Philip Kotler

"Good companies will meet needs; great companies will create markets," says Philip Kotler, the world's pre-eminent marketing thinker. Kotler is S.C. Johnson and Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Hailed by Management Centre Europe as "the world's foremost expert on the strategic practice of marketing,” he has written what is widely recognized as the most authoritative textbook on marketing: Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control. He has also authored other leading books, including Lateral Marketing; Strategic Marketing for Non-Profits; Marketing for Healthcare Organizations; Marketing Professional Services; Marketing From A to Z; The 10 Deadly Marketing Sins; Marketing Moves; Marketing Places; The Marketing of Nations; and Social Marketing. His book, According To Kotler: The World's Foremost Authority On Marketing Answers Your Questions, focuses on the "four P's" of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion, as well as addresses trends, challenges, tools, careers, research, strategy development, direct marketing, and new marketing ideas. Kotler released Chaotics: the Business of Managing and Marketing in the Age of Turbulence in 2009.

He has published more than 100 articles in leading journals including Business Horizons, California Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing, and Sloan Management Review.

Kotler has also ventured out of the world of academia as a consultant. He applies his 30 years of knowledge to Kotler Marketing Group, a global consulting and training firm. In this capacity, he has consulted to many major US and foreign companies—including IBM, Michelin, Bank of America, Merck, General Electric, Honeywell, and Motorola—in the areas of marketing strategy and planning, marketing organization, and international marketing.

He presents continuing seminars on leading marketing concepts and developments to companies and organizations worldwide and participates in KMG client projects. Kotler has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and South America, advising companies on applying sound economic and marketing science principles in order to increase competitiveness. He has also advised governments on how to develop and position the skill sets and resources of their companies for global competition.

Kotler was the first recipient of the American Marketing Association's Distinguished Marketing Educator Award, and the Sales and Marketing Executives International Marketer of the Year Award. He is also the recipient of numerous awards including the appropriately named Philip Kotler Award for Excellence in Health Care Marketing.

Professor Kotler received his master's degree at the University of Chicago and his PhD at MIT, both in economics. He completed post-doctoral work in mathematics at Harvard University and in behavioral science at the University of Chicago.