partners, and collaborators. TA looks forward to continuing this journey and contributing to independent India-centric research and thought leadership in its various disciplines in the coming decades.