John W. Mullins John Mullins is Associate Professor of Management Practice at London Business School, where he heads the entrepreneurship group. He earned his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and, considerably later in life, his PhD in marketing from the University of Minnesota. An award-winning teacher, John brings to his teaching and research 20 years of executive experience in high-growth firms, including two ventures he founded, one of which he took public. Since becoming a business school professor in 1992, John has published more than 30 articles in a variety of outlets, including Harvard Business Review, the Journal of Product Innovation Management, and the Journal of Business Venturing. His research has won national and international awards from the Marketing Science Institute, the American Marketing Association, and the Richard D. Irwin Foundation. He is also co-author of Marketing Management: A Strategic Decision-Making Approach, 5th edition. His recent trade book, The New Business Road Test: What Entrepreneurs and Executives Should Do Before Writing a Business Plan, is the definitive work on the assessment and shaping of market opportunities. Orville C. Walker, Jr. Orville C. Walker, Jr. is Professor Emeritus in the University of Minnesotas Carlson School of Management, where he served until recently as the James D. Watkins Professor of Marketing and Director of the PhD Program. He holds a Masters degree in social psychology from the Ohio State University and a PhD in marketing from the University of WisconsinMadison. Orville is the co-author of three books and has published more than 50 research articles in scholarly and business journals. He has won several awards for his research, including the ODell award from the Journal of Marketing Research, the Maynard award from the Journal of Marketing, and a lifetime achievement award from the Sales Management Interest Group of the American Marketing Association. Orville has been a consultant to a number of business firms and not-for-profit organisations, and he has taught in executive development programs around the world, including programs in Poland, Switzerland, Scotland and Hong Kong. Perhaps his biggest business challenge, however, is attempting to turn a profit as the owner-manager of a small vineyard in western Wisconsin.
