He once ran a business in spiritual tourism. The wish to expand the business led him to Chanakya, the ancient Indian teacher, philosopher, economist who brought down the mighty Magadha empire and placed Chandragupta Maurya, a disciple he had groomed, on the throne. Chanakya died in 283 BC, but when Radhakrishnan Pillai met him - through books and videos and his ancient text Arthshastra - Kautilya, as he is also known, decided to appropriate Pillai for himself instead.

The study of Chanakya, initially meant for personal ends, led Pillai to Kerala where in 2004 at the now Chinamaya University he studied a course in Indology. He was taught Chanakya in 6,000 Sanskrit sutras, a language he barely knew. Later, he did a Masters in Sanskrit from the University of Mumbai, topping it up with a PhD in Arthshastra. Today, he does what Chanakya would have done, had he been alive. Pillai has authored 15 books that translate Chanakya's leadership and war-winning strategies from a king's court to the boardroom. Pillai also enters the boardrooms of companies across the country and world - he names the Tata, Aditya Birla and Mahindra groups as those who have sought his services - and shares how firms can follow the Chanakaya model and create leaders that hunger, not after power, but the good that can come of it. And to those who may not find him in their offices or Kindles, Pillai is ready to meet and instruct while taking classes on leadership at the University of Mumbai.