THE THINKERS50 GALA

A biennial gathering of the leading management thinkers of our era.

Every two years, Thinkers50 hosts a unique event in central London: A gathering of great business minds for a day of debate, discussion and networking, followed by an elegant Gala evening celebrating the very best in management thinking.

Please join us.

Tickets

THINKERS50 2017 GALA

Every two years, Thinkers50 hosts a unique event in central London: A gathering of great business minds for a day of debate, discussion and networking, followed by an elegant evening celebrating the very best in management thinking.

Highlights of this gala event, dubbed “The Oscars of Management Thinking” by the Financial Times:

Announcement of the newest Thinkers50 ranking of the world’s leading management thinkers, and presentation of the coveted trophy for the #1 ranked thinker for 2017.
Announcement of the winners of eight Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards. Award categories for 2017 are:
- Breakthrough Idea
- Digital Thinking
- Ideas into Practice
- Innovation
- Leadership
- Radar
- Strategy
- Talent
Award descriptions and 2017 award shortlists are here.

JOIN THE EXCITEMENT

“Who knew management gurus could be so noisy – or so emotional? Gather business academics together in one place and they are more likely to exchange views on core competences or quietly debate the legacy of Peter Drucker. Put them in a banqueting hall and offer them the chance to win an award, though, and they go as mad as a group of middle managers at the Regional Salesperson of the Year gala luncheon!”

– Andrew Hill, Financial Times

WHO WILL BE THERE?

These and other thinkers and guests will be joining us for Thinkers50 2017.

Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London
Mohi Ahmed, Open Innovation Gateway
Ayse Birsel, Birsel+Seck, New York
David Burkus, Oral Roberts University
Dan Cable, London Business School
Sarah Green Carmichael, Harvard Business Review
Subir Chowdhury, CEO, ASI Consulting
Dorie Clark, author, Stand Out
Clay Christensen, Harvard Business School
Alisa Cohn, Alisa Cohn & Associates, Inc.
Carol Fishman Cohen, iReLaunch
Enrique Dans, IE Business School
Erica Dhawan, Cotential
Richard D’Aveni, Tuck School of Business
Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School
Tammy Erickson, London Business School
Mark Esposito, Harvard School of Continuing Education
Jose Esteves, IE Business School
Syd Finkelstein, Tuck School of Business
Alessandro di Fiore, ECSI Consulting
Peter Fisk, author, Change Makers
Yuri van Geest, author
Pankaj Ghemawat, Stern School
Anindya Ghose, Stern School
Marshall Goldsmith, Executive Educator/Coach

Lynda Gratton, London Business School
Hal Gregersen, MIT
Anil Gupta, University of Maryland
Charles Handy, author/philosopher
Morten Hansen, University of California at Berkeley
Margaret Heffernan, Merryck & Co.
Vernon Hill, Metrobank
Vlatka Hlupic, University of Westminster
Herminia Ibarra, London Business School
Anders Indset, author, Wild Knowledge
Santiago Iniguez, Dean, IE University
Whitney Johnson, author, Disrupt Yourself
Peter Lees, Director, Faculty of Medical Leadership & Management
Marianne Lewis, Dean, Cass Business School
Andy Lockett, Dean, Warwick Business School
Rita McGrath, Columbia Business School
Roger Martin, Rotman School of Management
Tango Matsumoto, CTO, Fujitsu
John Mattone, John Mattone University
Renee Mauborgne, INSEAD
Margarita Mayo, IE Business School
Liz Mellon, Duke
Nilofer Merchant, author, Onlyness
Erin Meyer, INSEAD

