The Thinkers50 Ranking

#1. W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

Inventors of the ground-breaking “blue ocean strategy”, paving the way for organizations to break out of fixed market boundaries and create a whole new space.  

#2. Roger Martin

Prolific researcher providing valuable insights in strategy, governance, democratic capitalism, and social innovation.  

#3. Amy Edmondson

Pioneer and champion of psychological safety, studies people, projects and organizations to uncover the secrets of succesful teaming.  

#4. Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur

The brains behind the world-renowned “business model canvas” – instrumental in helping new businesses put strategy into practice.  

#5. Rita McGrath

Globally recognized expert on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship; champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage.  

#6. Daniel Pink

Recognized expert on the science of motivation, the science of timing, and the business zeitgeist; writes and creates at the intersection of work, psychology, and society.  

#7. Richard D’Aveni

Expert on competitive dynamics and disruptive production, and a powerful voice on the future impact of technology.  

#8. Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee

Launched into the thought leadership stratosphere in 2014 with The Second Machine Age, their work contiunes to provide a road-map for success in a digital economy.  

#9. Scott D. Anthony

Leading adviser on innovation and champion of “dual transformation” strategy, helping businesses to turn disruption into advantage.  

#10. Adam Grant

Specialist in organizational psychology, focusing on originality, motivation, non-conformity, generosity, meaningful work, and success.  

#11. Simon Sinek

Leadership visionary with the intent to change how business leaders think, act, and operate, to create environments in which people work at their natural best.  

#12. Eric Ries

Best-selling author, entrepreneur, and business visionary, applying lean business principles to the reinvention of Wall Street.  

#13. Lynda Gratton

Psychologist, with a unique focus on organizational change, and the movement of business from a competitive to a more collaborative work space.  

#14. Whitney Johnson

Expert on the powers of disruption, and the ways to grasp the opportunities of change, starting with the personal.  

#15. Zhang Ruimin

World-renowned entrepreneur, creating a unique, innovative, evolving business model that fuses management philosophies of east and west.  

#16. Hal Gregersen

Catalytic questioner and global innovator, exploring how asking the right questions builds leadership and innovation, and drives purposeful change.  

#17. Liz Wiseman

Best-selling author, proponent of talent development through leadership, advocates the power of harnessing collective intelligence.  

#18. Herminia Ibarra

Distinguished authority on leadership and career development, advocating the importance of strategic networks, and the value of collaboration.  

#19. Pankaj Ghemawat

Pankaj Ghemawat Strategy professor and renowned globalization expert, renowed for his robust analysis of global trends.  

#20. Martin Lindstrom

International branding expert, who has lead deep research into the minds of buyers, applying insights from neuroscience to develop the concept of “buyology”.  

#21. Francesca Gino

Award-winning professor, researcher, and author, focused on how people can have more productive, creative, fulfilling lives.  

#22. Linda Hill

Top expert on leadership and innovation, focused on global strategies, and how to harness creativity and engagement for strategic implementation.  

#23. Steve Blank

Serial entrepreneur, and creator of the customer development method that launched the renowned lean startup movement.  

#24. Subir Chowdhury

“The quality prophet”, and best-selling author on “six sigma” philosophy, with insightful research on how quality affects all levels of business function and public policy.  

#25. Anil Gupta & Haiyan Wang

Global strategists, experts on entrepreneurship and the transformational rise of emerging markets, foremost China and India.  

#26. Morten Hansen

Author, professor, and management theorist, with award-winning work on social networks, collaboration, knowledge management, and corporate innovation.  

#27. Nilofer Merchant

Prominent thought leader and strategist on the future of work in the social era, advocating for people in a technology-driven workspace.  

#28. Ming Zeng

Global strategy expert, advocating the value of total transparency in the high-tech online market in China and beyond.  

#29. Michael D Watkins

Leadership transition expert, creating specific strategies to help professionals deal with both personal adaptive changes and organizational change challenges.  

#30. Rachel Botsman

World-renowned expert on the explosive new era of trust and technology and what this means for life, work, and how we do business.  

#31. Gary Hamel

Bureaucracy buster, champion of management revolution, and advocate for innovation as the driver of wealth creation.  

#32. Erin Meyer

Specialist on cross-cultural management, her evaluation of different cultures has resulted in a strategic framework for organizations seeking international success.  

#33. Susan David

Award-winning psychologist who applies her knowledge of emotions, human motivation, and change to individuals and organizations.  

