‘Books that shaped me’: Mahindra CEO Rajesh Jejurikar shares 2025 reading l

Rajesh Jejurikar, Mahindra Group Executive Director and CEO (Auto and Farm sector), has shared a l of books that influenced his thinking over the past year. In a reflective New Year post on LinkedIn, Jejurikar wished everyone “a very happy 2026” and said he had been looking back at the “ideas and stories” that shaped him during 2025. He then led 13 titles spanning geopolitics, hory, fiction, leadership, wellness and technology. Rajesh Jejurikar led 13 titles spanning geopolitics, hory, fiction, leadership, wellness and technology. (mahindra.com) Jejurikar’s l opens with ‘The India Way’ External Affairs Miner S Jaishankar, which the Mahindra Group executive said explores India’s foreign policy in a multipolar world and the emergence of a new global order. The l also features several works of hory and culture, including Anirudh Kanisetti’s ‘Lords of Earth and Sea’, which is centred on the Chola Empire. He described the book as an engaging narrative of a period “not written enough about.” Shashi Tharoor’s ‘Why I Am a Hindu’ also found a place, prompting Jejurikar to revisit the 2013 television adaptation of the Mahabharata, which he said revealed his fondness for “old school” storytelling. (Also Read: Google scient slams United Airlines first-class meal, calls it ‘bowl of sadness’. Airline responds) Books on career, leadership and moreOn career and purpose, Jejurikar highlighted ‘Play to Potential’ Deepak Jayaraman, noting that purpose has been central to his professional life and the book “resonated” with him. “Purpose has been the cornerstone of my career, and I have been fortunate to get most of my working life in purpose-driven organisations. This book resonated,” he wrote. Other titles on leadership and life included ‘The Island of Missing Trees’ Elif Shafak, which he called a reminder to value empathy, and ‘Simple, Not Easy’ Raj Ganpath, which he described humorously as “yet another wellness book.” Jejurikar also recommended ‘Another Way’ Dave Whorton and Bo Burlingham, which presents an alternative to growth-at-all-costs entrepreneurship through “evergreen companies” built for both purpose and profit. His l blended serious non-fiction with lighter reading, including thrillers such as David Baldacci’s ‘Nash Falls’. Books on technology and global politics also featured, including Parmy Olson’s ‘Supremacy’, centred on the people behind AI’s rise, and ‘Breakneck’ Dan Wang, which he called one of the best comparisons between the US and China. Ending his post on an interactive note, Jejurikar asked social media users which books shaped their own thinking in 2025 and invited them to share suggestions for his 2026 reading l. (Also Read: Founder praises Deepinder Goyal’s Temple device, calls it ‘wild and fascinating’) Social media reactionsReacting to the post, one user wrote, “Salute your reading habit despite such a heavy work schedule encompassing different time zones . My poor hit rate from these set of books is 1 ( Shashi Tharoor )” “This is a very holic approach to a reading l, Rajesh Jejurikar spanning everything from fiction to the ‘fractions of life.’ I will definitely be adding these to my own l. Thanks for sharing!” commented another. “Great Boss , 13 books in a year with your kind of responsibilities and achievements …absolutely next level ..hats off,” wrote a third user.