2017 Best 40 Under 40 Professors: Fabrice Lumineau, Purdue University (Krannert)

Fabrice Lumineau

Assistant Professor of Strategic Management

Purdue University, Krannert School of Management

And the award for most number of distinguished/outstanding teacher honors goes to: Fabrice Lumineau. Since 2013, this strategic management professor has received 12 different honors for distinguished and outstanding teaching. Mostly, he’s praised by students for teaching in a way that sticks. He offers up complex case studies to give his students a broad understanding of problems that organizations encounter while working globally. Group presentations are supplemented by Youtube videos.

Professor Lumineau is also an award-winning researcher and globally sought after presenter and speaker. Among the honors he has racked up are 129 invited talks and conferences, seven research grants (including the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Early Career Research Award for $353,000), and a long list of research awards and honors including a $10,000 faculty scholar award from Purdue.

Age: 38

At current institution since: 2012

Education: PhD in Strategic Management, HEC Paris, 2009

List of courses you currently teach: Global Strategy (MBA and Weekend MBA); Collaborative Strategies (PhD); Psycho-Cognitive Foundations of Strategy (PhD)

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? I am currently working on the interplay between formal and informal agreements. My work especially addresses the inherent ambivalence of contracts and the need to implement trade-offs between trust and distrust management between partners.

Professor you most admire: John Keating in Dead Poets Society

“I knew I wanted to be a B-school professor when…I realized I could have the freedom to explore any topic I find relevant and interesting.”

“If I weren’t a B-school professor…I would be an architect.”

One word that describes my first time teaching an MBA class: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Most memorable moment in the classroom, or in general, as a professor: When my students contact me, sometimes years later, to thank me for helping them to achieve their personal and professional goals.

What professional achievement are you most proud of? To be on the 40 under 40 list, of course!

What do you enjoy most about being a business school professor? The opportunity to teach talented and energetic students from all over the world on Monday, discuss complex theoretical issues with colleagues on Tuesday, meet with senior managers on Wednesday… or, sometimes, all of these on the same day!

What do you enjoy least about being a business school professor? While I enjoy reading student projects, I dislike assigning grades.

What is your favorite company and why? SpaceX because of its intent to revolutionize space technology.

Fun fact about yourself: I have moved about 20 times and have lived in 6 countries on 3 continents.

Bucket list item #1: Run the Boston marathon

Favorite book: The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

Favorite movie: All Woody Allen films

Favorite type of music: Blues

Favorite television show: Mad Men

Favorite vacation spot: Corsica, France

What are your hobbies? Travelling, running, cooking, and photography

Twitter handle: Still resisting!

“If I had my way, the business school of the future would have…a required international experience to further open students’ minds.”

Students say:

“Fabrice used complex case studies to give his students a broad understanding of problems that organizations encounter while working globally. He broke it down from a macro and micro framework so that we understood the full framework of global strategy. I am confident that I will be able to use the knowledge from his class in my future career.”

“This course was one of the best courses I took throughout the semester. The concepts that Prof. Lumineau discussed in class were extremely pertinent. The professor encouraged free and open discussion in class and this made the topic even more interesting because our class had a rich blend of students from different parts of the world and different academic and professional backgrounds. I strongly believe that Prof. Lumineau is a gifted academic and I have been able to learn a lot from him.”

“Professor Lumineau engineered his class and facilitated the conversation in a way that I have not seen in any other professor’s class. He is able to relate with all different backgrounds and ethnicities within the class. The last day of class, we had an international potluck which he facilitated. His course was unlike any other course I have taken during my MBA, not to say others were bad or not as good, but his in particular stood out.”

DON’T MISS: THE FULL 2017 ROSTER OF THE WORLD’S 40 MOST OUTSTANDING BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSORS UNDER 40