#34. Seth Godin

Marketing pioneer, unleashing the power of the consumer and the importance of building trust, connections, and positioning in the market place.  

#35. Amy Cuddy

Best-selling author, award-winning lecturer, and social psychology expert on the behavioural science of power, presence, and prejudice.  

#36. Marshall Van Alstyne & Geoff Parker

Developed the concept of two-sided markets, which is used extensively in platform business models, and delivered the first comprehensive analysis of platform technology.  

#37. Gianpiero Petriglieri

Expert on leadership and learning in the workplace, notably leadership in the age of “nomadic preofessionalism”, and broadening and strengthening leadership communities.  

#38. Marcus Buckingham

Originator of the strengths movement, who challenges and inspires people to find and apply their strengths.  

#39. Frederic Laloux

Former business coach who has sparked a global movement of organizations adopting radically more powerful – and soulful – management practices.  

#40. Gary P. Pisano

Mastering the art of sustaining growth in large companies through the creation of a strategy, system and culture of innovation.  

#41. Jim Collins

Socratic advisor to leaders, focusing on what makes a business great and not just good; introduced five levels of leadership and the flywheel effect.  

#42. Sheena Iyengar

Leading expert on choice, studying the factors that influence the choices we make and how choice and meaning are intertwined.  

#43. Stew Friedman

“Total leadership” guru, award-winning teacher, and best-selling author who explores how good leadership goes hand in hand with a richer life.  

#44. Sydney Finkelstein

Award-winning professor renowned for his research on leadership, strategy, and corporate governance and how to become a “superboss”.  

#45. Julian Birkinshaw

Recognised expert on innovation, entrepreneurship, and renewal in large corporations; prolific author making unique contributions on work practices as competitive advantage.  

#46. David Burkus

Leadership, innovation, and strategy podcaster; author, speaker, and educator on working smarter to improve your work and life.  

#47. Heidi Grant

Neuroscience-based talent strategist – teaching us the science of human performance, motivation, and decision-making.  

#48. Dorie Clark

Self-reinvention and branding expert, showing others how to take control of their professional lives and make an impact on the world.  

#49. Michael Jacobides

Champion of business ecosystems and digital platforms, collaboration and partnership; specialist on corporate turnarounds and organizational transformation.  

#50. Tiffani Bova

Top influencer in customer experience, digital transformation, business model innovation, and the future of work.  

#1. Roger Martin

Prolific researcher providing valuable insights in strategy, governance, democratic capitalism, and social innovation.  

#2. Don Tapscott

One of the world’s leading authorities on the impact of technology on business and society, pioneer in the advancement of the blockchain.  

#3. Clayton Christensen

The architect of disruptive innovation, twice topped the Thinkers50 rankings, in 2013 and 2011.  

#4. W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

Inventors of the ground-breaking “blue ocean strategy”, paving the way for organizations to break out of fixed market boundaries and create a whole new space.  

#5. Michael Porter

The father of modern business strategy, and the most cited scholar today in economics and business.  

#6. Marshall Goldsmith

One of the world’s leading executive educators, coaches, and authors, who was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2018.  

#7. Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur

The brains behind the world-renowned “business model canvas” – instrumental in helping new businesses put strategy into practice.  

#8. Adam Grant

Specialist in organizational psychology, focusing on originality, motivation, non-conformity, generosity, meaningful work, and success.  

#9. Richard D’Aveni

Expert on competitive dynamics and disruptive production, and a powerful voice on the future impact of technology.  

#10. Rita McGrath

Globally recognized expert on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship; champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage.  

#11. Daniel Pink

Recognized expert on the science of motivation, the science of timing, and the business zeitgeist; writes and creates at the intersection of work, psychology, and society.  

#12. Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee

Launched into the thought leadership stratosphere in 2014 with The Second Machine Age, their work contiunes to provide a road-map for success in a digital economy.  

#13. Amy Edmondson

Pioneer and champion of psychological safety, studies people, projects and organizations to uncover the secrets of succesful teaming.  

#14. Steve Blank

Serial entrepreneur, and creator of the customer development method that launched the renowned lean startup movement.  

#15. Linda Hill

Top expert on leadership and innovation, focused on global strategies, and how to harness creativity and engagement for strategic implementation.  

#16. Eric Ries

Best-selling author, entrepreneur, and business visionary, applying lean business principles to the reinvention of Wall Street.  

