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Thomas Kuruvilla

Managing Partner

Board of directors

Head of Arthur D. Little Middle East & India

India, Qatar, United Arab Emirates

Thomas has a proven track record of creating value as a trusted advisor to telecom players, public sector organizations and family conglomerates on growth strategy, organization transformation & national regulations management.

Thomas Kuruvilla

Areas of Focus

Education

Melbourne Business School (Australia)
MBA Strategy & Finance
Asian Institute of Management (Philippines)
MBA Strategy & Finance
Kerala University, TKM College of Engineering (India)
Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Past Experience

Larsen & Toubro (1990–1995)
Customer Services, Control and Automation Division
Indian Air Force (1990)
Selected as a Pilot Officer

Country Grouping
MENA

Thomas Kuruvilla

Thomas is Managing Partner of Arthur D. Little Middle East & India as well as a member of the Board of Directors. He serves telecom operators, ministries and other public organizations, and family conglomerates.

Since joining Arthur D. Little in 1998, Thomas has been actively involved in complex strategy development, organization design and transformation projects across the Middle East and South East Asia to deliver significant and tangible impact – not just for his clients but also at a wider, national level. 

His passion and commitment for providing the best value on all his projects acts as a key guiding principle for the entire office.

Prior to joining Arthur D. Little, Thomas worked at Larsen & Toubro as an Industrial Automation Engineer. He was also selected as a Pilot Officer with the Indian Air Force.

In addition to consulting, Thomas regularly teaches various management courses (International Business Strategy, Family Conglomerate strategy & Strategy Consulting) at different MBA schools across the globe.

Outside work, Thomas spends time on natural (not organic) farming and Ayurvedic plants.
 

Web3 & metaverse — The rise of the new Internet & the India opportunity
Web3 & Metaverse — The rise of the new Internet & the India opportunity
Metaverse and Web3 are often used as umbrella terms for the next generation of the Internet, and the transformation they signify presents both a challenge and an opportunity for India. While some remain skeptical, we believe Metaverse and Web3 will lead the frontiers of the next wave of digital adoption for Indian industries. This Viewpoint explores the market potential of this next version of the Internet across different industries in India and gives an overview of the early use cases tested by industries in India and across the globe.
Find out more
Reimagining India’s supply chain
Reimagining India’s supply chain
Thomas Kuruvilla, Bernd Schreiber, Lokesh Dadhich
A bold vision for 2030
Find out more
INDIA: Surmounting the economic challenges of COVID-19
Thomas Kuruvilla, Arvind Rajeswaran
A 10-point programme to revive and power India’s post COVID-19 economy
Find out more
Telecommunications, Information technology, Media & Electronics (TIME)
With the Internet of Things (IoT) every- where, can regulation be far behind?
Rajesh Duneja, Andrea Faggiano, Hariprasad Pichai, Thomas Kuruvilla
The IoT ecosystem is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years, with mainstream deployment already prevalent across many vertical industries. Increased IoT penetration across use cases poses unique challenges for ICT policy-makers and regulators beyond traditional telecom-focused regulatory topics such as spectrum, numbering, and roaming. The complexity and scale of the IoT brings increased focus on elements such as the safety of various stakeholders, new business models, data security and privacy.
Find out more
Telecommunications, Information technology, Media & Electronics (TIME)
Samena Trends
Thomas Kuruvilla, Vincenzo Basile, Lokesh Dadhich
Telecom operators have a real opportunity to reduce operational costs by 30-40% whilst improving service quality and customer satisfaction.This is primarily achieved by reducing / eliminating operational complexities accumulated during the growth phase and digitalizing the operations.  
Find out more
Diversification in the Era of Convergence
Thomas Kuruvilla, Adnan Merhaba
Corporations have pursued diversification strategies for decades as a means by which to create long-term value and achieve sustained growth. Historically, companies such as General Electric diversified via inorganic acquisitions1, in;addition to investing heavily in R&D programs. We characterize these traditional diversification investment models as “Acquire” and “Invent”:
Find out more
Telecommunications, Information technology, Media & Electronics (TIME)
The OTT conundrum for MENA telecoms
Thomas Kuruvilla, Andrea Faggiano
In this Arthur D. Little regional telecom report we aim to provide a nuanced view of the growth patterns within the MENA region, as well as deconstruct the growth to its underlying reasons in four key markets. An important focus area is the threat of core revenue disruption by over-the top (OTT) players in messaging, voice and video. On the surface, there exists a deceptive view of homogeneity for the South Asia, Middle East and North Africa region, and for especially the subregions of Middle East and North Africa (MENA), such that these markets appear very similar.
Find out more
Consumer Goods & Retail
Feed the Lion
Thomas Kuruvilla, Adnan Merhaba
The African continent is seeing rapid economic growth, coupled with a substantial increase in middle-class population and disposable income levels. Global companies are eyeing the African market for future growth and investing accordingly, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment. For companies planning to enter/expand in Africa, the key is to look beyond the obvious and invest in emerging economies in the African continent for sustained growth.
Find out more
Travel & transportation
Urban mobility – Learnings from the Middle East
Ralf Baron, Thomas Kuruvilla, Michael Zintel, Joseph Salem
The Middle East may have been late to urbanization, but this has provided a unique opportunity to shape its urban-mobility strategies. Rather than adopting a piecemeal approach, leaders such as Dubai are following an ecosystem model that addresses mobility holistically. In this article, the authors explain this new model and the lessons it provides for other cities across the world as they struggle to meet their own urban-mobility challenges.
Find out more

Thomas Kuruvilla

Thomas is Managing Partner of Arthur D. Little Middle East & India as well as a member of the Board of Directors. He serves telecom operators, ministries and other public organizations, and family conglomerates.

