Dr Thomas C. Lawton is an award-winning strategic management author, educator, and advisor. He is Professor of Strategy and International Business and Director of the Global Competitiveness Institute at University College Cork, Ireland. He also holds faculty positions in the U.K. and U.S., as Professor of Strategic Management at Brunel University of London, Visiting Professor of Business Administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and Associate at the Møller Institute. Thomas serves as Editor-in-Chief of one of the world’s leading strategy journals, Long Range Planning.
Professor Lawton’s research focuses on business model innovation and non-market strategies for stakeholder engagement and political risk management when entering and embedding in international markets. His work has advanced our understanding of how multinational enterprises compete and gain advantage through corporate political activity (CPA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR), particularly in emerging institutional environments. He has published eight books, including Breakout Strategy (McGraw-Hill) and Aligning for Advantage (Oxford University Press), and over 60 articles in such journals as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Perspectives, California Management Review, Global Strategy Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of World Business, and Strategic Organization. His work has featured in media outlets including the BBC, Business Channel, Channel 4, European CEO, Fast Company, Irish Times, Sky News, Strategy + Business, The Conversation, and U.S. News & World Report.
Thomas has served as a company director, and he has 30 years of experience as a consultant, speaker, and executive educator. He advises entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders on how to enhance their strategic thinking and practice, and partners with organizations to develop their present and future leaders and chart international growth trajectories. Clients include global corporations in aerospace and aviation, banking and finance, construction, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and technology, as well as state agencies working with SMEs to grow and internationalize. He has lived and worked in France, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and facilitated senior management and board level workshops, delivered keynotes, and run executive programs on strategy, leadership and international business dynamics at universities and corporations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
Thomas has a PhD in Political Science from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, an MSc (Econ) from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the U.K., and a BA (Hons) from University College Cork in Ireland. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). He has worked at Cranfield University, EMLYON Business School, Imperial College London, INSEAD, Open University, Royal Holloway University of London, and University of Surrey.
Thomas is based in Cork, Ireland, and London, England, and spends part of the year in Vermont in the United States, with his wife Katalin, their daughter, Méabh Alyona, and their son, Ruaidhrí James.