#17. Pankaj Ghemawat

Pankaj Ghemawat Strategy professor and renowned globalization expert, renowed for his robust analysis of global trends.  

#18. Simon Sinek

Leadership visionary with the intent to change how business leaders think, act, and operate, to create environments in which people work at their natural best.  

#19. Richard Florida

Urbanist, champion of gentrification and the positive role of the “creative class” on city neighbourhood rejuvenation.  

#20. Herminia Ibarra

Distinguished authority on leadership and career development, advocating the importance of strategic networks, and the value of collaboration.  

#21. Vijay Govindarajan

Leading expert on strategy and innovation, teaches how to facilitate and execute breakthrough ideas to generate growth.  

#22. Nilofer Merchant

Prominent thought leader and strategist on the future of work in the social era, advocating for people in a technology-driven workspace.  

#23. Sydney Finkelstein

Award-winning professor renowned for his research on leadership, strategy, and corporate governance and how to become a “superboss”.  

#24. Hal Gregersen

Catalytic questioner and global innovator, exploring how asking the right questions builds leadership and innovation, and drives purposeful change.  

#25. Hermann Simon

Expert in strategy, marketing, and pricing, with a focus on how pricing can create new markets and help businesses gain a sustained, competitive advantage.  

#26. Zhang Ruimin

World-renowned entrepreneur, creating a unique, innovative, evolving business model that fuses management philosophies of east and west.  

#27. Subir Chowdhury

“The quality prophet”, and best-selling author on “six sigma” philosophy, with insightful research on how quality affects all levels of business function and public policy.  

#28. Anil Gupta & Haiyan Wang

Global strategists, experts on entrepreneurship and the transformational rise of emerging markets, foremost China and India.  

#29. Lynda Gratton

Psychologist, with a unique focus on organizational change, and the movement of business from a competitive to a more collaborative work space.  

#30. Whitney Johnson

Expert on the powers of disruption, and the ways to grasp the opportunities of change, starting with the personal.  

#31. Jim Collins

Socratic advisor to leaders, focusing on what makes a business great and not just good; introduced five levels of leadership and the flywheel effect.  

#32. Gary Hamel

Bureaucracy buster, champion of management revolution, and advocate for innovation as the driver of wealth creation.  

#33. Seth Godin

Marketing pioneer, unleashing the power of the consumer and the importance of building trust, connections, and positioning in the market place.  

#34. Scott D. Anthony

Leading adviser on innovation and champion of “dual transformation” strategy, helping businesses to turn disruption into advantage.  

#35. Liz Wiseman

Best-selling author, proponent of talent development through leadership, advocates the power of harnessing collective intelligence.  

#36. Martin Lindstrom

International branding expert, who has lead deep research into the minds of buyers, applying insights from neuroscience to develop the concept of “buyology”.  

#37. Tammy Erickson

Leading analyst of the changing workforce, with a focus on generational differences, and how organizations can engage the hearts and minds of their employees.  

#38. Stew Friedman

“Total leadership” guru, award-winning teacher, and best-selling author who explores how good leadership goes hand in hand with a richer life.  

#39. Erin Meyer

Specialist on cross-cultural management, her evaluation of different cultures has resulted in a strategic framework for organizations seeking international success.  

#40. Susan David

Award-winning psychologist who applies her knowledge of emotions, human motivation, and change to individuals and organizations.  

#41. Morten Hansen

Author, professor, and management theorist, with award-winning work on social networks, collaboration, knowledge management, and corporate innovation.  

#42. Henry Chesbrough

Innovation thought leader who launched the “open innovation” paradigm; his research focuses on technology management and innovation strategy.  

#43. Amy Cuddy

Best-selling author, award-winning lecturer, and social psychology expert on the behavioural science of power, presence, and prejudice.  

#44. Jennifer Aaker

A highly creative and innovative business professor, teaching courses ranging from happiness, humour, purpose, and empathy to augmented reality and artificial intelligence.  

#45. Julian Birkinshaw

Recognised expert on innovation, entrepreneurship, and renewal in large corporations; prolific author making unique contributions on work practices as competitive advantage.  

#46. Rachel Botsman

World-renowned expert on the explosive new era of trust and technology and what this means for life, work, and how we do business.  

#47. Gianpiero Petriglieri

Expert on leadership and learning in the workplace, notably leadership in the age of “nomadic preofessionalism”, and broadening and strengthening leadership communities.  

