Biography of Prof. Dr.Peter Lorange

Peter Lorange is Emeritus Professor of Strategy and Honorary President of IMD.

A strategy expert whose areas of special interest include global strategic management, strategic planning, and entrepreneurship for growth, Lorange has conducted extensive research on multinational management, planning processes, and internally generated growth processes. He has written or edited more than 30 books and 120 articles on these subjects.

For 15 years, from 1993 to 2008, Lorange served as the President of IMD, where he was also Professor of Strategy, held the Nestlé Chair for Strategy, and then held the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Chair for International Shipping. Lorange has been central to the history of IMD, as a key architect of the 1990 merger between the International Management Institute (IMI) and Nestlé’s Institut pour l'Etude des Méthodes de Direction de l'Entreprise (IMEDE). This merger produced the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in its current form. As President of IMD, Lorange played a significant role in shaping the campus by commissioning most of the new buildings.

Among IMD’s pioneering efforts over the past 75 years has been its contribution to the world of a family business, where it was one of the first academic organizations to offer dedicated programs to business-owning families; to build on this global legacy, IMD has established the Peter Lorange Chair in Family Business.

He was the founder, sole owner, Chairman, and CEO of the Lorange Network, where he led digital business knowledge transfer for business owners, entrepreneurial families, and investors. He was formerly owner and President of the Lorange Institute of Business. Lorange has been the owner and Chairman of S. Ugelstad Invest, a large investment company and he has also been the owner of S. Ugelstad’s Rederi which was sold in 2006.

Professor Lorange was formerly President of BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo. Before this, he was affiliated with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for more than a decade in various assignments, including serving as head of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies, and The William H. Wurster Center for International Management Studies. At Wharton, he was also the William H. Wurster Professor of Multinational Management. Lorange also taught for eight years at the Sloan School of Management (MIT).

In addition to his academic work, Lorange has extensive experience in shipping, having served as a director on several boards (Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Kvaerner and Seaspan, ISS, Keystone Solutions, Globalpraxis, Copenhagen Business School, and many others).

Lorange is Norwegian and lives in Switzerland. He was educated at the Norwegian School of Economics, Yale University (MA in Operations Management), and Harvard Business School (DBA). In addition, he is the recipient of 6 honorary doctorates.

Photo: Francois Wavre for IMD

Academic Experience

Prof. Dr. Peter Lorange was President of Lorange Institute of Business Zurich from the end of July 2009 until October 2015. He was President of IMD from July 1993 until April 2008. He was a Professor of Strategy and was the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Chair of International Shipping.

Prof. Dr. Lorange was formerly President of the Norwegian School of Management in Oslo. Before this, Lorange was affiliated with the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for more than a decade, in various assignments, including director of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies, and The William H. Wurster Center for International Management Studies, as well as The William H. Wurster Professor of Multinational Management.

Lorange also taught for eight years at the Sloan School of Management (MIT). Prof. Dr. Lorange received his undergraduate education from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business, was awarded an MA degree in Operations Management from Yale University, and his Doctor of Business Administration degree from Harvard University. He holds Honorary Doctorates from Pecs University, Moscow State University, Copenhagen Business School, Estonian Business School, Lithuania Business School, and Lund University. He is an Honorary Member of EFMD.

Selected Recent Books

Shipping strategy: Innovations for success, Lorange, Peter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009, 273 p.
Contribution - Global success: real-world research "meets" global practitioners, Lorange, Peter, London: Economica, 2008, p. 162-173
Article - Driving renewal: the entrepreneur-manager, Chakravarthy, Balaji S., Lorange, Peter, Journal of business strategy, 2008, p. 14-21
Article - Mind the culture gap: engaging in deep, non-judgemental learning, Lorange, Peter, Tomorrow's challenges, 2008, 5 p.
Thought leadership meets business: How business schools can become more successful, Lorange, Peter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, 240 p.
Profit or growth? : Why you don't have to choose, Chakravarthy, Balaji S., Lorange, Peter, Harlow: Pearson Education, 2007, 173 p.
Contribution - Shipping organizations - the ultimate global players Lorange, Peter, Chichester: J. Wiley and Sons, 2007, p. 61-74
Article - The power of learning: lifelong executive learning for value creation Lorange, Peter, Tomorrow's challenges, 2007, 5 p.
Business School of the Future, Lorange, Peter, Cambridge University Press, 2019
Adaptions and Flexibility: A case study, Lorange, Peter, Forthcoming 2019

About the International Institute of Management Development (IMD)

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne has been ranked for more than 15 consecutive years in the top 5 of the FT’s Executive Education Global Ranking and is committed to excellence in executive education and to developing leaders who transform organizations and contribute to society. In addition to IMD taking over the Lorange Network (an online platform and community founded by Peter Lorange in 2017) in November 2021, IMD is establishing a Peter Lorange Chair, with the purpose of pursuing IMD’s global legacy in the family business. Peter Lorange has also been honored with the title of Honorary President, IMD.

About S. Ugelstad Invest

Dr. Peter Lorange was involved in his family business S. Ugelsad, founded in 1929 until 2006 when he sold the company and started his own Family Office. Today S. Ugelstad Invest operates as a highly diversified portfolio family business, with investments in 5 major areas and through over 30 activities. S. Ugelstad Invest is based in Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway.

About Lorange Network

The Lorange Network is a vibrant community of business families and entrepreneurs, as well as others whose eco-systems are involved in value creation for the next generation, including family businesses, family offices, large private investors, and non-family executives.

The Lorange Network was founded by Dr. Peter Lorange to create learning, networking, and investment opportunities for business families and their next generations, and for business leaders going for growth. His own career in both business and academia, and his portfolio family business active in 5 areas and over 30 investment activities, have made the Lorange Network the go-to for critical curated content and high-level networking. In late 2021, the Lorange Network joined the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

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