Karl Moore, McGill
Wenjing Niu, HBR China
Alex Osterwalder, Strategyzer
Tom Peters, writer
Gianpiero Petriglieri, INSEAD
Jennifer Petriglieri, INSEAD
Yves Pigneur, Strategyzer
Dan Pink, author, Drive
Alf Rehn, author
David Robertson, Wharton School
Antonio Nieto Rodriguez, head of projects, GSK
Deborah Rowland, author, Still Moving
Andrew Scott, London Business School
Dil Sidhu, Columbia Business School
Danny Stern, Stern Speakers
Henry Stewart, CEO, Happy
Alex Tapscott, co-author, Blockchain Revolution
Don Tapscott, co-author, Blockchain Revolution
Andras Tilcsik, Rotman School of Management
Fons Trompenaars, author, Riding the Waves of Culture
Ricardo Vargas, The Brightline Initiative
Amy Webb, Future Today Institute
Dai Wei, CEO, ofo
Liz Wiseman, Wiseman Group

PROGRAMME

Watch for details on topics and speakers.

09.45-10.00	Grand Hall Welcome to Thinkers50 2017 – Des Dearlove & Stuart Crainer
Morning	Panel Discussions
Noon	Networking Lunch
Afternoon	Idea Hunting & The Ideas Bazaar Featured Afternoon Guests: Tom Peters & Charles Handy. A unique opportunity to hear two of the foremost thinkers of recent decades make sense of the world and their own careers.
Early evening	Champagne Reception
Evening	Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony
Late Evening	Celebration

MEDIA COVERAGE

Thinkers50 attracts media coverage from throughout the world. In 2015, journalists from China, Korea, Germany, France, the US and the UK attended the event. Among many others, the ranking and awards have been featured by:

BBC, UK
Business Insider, US
China Daily, China
China National TV News, China
Chosun Biz, Korea
Conference Board Review, US
Financial Times, UK
Forbes, US
Globe & Mail, Canada

Harvard Business Review, China
Harvard Business Review, US
Les Echos, France
Manager Seminare, Germany
Smart Manager, India
The Times of India, India
The Times, UK
Vedomosti, Russia
Washington Post, US

HISTORIC VENUE

Thinkers50 2017 will be held at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, at Covent Garden, in the heart of London. Originally the Freemasons’ Tavern, the Grand Connaught Rooms combines baroque and art deco styles in a dramatic historic space. The AntiSlavery Society was founded at the site and the rules of football were first agreed to here by the Football Association.

Hotels

Our recommended hotel for elegance, comfort and proximity:

COVENT GARDEN HOTEL
10 Monmouth Street
London
WC2H 9HB
Tel +44 (0)20 7806 1000

If you need immediate proximity to the venue, this hotel is just next door:

KINGSWAY HALL HOTEL
66 Great Queen St
Covent Garden, London
WC2B 5BX
Tel +44 (0) 20 7309 0909

Hotel Discount Codes for Kingsway Hall:

GCRRO – Room Only

GCRBB – Bed & Breakfast

WHAT THINKERS ARE SAYING

It’s the Oscars of Management Thinking. Period. Exclamation point.

Whitney Johnson

bestselling author, Disrupt Yourself!

I want to thank Des and Stuart for creating this whole movement that Thinkers50 represents. As they have said, ideas truly do change the world. I have seen that with my own eyes all throughout my career. I also believe that management thinking unlocks value in every field, not just business.

Michael Porter

Harvard Business School

I love the Thinkers50. And the reason is increasingly in the world of business academics the enforced culture is to speak exclusively to other academics. Thinkers50 rewards business academics and other business thinkers for speaking to the world of practitioners. We need more of that. Without Thinkers50 the academic/practitioner imbalance would be much greater so it plays a very important role.

Roger Martin

former dean, Rotman School of Management

What excites me about Thinkers50? It is a group looking for new approaches and celebrating the novel, the ways we are pushing forward the leading edge of our organizations today. We spend more of our time in our companies than anywhere else in our lives. If we can find better approaches to managing these organizations, that’s going to change lives and ultimately change the world. Organizations are the most powerful force on this planet and if we can manage them better we can do a lot of good in the world. Organizations like this that are pushing that edge and celebrating advances inspire me.

Brian Robertson

Founder, HolacracyOne

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? If we have ideas, but no one uses them or finds value in them, do they matter? Thinkers50 is a validation that ideas are at least heard by and maybe help others.

Dave Ulrich

HR guru