#48. David Burkus

Leadership, innovation, and strategy podcaster; author, speaker, and educator on working smarter to improve your work and life.  

#49. Francesca Gino

Award-winning professor, researcher, and author, focused on how people can have more productive, creative, fulfilling lives.  

#50. Heidi Grant

Neuroscience-based talent strategist – teaching us the science of human performance, motivation, and decision-making.  

#1. Michael Porter

The father of modern business strategy, and the most cited scholar today in economics and business.  

#2. Clayton Christensen

The architect of disruptive innovation, twice topped the Thinkers50 rankings, in 2013 and 2011.  

#3. W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

Inventors of the ground-breaking “blue ocean strategy”, paving the way for organizations to break out of fixed market boundaries and create a whole new space.  

#4. Don Tapscott

One of the world’s leading authorities on the impact of technology on business and society, pioneer in the advancement of the blockchain.  

#5. Marshall Goldsmith

One of the world’s leading executive educators, coaches, and authors, who was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2018.  

#6. Linda Hill

Top expert on leadership and innovation, focused on global strategies, and how to harness creativity and engagement for strategic implementation.  

#7. Roger Martin

Prolific researcher providing valuable insights in strategy, governance, democratic capitalism, and social innovation.  

#8. Herminia Ibarra

Distinguished authority on leadership and career development, advocating the importance of strategic networks, and the value of collaboration.  

#9. Rita McGrath

Globally recognized expert on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship; champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage.  

#10. Daniel Pink

Recognized expert on the science of motivation, the science of timing, and the business zeitgeist; writes and creates at the intersection of work, psychology, and society.  

#11. Richard D’Aveni

Expert on competitive dynamics and disruptive production, and a powerful voice on the future impact of technology.  

#12. Eric Ries

Best-selling author, entrepreneur, and business visionary, applying lean business principles to the reinvention of Wall Street.  

#13. Vijay Govindarajan

Leading expert on strategy and innovation, teaches how to facilitate and execute breakthrough ideas to generate growth.  

#14. Richard Florida

Urbanist, champion of gentrification and the positive role of the “creative class” on city neighbourhood rejuvenation.  

#15. Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur

The brains behind the world-renowned “business model canvas” – instrumental in helping new businesses put strategy into practice.  

#16. Amy Edmondson

Pioneer and champion of psychological safety, studies people, projects and organizations to uncover the secrets of succesful teaming.  

#17. Jeffrey Pfeffer

Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He is well known for his work on resource dependence theory,...  

#18. Martin Lindstrom

International branding expert, who has lead deep research into the minds of buyers, applying insights from neuroscience to develop the concept of “buyology”.  

#19. Pankaj Ghemawat

Pankaj Ghemawat Strategy professor and renowned globalization expert, renowed for his robust analysis of global trends.  

#20. Steve Blank

Serial entrepreneur, and creator of the customer development method that launched the renowned lean startup movement.  

#21. Teresa Amabile

Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, and also a director of research at the School. Her...  

#22. Daniel Goleman

Author, psychologist, and science journalist, Daniel Goleman is best known as the champion of Emotional Intelligence. Among the most influential management thinkers in recent decades, Goleman previously wrote for The...  

#23. Seth Godin

Marketing pioneer, unleashing the power of the consumer and the importance of building trust, connections, and positioning in the market place.  

#24. Henry Chesbrough

Innovation thought leader who launched the “open innovation” paradigm; his research focuses on technology management and innovation strategy.  

#25. Adam Grant

Specialist in organizational psychology, focusing on originality, motivation, non-conformity, generosity, meaningful work, and success.  

#26. Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee

Launched into the thought leadership stratosphere in 2014 with The Second Machine Age, their work contiunes to provide a road-map for success in a digital economy.  

#27. David Ulrich

Dave Ulrich, a professor at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, at the University of Michigan, has a prodigious output of HR, leadership, and organization related publications. These include...  

#28. Jim Collins

Socratic advisor to leaders, focusing on what makes a business great and not just good; introduced five levels of leadership and the flywheel effect.  

#29. Stew Friedman

“Total leadership” guru, award-winning teacher, and best-selling author who explores how good leadership goes hand in hand with a richer life.  

#30. Gary Hamel

Bureaucracy buster, champion of management revolution, and advocate for innovation as the driver of wealth creation.  

