Distinguished Achievement Awards

Acknowledging outstanding contributions to
management thinking.

about the awards

About the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards

The biennial Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards were created in 2011 to recognise the exceptional contributions of individual thinkers.

Award categories can vary slightly in any given year, but tend to fall into the categories below. Thinkers50 publishes the specific list of upcoming awards, including descriptions of the criteria for each one, during the award nomination period.

Distinguished Achievement Award Categories:

  • Breakthrough Idea Award
  • Coaching & Mentoring Award
  • Digital Thinking Award
  • Ideas into Practice Award
  • Innovation Award
  • Leadership Award
  • Radar Award
  • Strategy Award
  • Talent Award

In addition to the category awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual thinker in recognition of an outstanding body of work over an entire lifetime; and a Founders’ Award is given to individuals in the world of business ideas who provide industry leadership and inspiration.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Recognising an outstanding body of work over an entire lifetime.

The Thinkers50 Lifetime Achievement Award is given to someone who has had a long-term impact on the way people think about and practice management. The first-ever award in this category was given to Charles Handy in 2011. Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award gain automatic entry into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame.

See the complete list of Lifetime Achievement Award recipients

FOUNDERS’ AWARD

For an individual who has paved the way for thought leadership to flourish.

The Thinkers50 Founders’ Award, introduced in 2019, recognises individuals in the world of business ideas who provide industry leadership and inspiration. It acknowledges the invaluable contribution of the architects who lay the foundations for ideas to flourish. The first Thinkers50 Founders’ Award recipient was Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, President of IE University.

SELECTION PROCESS

Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards: The Selection Process

Nominations for the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Category Awards are open from May to July in Thinkers50 Awards Gala years (odd-numbered years), and shortlists are announced in late summer. Awards are conferred in November at the biennial Thinkers50 Awards Gala event.

All nominations for the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards are considered by the Thinkers50 Panel of Advisors.

Public participation is an important part of the Awards process. In Thinkers50 Awards years (odd-numbered years) all interested parties are invited to participate in the nomination process by submitting online the names and qualifications of thinkers they wish to put forward for consideration. Nominations from across the globe are accepted – and encouraged.

Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards

Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards 2011 winners and shortlists

Thinkers50 RGB dark medium web

BREAKTHROUGH IDEA
Award Recipient

Vijay Govindarajan

for the $300 house

An August 2010 blog by Govindarajan and Christian Sarkar set off a campaign to re-invent housing for the world’s poorest people.

BREAKTHROUGH IDEA AWARD 2011 SHORTLIST

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Linda Scott for the Double X economy

Michael Porter for shared value

Roger Martinfor integrative thinking

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Teresa Amabile for the progress principle

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Umair Haque for Capitalism 2.0

Vijay Govindarajan for the $300 house

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Future Thinker
award Recipient

Lucy P. Marcus

Anglo-American board chair and non-exec director setting the agenda on future-proofing boardrooms and companies

FUTURE THINKER AWARD 2011 SHORTLIST

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Chip Heath & Dan Heath

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Dong Mingzhu

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Ranjay Gulati

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Sung Joo Kim

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Lucy P. Marcus

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Umair Haque

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Global Village
Award Recipient

Nirmalya Kumar

His book, India Inside (with Phanish Puranam), provides a compelling take on the reality behind the stereotypes and hyperbole

Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Awards

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