Yves Pigneur, the author of the best-selling management book, “Business Model Generation”, and a truly leading expert on the international stage, has just been made an Honorary Professor after a 35-year career in teaching and research at HEC Lausanne (UNIL). All staff at the School congratulate him on his brilliant academic career and would like to express their gratitude to him for everything he has achieved.
Yves Pigneur: a world-leading figure, thinker and innovator who has left his mark on his era
Does Yves Pigneur still need any introduction? Alongside his co-author and former doctoral student Alexander Osterwalder, Yves has a global reputation worthy of any celebrity, thanks to the publication and sale of almost two million copies of a book, the famous “Business Model Generation”, which has been translated into 42 languages. Yet his fame and impact on the business world do not stop there: in 2017, he was placed in the top 10 of the greatest management thinkers in the renowned Thinkers50 ranking. Prof. Pigneur also appears regularly in the media and on the Dies Academicus in 2019, he was awarded the Prix de l’UNIL for his contribution to the institution’s influence and reputation by the Rectorate of the University of Lausanne.
35 years earlier...
Yves Pigneur grew up and studied in Belgium. At the time, he was one of the first students in his country to be awarded a Master’s in Computer Science. In 1984, he left his country of origin to settle in Switzerland, taking up a position as a professor at HEC Lausanne. In addition to his teaching and research role, he would also become the director the School’s Department of Information Systems for 12 years and serve as Vice-Dean for eight.
Yves Pigneur: a thinker and an emblematic figure in the School
Guided and driven by characteristic aspirations that he describes as “caring about tolerance and diversity, focusing the impact of our actions on a better society, and acting with passion and enthusiasm”, Yves Pigneur is a smiling, human, warm figure whom it is a pleasure to meet in the corridors. Someone for whom there is not just one but many best memories of HEC Lausanne, “most of them connected to the people I have met and the friendships I have made and maintained over so many years, particularly with my doctoral students,” he comments.
But what if Prof. Pigneur still had one more surprise in store for us?
Would Prof. Pigneur stop when things are going so well, after so many cumulative successes and such an outstanding career? And who can tell whether he and his co-author Alexander Osterwalder might have a surprise in store, for example, the publication of a new book?
To be continued next spring, and in the meantime, we wish him all the best for his next activities, personal and professional projects as an Honorary Professor. One thing is for certain – the cheery whistling from his office will be missed by the School’s community.