#31. Lynda Gratton

Psychologist, with a unique focus on organizational change, and the movement of business from a competitive to a more collaborative work space.  

#32. Sylvia Ann Hewlett

An economist and founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, a non-profit think-tank, Sylvia Ann Hewlett is the author or co-author of 11 books. Her most recent is Forget...  

#33. Fons Trompenaars

The Dutchman Fons Trompenaars is the author of the award winning Riding the Waves of Culture, Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business (with Charles Hampden-Turner, 1994). The bestseller helped put issues...  

#34. Morten Hansen

Author, professor, and management theorist, with award-winning work on social networks, collaboration, knowledge management, and corporate innovation.  

#35. Tammy Erickson

Leading analyst of the changing workforce, with a focus on generational differences, and how organizations can engage the hearts and minds of their employees.  

#36. Jennifer Aaker

A highly creative and innovative business professor, teaching courses ranging from happiness, humour, purpose, and empathy to augmented reality and artificial intelligence.  

#37. John Kotter

John Kotter is a world-recognized expert on change management and leadership. He is the Konosuke Matsushita emeritus professor of leadership at Harvard Business School, and co-founder of consultancy Kotter International....  

#38. Zhang Ruimin

World-renowned entrepreneur, creating a unique, innovative, evolving business model that fuses management philosophies of east and west.  

#39. Subir Chowdhury

“The quality prophet”, and best-selling author on “six sigma” philosophy, with insightful research on how quality affects all levels of business function and public policy.  

#40. Nirmalya Kumar

Nirmalya Kumar is the Lee Kong Chian Professor of Marketing at Singapore Management University & Distinguished Fellow, Emerging Markets Institute at INSEAD. He is also the author of Private Label...  

#41. Sydney Finkelstein

Award-winning professor renowned for his research on leadership, strategy, and corporate governance and how to become a “superboss”.  

#42. Julian Birkinshaw

Recognised expert on innovation, entrepreneurship, and renewal in large corporations; prolific author making unique contributions on work practices as competitive advantage.  

#43. Liz Wiseman

Best-selling author, proponent of talent development through leadership, advocates the power of harnessing collective intelligence.  

#44. Doug Ready

Doug Ready is the founder and CEO of the International Consortium for Executive Development Research and senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. His articles in the Harvard Business...  

#45. Umair Haque

Umair Haque is a London-based consultant. He is director of Havas Media Lab, founder of Bubblegeneration and frequent tweeter and contributor to the online Harvard Business Review. Haque’s initial training...  

#46. Hal Gregersen

Catalytic questioner and global innovator, exploring how asking the right questions builds leadership and innovation, and drives purposeful change.  

#47. Anil Gupta

Anil K. Gupta is the Michael Dingman Chair in Strategy and Globalization at The University of Maryland at College Park. He is the author of several highly influential books including The...  

#48. Nilofer Merchant

Prominent thought leader and strategist on the future of work in the social era, advocating for people in a technology-driven workspace.  

#49. Whitney Johnson

Expert on the powers of disruption, and the ways to grasp the opportunities of change, starting with the personal.  

#50. Amy Cuddy

Best-selling author, award-winning lecturer, and social psychology expert on the behavioural science of power, presence, and prejudice.  

#1. Clayton Christensen

The architect of disruptive innovation, twice topped the Thinkers50 rankings, in 2013 and 2011.  

#2. W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

Inventors of the ground-breaking “blue ocean strategy”, paving the way for organizations to break out of fixed market boundaries and create a whole new space.  

#3. Roger Martin

Prolific researcher providing valuable insights in strategy, governance, democratic capitalism, and social innovation.  

#4. Don Tapscott

One of the world’s leading authorities on the impact of technology on business and society, pioneer in the advancement of the blockchain.  

#5. Vijay Govindarajan

Leading expert on strategy and innovation, teaches how to facilitate and execute breakthrough ideas to generate growth.  

#6. Rita McGrath

Globally recognized expert on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship; champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage.  

#7. Michael Porter

The father of modern business strategy, and the most cited scholar today in economics and business.  

#8. Linda Hill

Top expert on leadership and innovation, focused on global strategies, and how to harness creativity and engagement for strategic implementation.  

#9. Herminia Ibarra

Distinguished authority on leadership and career development, advocating the importance of strategic networks, and the value of collaboration.  

#10. Marshall Goldsmith

One of the world’s leading executive educators, coaches, and authors, who was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2018.  

