ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Rita Gunther McGrath joined the faculty of Columbia Business School, where she is currently an Associate Professor, in 1993. Prior to life in academia, she was an IT director, worked in the political arena, and founded two start-ups.

McGrath is best known for helping companies discover and capitalize on growth opportunities. Her research addresses technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and corporate venturing. She publishes widely in leading academic journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, and Management Science. The Strategic Management Society presented her with the McKinsey best paper award in 2001 and an honorable mention for best paper in 2004. She also received the Maurice Holland award from the Industrial Research Institute for the best paper published in Research Technology Management (2000). Previous awards include the Academy of Management Review best paper award (1999), the Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice Award for the Best Conceptual Paper (both 1992 and 1996), and the European Foundation for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER) award for the best paper of 1995. She is on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Review, the Strategic Management Journal, and the Journal of Business Venturing. She is a Director of the Strategic Management Society, the premier professional organization for strategists.

In her research and consulting, she has worked with companies such as 3M, Nokia, DuPont, the Kone Corporation of Finland, Deutsche Telekom, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Swiss Reinsurance, Inc., and many others. She is also active in Columbia Business School Executive Education (http://www.gsb. columbia.edu/execed). She is the Faculty Director for the programs Creating Breakthrough Strategy, Executing Breakthrough Strategy, and Leading Strategic Growth and Change.

Ian MacMillan is the Academic Director of the Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Research Programs at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is also the Fred Sullivan Professor in the Management Department. Formerly he was Director of the Entrepreneurship Center at New York University and a teacher at Columbia and Northwestern Universities and the University of South Africa. In 1999 he was awarded the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research Prize for his contribution to research in entrepreneurship.

Prior to joining the academic world, MacMillan was a chemical engineer and gained experience in gold and uranium mining, chemical and explosives manufacturing, oil refining, and soap and food production, and was a scientist at the South African Atomic Energy Board. He has been a director of several companies in the travel, import/export, and pharmaceutical industries. He also has extensive consulting experience, having worked with companies such as Air Products, DuPont, General Electric, GTE, IBM, Citibank, Chubb & Son, American Re-Insurance, Texas Instruments, KPMG, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Fluor Daniel, Matsushita (Japan), Olympus (Japan), and L. G. Group (Korea), among others.

MacMillan’s articles have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Business Venturing, Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Executive, Management Science, and Strategic Management Journal, among others.