Best 40-Under-40 Professor Markus Giesler

Markus Giesler

Associate Professor of Marketing

Age: 37

Institution: York University, Schulich School of Business

Since: 2004

Before current institution:

Kellogg School of Management,

Northwestern University, Chicago

Hometown: Iserlohn, Germany

Marital status: single

Children: 3 (in my dreams)

Education: Witten/Herdecke University (BA, MA, MBA, and PhD in Marketing)

Courses currently teaching: 

Entertainment Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Customer Experience Design, Marketing Management

Fun fact: 

– Youngest marketing professor to be hired by a North American b-school,

– Founded two music companies in my teens

– I gave up my businesses to fundamentally rethink how technology transforms markets; this work on market systems has fundamentally changed technology and entertainment marketing practice and new product development from a purely economic to a cultural orientation

– Elected into Germany’s 30 under 30 (Wirtschaftswoche),

– Spend summers touring Europe with my rock band “Rocksoldiers,”

– Create perfumes in my spare time

– Founded the Levy Award that honors breakthrough research by young marketing professors

– Own six dwarf bunnies

Professor I most admire: Professor Eileen Fischer who hired me. She embodies passion, respect, and great mentorship.

Most memorable moment as a professor:

#1 In 2008: Public battle with former RIM CEO Jim Balsillie at Schulich who dismissed my detailed predictions about the coming demise of BlackBerry

#2 This week: (reviewing student evaluations from last semester):

“If I weren’t a b-school professor…” I would write songs again.