Vijay Santhanam was born in Madras (now Chennai) India. He graduated from the University of Roorkee – now Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee – 1986 and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad (1988). His corporate career of over 21 years included senior marketing roles with Procter & Gamble and BP. Vijay is now able to pursue his passions more fully – writing, teaching, following sports and other interests. His published books include (co-authored with Shyam Balasubramanian) If Cricket is a Religion, Sachin is God in 2009 and The Business of Cricket: the story of sports marketing in India in 2011.
At the age of 41 Vijay was paralysed on the right side of his body, he couldnt move or speak at all. He soone realized that he had not lost of powers of persuasion and thought. His latest book “My stroke of luck: alphabet to author” is his journey through long, sometimes painful and often frustrating months of therapy, relearning the alphabet and learning new strengths: emotional, mental and physical. Vijay went on to teach at the prestigious IIM, Lucknow.
Vijay has delivered numerous talks and motivational sessions at leading Multinational Companies based on his own true story captured in his book “My Stroke of Luck” published by House of Rose Professional in 2015.