Lindner alum Paul Polman, Dean Lewis named to esteemed Thinkers50 Ranking
List ranks the world’s most influential management thinkers
Paul Polman, MBA/MA ’79, HON ’09, and Lindner dean Marianne Lewis, PhD, have each been named to the prestigious Thinkers50 Ranking. Published biennially, Thinkers50 designates the “most influential management thinkers in the world.”
Polman and his collaborator, Andrew Winston, were ranked No. 1. Their vision of “net positive” is proving its powerful impact on leaders, organizations and our world. Building from Polman's remarkable turnaround of Unilever, his efforts demonstrate the transformation possible by harnessing both financial and social responsibility. Polman then co-founded IMAGINE, a social venture that organizes business leaders tackling the world’s great social, economic and sustainability challenges.
Lindner dean Marianne Lewis, PhD.
Lewis and her “Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems” co-author, Wendy K. Smith, were also included in this lofty ranking for being “masters of navigating paradoxes.” Lewis has been Lindner’s dean since 2019 and is also a professor of management.
Smith is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management and Faculty Director of the Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware. Lewis and Smith were honored with the Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award in 2023.
“I’m humbled by this honor, particularly given Paul Polman’s well-earned position at the top spot," Lewis said. "Wendy and I study how great leaders embrace tensions, finding creative friction amid their most challenging, competing demands. Polman has long inspired my work, serving as a model of our paradox approach and great leadership.”
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Featured image: Paul Polman presents at the Kautz-Uible Economics Institute’s 2016 James C. Kautz Lecture Series. Lindner file photo.
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