Philip Kotler ranked among world's most influential gurus

Philip Kotler, S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, was named one of the most influential marketing gurus by Suntop Media, a media content, concepts and consulting company.

Kotler ranked 10th in the "Thinkers 50 Survey," which aimed to establish the visionaries who had the greatest influence on management from the boardroom to the shop floor. Others named in the January survey included South African statesman Nelson Mandela, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Topping the list was management consultant Peter Drucker.

Suntop compiled its list through an international e-mail survey, which had over 400 respondents. The deliberations of an expert panel then ranked top business figures in 10 categories: originality of ideas, practicality of ideas, presentation style, written communication, loyalty of followers, business sense, international outlook, rigor of research, impact of ideas and "guru factor."

Upon learning of this latest honor, Kotler noted that his aim over the last 30 years "has been to promote marketing as a science and to explain how the marketplace really works by giving real-life texture to the theories of economists." That these ideas are now widely accepted by business leaders is gratifying, said the Kellogg professor.

Kotler, who has taught at Kellogg since 1962, holding numerous posts in the marketing department, was honored to be mentioned alongside the century's paramount business thinkers. "Up to now, I have been pleased to be included in virtually every book describing management gurus and their contributions to management theory and practice," said Kotler. No one, he noted, ever previously dared to compile such a ranking.

"It is gratifying to know that the surveyed respondents considered me to be among the very top influential management gurus," Kotler said. "I am certainly in good company."