#11. Pankaj Ghemawat

Pankaj Ghemawat Strategy professor and renowned globalization expert, renowed for his robust analysis of global trends.  

#12. Jim Collins

Socratic advisor to leaders, focusing on what makes a business great and not just good; introduced five levels of leadership and the flywheel effect.  

#13. Daniel Pink

Recognized expert on the science of motivation, the science of timing, and the business zeitgeist; writes and creates at the intersection of work, psychology, and society.  

#14. Lynda Gratton

Psychologist, with a unique focus on organizational change, and the movement of business from a competitive to a more collaborative work space.  

#15. Amy Edmondson

Pioneer and champion of psychological safety, studies people, projects and organizations to uncover the secrets of succesful teaming.  

#16. Sylvia Ann Hewlett

An economist and founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, a non-profit think-tank, Sylvia Ann Hewlett is the author or co-author of 11 books. Her most recent is Forget...  

#17. Richard D’Aveni

Expert on competitive dynamics and disruptive production, and a powerful voice on the future impact of technology.  

#18. Gary Hamel

Bureaucracy buster, champion of management revolution, and advocate for innovation as the driver of wealth creation.  

#19. Nirmalya Kumar

Nirmalya Kumar is the Lee Kong Chian Professor of Marketing at Singapore Management University & Distinguished Fellow, Emerging Markets Institute at INSEAD. He is also the author of Private Label...  

#20. Nitin Nohria

Nitin Nohria is the dean of Harvard Business School. Prolific and insightful, his books include Driven: How Human Nature Shapes our Choices (2001); The Arc of Ambition (with Jim Champy,...  

#21. Teresa Amabile

Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, and also a director of research at the School. Her...  

#22. Richard Rumelt

Shortlisted for the 2013 Thinkers50 Strategy Award, Richard Rumelt is the Harry and Elsa Kunin Chair in Business and Society at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Rumelt has been described...  

#23. Jeffrey Pfeffer

Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He is well known for his work on resource dependence theory,...  

#24. Richard Florida

Urbanist, champion of gentrification and the positive role of the “creative class” on city neighbourhood rejuvenation.  

#25. A.G. Lafley

The chairman, president, and CEO of Procter & Gamble, Lafley led the company’s renaissance and then retired in 2010. At that point the former management consultant concentrated on thought leadership....  

#26. Stew Friedman

“Total leadership” guru, award-winning teacher, and best-selling author who explores how good leadership goes hand in hand with a richer life.  

#27. Morten Hansen

Author, professor, and management theorist, with award-winning work on social networks, collaboration, knowledge management, and corporate innovation.  

#28. Tammy Erickson

Leading analyst of the changing workforce, with a focus on generational differences, and how organizations can engage the hearts and minds of their employees.  

#29. David Ulrich

Dave Ulrich, a professor at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, at the University of Michigan, has a prodigious output of HR, leadership, and organization related publications. These include...  

#30. Liu Chuanzhi

The Chairman of Legend Holdings Limited, and the Founder and Honorary Chairman of Lenovo Group Limited, Liu Chuanzhi started the business with a $24,000 loan from the Chinese government in...  

#31. John Kotter

John Kotter is a world-recognized expert on change management and leadership. He is the Konosuke Matsushita emeritus professor of leadership at Harvard Business School, and co-founder of consultancy Kotter International....  

#32. Chip Heath & Dan Heath

A brotherly thought leadership double act, Chip and Dan Heath are authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (2007); Switch: How to Change Things When...  

#33. Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead (2013) by Facebook COO Sandberg has re-ignited the debate about how women can best succeed in the workplace. Central to Sandberg’s...  

#34. Umair Haque

Umair Haque is a London-based consultant. He is director of Havas Media Lab, founder of Bubblegeneration and frequent tweeter and contributor to the online Harvard Business Review. Haque’s initial training...  

#35. Daniel Goleman

Author, psychologist, and science journalist, Daniel Goleman is best known as the champion of Emotional Intelligence. Among the most influential management thinkers in recent decades, Goleman previously wrote for The...  

#36. Henry Chesbrough

Innovation thought leader who launched the “open innovation” paradigm; his research focuses on technology management and innovation strategy.  

#37. Julian Birkinshaw

Recognised expert on innovation, entrepreneurship, and renewal in large corporations; prolific author making unique contributions on work practices as competitive advantage.  

