Raj was born in India and spent parts of his childhood in Barbados, California and Canada. He was educated as an electrical engineer from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS, Pilani). He pursued an MBA in Marketing from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai after which he earned a Ph.D. in Marketing and Business Policy from Columbia University.

Until 1998, he was the Director of Executive Programs and Associate Professor of Marketing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. From 1985 to 1988, he was Assistant Professor of Marketing at Boston University.

He also spent 15 years at Bentley University as Trustee Professor of Marketing, Department Chair and founder/director of the Center for Marketing Technology. Raj is a trustee of Conscious Capitalism Inc. and a member of the board of directors of The Container Store. He has consulted with and taught executive programs for numerous companies, including AT&T, Nokia, LG, DPDHL, POSCO, Kraft Foods, Whole Foods Market, Tata, Siemens, Sprint, Volvo, IBM, Walmart, Rabobank, McDonalds and Southern California Edison. Raj is an American citizen residing in Boston, Massachusetts.