Rita Gunther McGrath, a Professor at Columbia Business School, is a globally recognized expert on strategy in uncertain and volatile environments. Her thinking is highly regarded by readers and clients who include Pearson, Covidien, Coca-Cola Enterprises, General Electric, Alliance Boots, and the World Economic Forum. She is a popular instructor, a sought-after speaker, and a consultant to senior leadership teams. She was recognized as one of the top 10 management thinkers by global management award Thinkers50 in 2013, and won the award for outstanding achievement in the strategy category.

She’s also been recognized as one of the top ten business school professors to follow on Twitter, and was named one of the 25 smartest women to follow on Twitter by Fast Company magazine. In 2009, she was inducted as a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society, an honor accorded those who have had a significant impact on the field. She serves as Dean of the Fellows. McGrath is the co-author of three books in addition to her brand new book The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast As Your Business (Harvard Business Review Press).

Rita McGrath appears regularly on television and radio and is often cited in the press, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, and Businessweek, Inc. She maintains an active blog (see www.RitaMcGrath.com) and is featured as a discussion leader at Harvard Business Online. She has authored or co-authored 14 articles in the Harvard Business Review, including the best-selling Discovery Driven Planning. Her most recent Harvard Business Review article is Transient Advantage, which was published in June of 2013 and was featured on the magazine’s cover.

Rita McGrath joined the faculty of Columbia Business School in 1993. Prior to life in academia, she was an IT director, worked in the political arena, and founded two startups. Her Ph.D. is from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She teaches in Columbia’s top-ranked Executive Education programs, and is the Faculty Director for the Columbia Executive Education program Leading Strategic Growth and Change.

Rita’s academic publications have appeared in leading journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, and Management Science. She has won numerous awards for excellence in scholarship. Among these are the Strategic Management Society ‘best paper’ and ‘runner up’ awards in 2001 and 2004; the Maurice Holland award from the Industrial Research Institute; the Academy of Management Review “best paper” award, the Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice Award for the Best Conceptual Paper (both 1992 and 1996) and the European Foundation for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER) best paper award. She is a member of several editorial boards of prestigious journals.

Ron Pierantozzi is a partner in Cameron and Associates, LLC, an innovation consulting firm in Philadelphia. He works with both large organizations and small start up companies on growth strategies and technology innovation. He is the former CEO of PPT Research, a materials technology company in Allentown, PA. He retired from the management ranks of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc, where he served in a variety of technology and business leadership positions.

Ron previously served as Air Product’s Director, Business Development, which focused on new venture creation and technology transfer. This involved a wide range of duties that included identifying and commercializing new technologies, forming and incubating new technology-based ventures, managing external partnerships and forming market alliances, and investing in both early and late stage companies working through high profile VCs. Ron continues to work closely with VCs in the advanced materials and machine-to-machine sectors, where he provides expertise in market strategy and business valuation.

Ron previously served as Director of Technology with Air Products and Chemicials, Inc. in both the gas separations area and industrial chemicals. Ron is an inventor/co-inventor, and holds of 32 U.S. patents and authored 16 publications. His most recent publication “Implementing a Learning Plan to Counter Project Uncertainty” with Mark Rice and Gina O’Connor was published in Sloan Management Review, January 2008. His next paper, an innovation spotlight paper for Harvard Business Review titled “Rx for Breakthrough Innovation: Build Career Ladders for Talented Innovators” is due out shortly.

Ron is a lecturer at Wharton business schools, where he frequently lectures on subjects dealing with innovation and entrepreneurship. He is also a member of the faculty for the program on Corporate Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Danish Technical University, where he conducts a seminar on developing business plans for the global enterprise. He was an executive in Residence at RPI’s Lally School of Technology Management for the 2007-2008 academic year. He currently serves on the board of directors of Primet Precision Materials, Inc. and has served on the board of advisors for Stem, Inc.