#38. Subir Chowdhury

“The quality prophet”, and best-selling author on “six sigma” philosophy, with insightful research on how quality affects all levels of business function and public policy.  

#39. Fons Trompenaars

The Dutchman Fons Trompenaars is the author of the award winning Riding the Waves of Culture, Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business (with Charles Hampden-Turner, 1994). The bestseller helped put issues...  

#40. Chris Zook

#41. Sydney Finkelstein

Award-winning professor renowned for his research on leadership, strategy, and corporate governance and how to become a “superboss”.  

#42. Anil Gupta

Anil K. Gupta is the Michael Dingman Chair in Strategy and Globalization at The University of Maryland at College Park. He is the author of several highly influential books including The...  

#43. Andrew Kakabadse

Now based at Henley Business School in the UK, Andrew Kakabadse is one of the world’s leading experts on top teams, boardroom effectiveness and governance practice. His top team database...  

#44. Rakesh Khurana

Rakesh Khurana, the Marvin Bower professor of leadership development at Harvard Business School, Khurana is probably best known for Searching for a Corporate Savior: The Irrational Quest for Charismatic CEOs...  

#45. Celia De Anca

Professor of Global Diversity at Spain’s IE Business School, Celia de Anca’s work is in an intriguing sweet spot. It covers both emerging forms of finance – such as Islamic...  

#46. Liz Wiseman

Best-selling author, proponent of talent development through leadership, advocates the power of harnessing collective intelligence.  

#47. Doug Ready

Doug Ready is the founder and CEO of the International Consortium for Executive Development Research and senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. His articles in the Harvard Business...  

#48. Wang Shi

A mountaineer who has scaled Everest as well as many of the world’s other great peaks, Wang Shi is founder and chairman of Vanke, the world’s largest residential home developer. ...  

#1. Clayton Christensen

The architect of disruptive innovation, twice topped the Thinkers50 rankings, in 2013 and 2011.  

#2. W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

Inventors of the ground-breaking “blue ocean strategy”, paving the way for organizations to break out of fixed market boundaries and create a whole new space.  

#3. Vijay Govindarajan

Leading expert on strategy and innovation, teaches how to facilitate and execute breakthrough ideas to generate growth.  

#4. Jim Collins

Socratic advisor to leaders, focusing on what makes a business great and not just good; introduced five levels of leadership and the flywheel effect.  

#5. Michael Porter

The father of modern business strategy, and the most cited scholar today in economics and business.  

#6. Roger Martin

Prolific researcher providing valuable insights in strategy, governance, democratic capitalism, and social innovation.  

#7. Marshall Goldsmith

One of the world’s leading executive educators, coaches, and authors, who was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2018.  

#8. Don Tapscott

One of the world’s leading authorities on the impact of technology on business and society, pioneer in the advancement of the blockchain.  

#9. Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell is an award winning staff writer for the New Yorker magazine. He is also the author of several best-selling books. In The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make...  

#10. Sylvia Ann Hewlett

An economist and founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, a non-profit think-tank, Sylvia Ann Hewlett is the author or co-author of 11 books. Her most recent is Forget...  

#11. Nitin Nohria

Nitin Nohria is the dean of Harvard Business School. Prolific and insightful, his books include Driven: How Human Nature Shapes our Choices (2001); The Arc of Ambition (with Jim Champy,...  

#12. Gary Hamel

Bureaucracy buster, champion of management revolution, and advocate for innovation as the driver of wealth creation.  

#13. Linda Hill

Top expert on leadership and innovation, focused on global strategies, and how to harness creativity and engagement for strategic implementation.  

#14. Seth Godin

Marketing pioneer, unleashing the power of the consumer and the importance of building trust, connections, and positioning in the market place.  

#15. Teresa Amabile

Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, and also a director of research at the School. Her...  

#16. Rita McGrath

Globally recognized expert on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship; champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage.  

#17. Richard Rumelt

Shortlisted for the 2013 Thinkers50 Strategy Award, Richard Rumelt is the Harry and Elsa Kunin Chair in Business and Society at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Rumelt has been described...  

#18. Richard D’Aveni

Expert on competitive dynamics and disruptive production, and a powerful voice on the future impact of technology.  

#19. Jeffrey Pfeffer

Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He is well known for his work on resource dependence theory,...  

#20. David Ulrich

Dave Ulrich, a professor at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, at the University of Michigan, has a prodigious output of HR, leadership, and organization related publications. These include...  

