Satish B. Parekh, consultant and columnist, dies at 68

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Satish B. Parekh

“Achieving leadership, independent of a leadership position, requires working on oneself more than working the organizational hierarchy,” globetrotting business consultant Satish B. Parekh wrote in his August “Damn the Torpedoes” column in The Daily Record.

The Baltimorean with a penchant for learning did just that during his extensive career that spanned more than four decades and multiple continents, said his daughter, Nupur Flynn, of Baltimore. Parekh died from a stroke June 6 at Sinai Hospital. He was 68.

Born in Rajkot, India in 1939, Parekh was the first in his family to migrate to the United States, Flynn said, marking the first of his life’s many grand journeys.

He earned both a master’s degree and doctorate in economics from New York University while working at the National Industrial Conference Board in New York City. After graduation, he was hired at what is now Citibank to head the bank’s cash and current accounts department in Southeast Asia.

Parekh returned to the United States where he switched career paths regularly, working as chief administrator and finance executive at Baltimore’s Morgan State University from 1965-68, as a vice-president and professor at Federal City College in Washington from 1968-70 and as a senior executive at the Washington Technical College from 1970-73, according to Flynn.

Her father could never be held down to one place, she said, because his passion to continue learning and share his knowledge with others kept him on the move. Parekh would spend enough time at a job or with a client to get to know the staff, identify their strengths and help them realize their potential, Flynn said.

But for a man who made money offering advice, Flynn said her father would never impose his thoughts on others.

“He always would become part of the family and it was always about open dialogue and an exchange of ideas,” she said.

From each of those exchanges Parekh would learn something new about himself, Flynn said, slowly shaping the “dynamic” father she will always remember.

Parekh also helped start the University of the District of Columbia and later served as vice president for strategic planning at the Phelps-Stokes Fund in Washington and the chief executive officer of the National Center for College and University Planning in Baltimore, according to Flynn.

He also served as vice president of corporate services at Baltimore-based VIPS Inc. and on the board of directors at Baltimore-based Alliance Inc. and the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

“His finance and planning expertise was certainly well received and his advice was highly valued,” said Phil Taff, the acting chief executive officer of Alliance. “He had a wealth of experience and knowledge.”

Parekh had written a monthly column, “Damn the Torpedoes,” for The Daily Record for several years. In it, he discussed the challenges and implications of globalization and its impact on business. But he also wrote about the importance of personal values and integrity.

Parekh worked to “bring out the best and really help coach and mentor along the way,” Flynn said. “Nobody was too old or too young. It would never seem like work to him. He would never be tired or depressed. He was always so fresh and he would look at it with such positive energy and attitude.”

Flynn fondly remembers the anecdotes from her father’s life that didn’t quite make his resume, including the receipt of a childhood blanket from spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi and shaking hands with boxer Muhammad Ali.

“What was amazing about [Ali] was he had the softest handshake,” Flynn recalled her father saying after meeting the former three-time world heavyweight champion. “He was so excited to meet him and his comment about him was he was the warmest man with the softest handshake.”

Parekh’s family will be holding a private celebration in his honor, Flynn said.

Surviving are two daughters, Flynn, and Payal Satish Parekh of New York City; two sisters, Nitina Sehgal of Dickinson, Texas and Rohini Parekh of Ahmedebad, India; and his companion, Edna Emmet, of Baltimore.