W. Chan Kim
W. Chan Kim is a globally recognized strategy scholar, management thinker, and co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy, one of the most influential business books ever written. He serves as Co-Director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute and holds The Boston Consulting Group Bruce D. Henderson Chair Professorship of Strategy and International Management at INSEAD, one of the world’s leading business schools. Before joining INSEAD, Kim was a Professor at the University of Michigan Business School, where he built the foundation of his research on strategy, innovation, and value creation. Widely regarded as a visionary in strategic thinking, he is best known for redefining how organizations create new demand and unlock uncontested market space by moving beyond traditional competitive boundaries. He has served as a board member and strategic advisor to numerous multinational corporations across Europe, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific region. Beyond academia, Kim is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum and serves as an advisory member to the European Union, where he contributes strategic insight on competitiveness, innovation, and economic development.
W. Chan Kim Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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The Boston Consulting Group Bruce D. Henderson Chair Professorship of Strategy and International Management and Co-Director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute
Academic History
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Bachelor's Degree
W. Chan Kim is the co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy, one of the most influential strategy frameworks of the modern era.
The book fundamentally reshaped how organizations think about innovation, competition, and long-term growth by introducing the concept of creating uncontested market space rather than competing in saturated industries.
Blue Ocean Strategy has sold more than four million copies, has been translated into 46 languages, and has appeared on over 300 global bestseller lists across five continents.
The Financial Times described it as “one of the bestselling business books of the century,” while The Economist called it “the most successful book on business master-planning.”
Today, the framework is widely used by corporations, startups, governments, and nonprofits seeking sustainable competitive advantage through market creation.
Blue Ocean Shift expands the Blue Ocean framework into a practical roadmap for organizations seeking to move from competitive red oceans to high-growth blue oceans.
The book became a New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, as well as a USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and international bestseller.
The book was named one of Amazon’s Best Business and Leadership Books of 2017, won 800-CEO-READ’s Best Leadership and Strategy Book of the Year, and was recognized by Library Journal as the #1 business book of 2017.
Collectively, Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift teaching materials have been adopted by over 2,800 universities across more than 100 countries, making the framework one of the most widely taught strategic models in the world.
HONORS & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
W. Chan Kim is consistently ranked among the world’s top management thinkers and serves as a trusted advisor to multinational corporations, governments, and global institutions.
His work has influenced economic policy, corporate strategy, and innovation initiatives across regions and industries.
Kim has been ranked in the top five global management gurus by Thinkers50 and named among the world’s top five business school professors by MBA Rankings.
His honors include the Nobels Colloquia Prize for Leadership in Business and Economic Thinking, the Carl S. Sloane Award from the Association of Management Consulting Firms, Fast Company’s Leadership Hall of Fame, and the Eldridge Haynes Prize from the Academy of International Business. The Observer famously described him as “the next big guru to hit the business world.”
A Fellow of the World Economic Forum, Kim has published extensively in leading academic and business publications, including Harvard Business Review, Strategic Management Journal, Management Science, MIT Sloan Management Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Financial Times.