#21. Tom Peters

Born in Baltimore in 1942 “with a lacrosse stick in one hand and oars over my shoulder,” Peters resided in California, mainly Silicon Valley [where he was on a list...  

#22. Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Pioneer and champion of psychological safety, studies people, projects and organizations to uncover the secrets of succesful teaming.  

#23. Nirmalya Kumar

Nirmalya Kumar is the Lee Kong Chian Professor of Marketing at Singapore Management University & Distinguished Fellow, Emerging Markets Institute at INSEAD. He is also the author of Private Label...  

#24. Pankaj Ghemawat

Pankaj Ghemawat Strategy professor and renowned globalization expert, renowed for his robust analysis of global trends.  

#25. Herminia Ibarra

Distinguished authority on leadership and career development, advocating the importance of strategic networks, and the value of collaboration.  

#26. Daniel Pink

Recognized expert on the science of motivation, the science of timing, and the business zeitgeist; writes and creates at the intersection of work, psychology, and society.  

#27. Henry Mintzberg

Henry Mintzberg is Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies, at the Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University in Montreal. His work has focused on the work of the manager, and how...  

#28. Costas Markides

Costas Markides is professor of strategic and international management and holds the Robert P. Bauman Chair of Strategic Leadership at the London Business School. A continual thread running through Markides’...  

#29. Thomas Friedman

Triple Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman is best known for his work on globalization and as an op-ed columnist for the New York Times. Friedman sees globalization as an...  

#30. Tammy Erickson

Leading analyst of the changing workforce, with a focus on generational differences, and how organizations can engage the hearts and minds of their employees.  

#31. John Kotter

John Kotter is a world-recognized expert on change management and leadership. He is the Konosuke Matsushita emeritus professor of leadership at Harvard Business School, and co-founder of consultancy Kotter International....  

#32. Amy Edmondson

Pioneer and champion of psychological safety, studies people, projects and organizations to uncover the secrets of succesful teaming.  

#33. Kjell Nordström & Jonas Ridderstråle

Jonas Ridderstråle, a visiting professor at IE Business School and Ashridge Business School, and economist and writer Kjell Nordström, first achieved fame as the authors of Funky Business – Talent...  

#34. Howard Gardner

Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and adjunct professor of psychology at Harvard University....  

#35. Henry Chesbrough

Innovation thought leader who launched the “open innovation” paradigm; his research focuses on technology management and innovation strategy.  

#36. Daniel Goleman

Author, psychologist, and science journalist, Daniel Goleman is best known as the champion of Emotional Intelligence. Among the most influential management thinkers in recent decades, Goleman previously wrote for The...  

#37. Vineet Nayar

Vineet Nayar is the vice chairman and CEO of HCL Technologies, a global information technology services company based in India. Nayar’s success has been fuelled by his unconventional management philosophy...  

#38. Rakesh Khurana

Rakesh Khurana, the Marvin Bower professor of leadership development at Harvard Business School, Khurana is probably best known for Searching for a Corporate Savior: The Irrational Quest for Charismatic CEOs...  

#39. Fons Trompenaars

The Dutchman Fons Trompenaars is the author of the award winning Riding the Waves of Culture, Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business (with Charles Hampden-Turner, 1994). The bestseller helped put issues...  

#40. Ken Robinson

Los Angeles-based Sir Ken Robinson spent twelve years, in a previous life, as a professor of education at the University of Warwick in the UK. He is now professor emeritus...  

#41. Andrew Kakabadse

Now based at Henley Business School in the UK, Andrew Kakabadse is one of the world’s leading experts on top teams, boardroom effectiveness and governance practice. His top team database...  

#42. Stew Friedman

“Total leadership” guru, award-winning teacher, and best-selling author who explores how good leadership goes hand in hand with a richer life.  

#43. Adrian Slywotzky

Adrian Slywotzky is a consultant and author of several books on economic theory and management. He is best known for his work on profitability and growth, and for pioneering the...  

#44. Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey is best known for his 1989 book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The modern equivalent of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, Covey’s...  

#45. Umair Haque

Umair Haque is a London-based consultant. He is director of Havas Media Lab, founder of Bubblegeneration and frequent tweeter and contributor to the online Harvard Business Review. Haque’s initial training...  

#46. Subir Chowdhury

“The quality prophet”, and best-selling author on “six sigma” philosophy, with insightful research on how quality affects all levels of business function and public policy.