Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad (pronounced as: Pra-huh-laadh) (b. 1941[1], Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India[2]) is Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Corporate Strategy at the Ross School of Business of the University of Michigan.

He is one of the recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Sammaan awards in 2009[3], and was conferred the Padma Bhushan, an Indian civilian award, the same year. In 2009 he was named the worlds most influential business thinker on The Thinkers 50 list, published by The Times [4].