Roger Martin

Premier’s Research Chair in Productivity and Competitiveness * Academic Director, Martin Prosperity Institute * Degrees:MBA, Harvard Business School (1981) * AB, Economics Major, Harvard College (1979)

Roger Martin served as former Dean of the Rotman School from 1998 to 2013. Roger researches Integrative Thinking, Business Design and country competitiveness. He teaches an MBA elective and an open enrollment executive program on integrative thinking while lecturing around the world on a range of subjects related to his published work and ongoing research. In his current role, Roger is the Academic Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute with a research focus on democratic capitalism.

Professor Emeritus and former dean of University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, Martin is a trusted strategy adviser to CEOs worldwide and the author of eleven books, including Thinkers50 award winners Playing to Win (with AG Lafley) and Getting Beyond Better (with Sally Osberg). Martin received his AB from Harvard College and his MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to his academic career he spent 13 years as a director of Monitor Company, a global strategy consulting firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He serves on a number of public service boards.

Martin’s influence on business strategy and thinking has been immense. He championed the idea of integrative thinking, arguing that ‘and’ rather than ‘or’ thinking yields better solutions, and showing how combining elements from seemingly opposing models can pave the way for innovation and problem solving. He also developed the theory of design thinking, demonstrating how to balance the exploration of new knowledge (innovation) with the exploitation of existing expertise (efficiency). Martin’s work also focuses on corporate social responsibility and country competitiveness.