Since joining Arthur D. Little in 1998, Thomas has been actively involved in complex strategy development, organization design and transformation projects across the Middle East and South East Asia to deliver significant and tangible impact – not just for his clients but also at a wider, national level. 

His passion and commitment for providing the best value on all his projects acts as a key guiding principle for the entire office.

Prior to joining Arthur D. Little, Thomas worked at Larsen & Toubro as an Industrial Automation Engineer. He was also selected as a Pilot Officer with the Indian Air Force.

In addition to consulting, Thomas regularly teaches various management courses (International Business Strategy, Family Conglomerate strategy & Strategy Consulting) at different MBA schools across the globe.

Outside work, Thomas spends time on natural (not organic) farming and Ayurvedic plants.
 

Web3 & metaverse — The rise of the new Internet & the India opportunity
Web3 & Metaverse — The rise of the new Internet & the India opportunity
Metaverse and Web3 are often used as umbrella terms for the next generation of the Internet, and the transformation they signify presents both a challenge and an opportunity for India. While some remain skeptical, we believe Metaverse and Web3 will lead the frontiers of the next wave of digital adoption for Indian industries. This Viewpoint explores the market potential of this next version of the Internet across different industries in India and gives an overview of the early use cases tested by industries in India and across the globe.
Find out more
Reimagining India’s supply chain
Reimagining India’s supply chain
Thomas Kuruvilla, Bernd Schreiber, Lokesh Dadhich
A bold vision for 2030
Find out more
INDIA: Surmounting the economic challenges of COVID-19
Thomas Kuruvilla, Arvind Rajeswaran
A 10-point programme to revive and power India’s post COVID-19 economy
Find out more
Telecommunications, Information technology, Media & Electronics (TIME)
With the Internet of Things (IoT) every- where, can regulation be far behind?
Rajesh Duneja, Andrea Faggiano, Hariprasad Pichai, Thomas Kuruvilla
The IoT ecosystem is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years, with mainstream deployment already prevalent across many vertical industries. Increased IoT penetration across use cases poses unique challenges for ICT policy-makers and regulators beyond traditional telecom-focused regulatory topics such as spectrum, numbering, and roaming. The complexity and scale of the IoT brings increased focus on elements such as the safety of various stakeholders, new business models, data security and privacy.
Find out more
Telecommunications, Information technology, Media & Electronics (TIME)
Samena Trends
Thomas Kuruvilla, Vincenzo Basile, Lokesh Dadhich
Telecom operators have a real opportunity to reduce operational costs by 30-40% whilst improving service quality and customer satisfaction.This is primarily achieved by reducing / eliminating operational complexities accumulated during the growth phase and digitalizing the operations.  
Find out more
Diversification in the Era of Convergence
Thomas Kuruvilla, Adnan Merhaba
Corporations have pursued diversification strategies for decades as a means by which to create long-term value and achieve sustained growth. Historically, companies such as General Electric diversified via inorganic acquisitions1, in;addition to investing heavily in R&D programs. We characterize these traditional diversification investment models as “Acquire” and “Invent”:
Find out more
Telecommunications, Information technology, Media & Electronics (TIME)
The OTT conundrum for MENA telecoms
Thomas Kuruvilla, Andrea Faggiano
In this Arthur D. Little regional telecom report we aim to provide a nuanced view of the growth patterns within the MENA region, as well as deconstruct the growth to its underlying reasons in four key markets. An important focus area is the threat of core revenue disruption by over-the top (OTT) players in messaging, voice and video. On the surface, there exists a deceptive view of homogeneity for the South Asia, Middle East and North Africa region, and for especially the subregions of Middle East and North Africa (MENA), such that these markets appear very similar.
Find out more
Consumer Goods & Retail
Feed the Lion
Thomas Kuruvilla, Adnan Merhaba
The African continent is seeing rapid economic growth, coupled with a substantial increase in middle-class population and disposable income levels. Global companies are eyeing the African market for future growth and investing accordingly, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment. For companies planning to enter/expand in Africa, the key is to look beyond the obvious and invest in emerging economies in the African continent for sustained growth.
Find out more
Travel & transportation
Urban mobility – Learnings from the Middle East
Ralf Baron, Thomas Kuruvilla, Michael Zintel, Joseph Salem
The Middle East may have been late to urbanization, but this has provided a unique opportunity to shape its urban-mobility strategies. Rather than adopting a piecemeal approach, leaders such as Dubai are following an ecosystem model that addresses mobility holistically. In this article, the authors explain this new model and the lessons it provides for other cities across the world as they struggle to meet their own urban-mobility challenges.
Find out more

More About Thomas
  • Melbourne Business School (Australia)
    MBA Strategy & Finance
  • Asian Institute of Management (Philippines)
    MBA Strategy & Finance
  • Kerala University, TKM College of Engineering (India)
    Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
  • Larsen & Toubro (1990–1995)
    Customer Services, Control and Automation Division
  • Indian Air Force (1990)
    Selected as a Pilot Officer