It isn’t often that young economists become famous overnight. But that’s what happened to Roopa Purushothaman, a 28-year-old second-generation Indian American, who was born and raised in New Jersey. One moment she was a young but fast-rising economist at the investment bank Goldman Sachs. The next, her name was splashed on the front-pages of newspapers around the world after the release of the now famous BRICs report. The report predicted that the BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India and China would be among the world’s largest economies by 2050.

But Purushothaman surprised ? perhaps shocked would be the right word ? everyone by following up her words with actions. She has left the hallowed portals of Goldman Sachs and joined Indian retail king Kishore Biyani. She’s now the chief economist and strategist at Biyani’s newly re-named Future Group (it used to be called Pantaloon).

She’s already busy criss-crossing the country, looking at changing demographics and incomes and their impact on consumption patterns in small towns from Mathura to Bhopal to Indore. “People are shocked that I have moved from the US but there are so many people who want to do this. The positive thing is that I got an opportunity to do so,” she says.

For Biyani, who has revamped the country’s retail segment with his Pantaloon and Big Bazaar stores, Purushothaman was just right for the job ? and it helped that she was an outsider. “The outside-inside view, we felt, was better because we can be quite prejudiced in our views,” says Biyani, who first met Purushothaman when he was making a presentation to some Goldman Sachs’ clients.

Purushothaman has always been a star who stayed firmly in the academic fast-track. Even at Yale, she did a double major, getting a bachelor’s degree in Ethics, Politics and Economics and International Studies. Later, she picked up an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics (LSE).

She figures that joining Biyani’s Future Group and shifting to India will give her the opportunity to follow up on all her different interests. “The idea of having this kind of role is very unique. It is very difficult to find something that matches the kind of interests that I have,” she says.

There was also the desire to move to India. Biyani says, “She is very passionate about India.” Adds Purushothaman, “I always wanted to come to India. Also, I felt it would be a good experience to see a country undergoing this huge developmental change.”

The fact that others from Goldman Sachs have joined the Future Group also helped. There’s Sameer Sain, who headed Goldman Sachs’ wealth management group in Europe, Middle East and Africa and who is now CEO of Future Capital. Then, there’s Atul Kapur, former managing director of Goldman Sachs’ principal strategies group and now managing director of Indivision Capital, the private equity fund managed by Future Capital Holdings.

“It added a level of comfort. When you get to a different country with such an institution and culture behind you, working with other people from my background is very encouraging,” admits Purushothaman.

She also figures that it’s best to move around when she’s still young. And her Cuban-Puerto Rican fianc?, who works with the New York city education department, will also probably move to India later this year.

Even her parents who came originally from Kerala, thought it was a great move. Her father has been a marketing person, while her mother works in the accounts division of Verizon.

Like many first-generation immigrants, Purushothaman says that initially in the US, the family went through tough times financially. “It was difficult but the biggest thing is we (she and her sister, who’s a consultant with Deloitte) went to big schools,” she says.

Goldman Sachs recruited her for its London office from the Yale campus. Purushothaman spent five years there, and even did her MSc from LSE while working. “It was a challenge. I would be at work sometimes and figuring out how to write an assignment or I’d be on the phone to clients on the way to class,” she recounts.

The big moment came with the BRICs report ? the name was coined by Goldman’s global economist Jim ’Neil ? in 2003. It grew out of a Goldman Sachs study on ageing populations in the developed world and how they would affect consumer spending. Later this was linked to what was happening in the developing world.

So Purushothaman and Dominic Wilson, who co-authored the 2003 report, looked at long-term growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China. They discovered, almost to their surprise, that the four countries would grow by far more than had been expected. The report’s impact was unimagined. “We thought it would be popular but we just didn’t think it would take on the form it did. I think it had a lot to do with timing,” says Purushothaman.

“It became not just an emerging market story but a global story because we were saying that these countries are at an inflection point in terms of demand and global players will need to have an understanding of that,” she says.

The exposure was huge in India particularly, which, she says, was both “good and bad”. But she admits she has been lucky. “It’s rare for a report to get so much attention.”

Now, at the Future Group ? she has spent the last year at Goldman Sachs’ New York office after moving from London ? Purushothaman will have to link her work to Biyani’s expanding business. There’s his retail business, which is riding on the country’s huge middle class. Then, there’s Future Capital, which apart from private equity services intends to offer consumer finance and even micro-finance to tap the bottom of the pyramid.

So, among other things, Purushothaman is currently examining how income changes affect spending by women and the youth in small towns, in terms of both the actual amounts spent and the independence to make those spending decisions. “We expect her to look at various scenarios, which will help us to increase consumption,” says Biyani. It’s a scenario that Purushothaman is thriving in currently.

Photograph by Gajanan Dudhalkar