Wilfried Vanhonacker

Visiting Professor of Marketing, Ex-dean, CEIBS

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: Ph.D. in Management from Purdue University (Indiana, US)

TEACHING INTERESTS: Wilfried Vanhonacker is recognized as an accomplished scholar, academic entrepreneur, pedagogical innovator and authority on emerging markets with hands-on managerial experience in China, Russia, and the MENA region. Wilfried played a key role in the establishment of the leading business schools in Russia (Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO) and in China (China-Europe International Business School, CEIBS). Before these entrepreneurial endeavors, he was the founding director of INSEAD’s highly successful PhD program, and built the marketing department at UST (Hong Kong) into a top global academic research department. Most recently, he led the Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon. Since mid 2013, Wilfried has been working on pedagogical innovations including a unique business-school concept for the Arab World and a state-of-the art business simulation game.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS: Wilfried has published widely (including four books), and has been on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University (New York, US), INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France), and HKUST Business School (Hong Kong). He currently holds the prestigious Coca Cola Chair in Marketing at the Olayan School of Business, AUB.

CORPORATE EXPERIENCE: Managing complex projects in China, Russia and MENA over the last 25 years, Wilfried has a deep knowledge and understanding of these challenging markets. Working in China since 1985, he developed extensive expertise in setting up and operating businesses in China and has consulted extensively in these areas. He was a founding partner of the InterChina consulting boutique (headquartered in Beijing, currently with offices around the world) and is senior partner in HCD Global, a Shanghai-based company specializing in pedagogical-technology innovation. In Russia, he worked closely with some of the leading entrepreneurs, and developed a deep understanding of Russian business and the successful execution of public-private partnerships in that country. In MENA, he worked with some of the leading families and acquired knowledge about family businesses and their core role in the region.

His path-breaking work has enabled him to develop an extensive network of contacts, and respect and admiration among political and corporate leaders in China, Russia, and the Arab world. For his contribution to global business and business education, he was elected unanimously as the Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the European International Business Academy for 2011. Recognized as an innovative educator, Wilfried has been a trustee of the Fundacion de la Innovacion BankInter (Madrid, Spain) since 2011.