Stewart Thornhill
Executive Director
,
Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
Stewart Thornhill is the Eugene Applebaum Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and Executive Director of the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. His teaching includes the full span of undergraduate and graduate programs at Ross, as well as executive education. He is also faculty director of the Zell Founders Fund.
Thornhill's background includes global experience, having held the Karel Steur chair in entrepreneurship at the Universidad de San Andreas, Buenos Aires and various professorial roles at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris in France and the Ivey School of Business at both the Hong Kong and Canadian campuses. Research interests include strategic execution, leadership, competitive strategy, innovation and corporate entrepreneurship. His work has appeared in several top management journals and he has published more than 20 teaching cases. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Business Venturing and the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.
Recent executive education engagements span a wide range of global industries including automotive, aerospace, health care, the public sector, and financial services. Professor Thornhill is faculty director of Quantum Shift – an annual program for CEO entrepreneurs of high-growth companies.
Professor Thornhill received his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia and also holds a B.Sc. (Eng.) in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA with a concentration in Finance. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, he worked as a manufacturing engineering and a radio journalist. He is a helicopter pilot and avid motorcycle enthusiast.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/62cc73f36edd02307c990e4e/651e18c82d4af5b4620f32a4_FacultyPhoto.jpeg)
Sessions
Catch the speaker at these sessions
There is a reason that the University of Michigan produces the most startup founders of any institution across the globe (#7 for undergraduate founders and #16 for graduate alumni founders) - dedicate startup resources, mentors, accelerators and capital opportunities on campus! Learn how to access all that UMich has to offer to work on your startup with leaders from each of the innovation centers across the campus sharing more about how to work with them.
Sessions
Catch this year's 70+ speakers at MTW 2023 from October 9-12.
Where’s the event?
MTW 2023 will take place at the University of Michigan football stadium - Big House! - on Oct 9-10 and at Venue 4M on Oct 11-12. Doors open at 8:00 am and the event programming experience will run from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (EST.)
Food & Drinks will be provided!
Sharon Matusik
Peter Walker
Kathryn Snorrason, David Woessner, Sasi Prabhakaran PhD, Rahul Gayam, Rasmus Bendvold
Carla Walker-Miller, Lisa Lunsford, Maria Thompson
Charles Hudson
Jenn Onwenu & Tim Lewis
Lara Pender, Alison Accavitti, Edi Demaj, Kevin Heras
Priya Gogoi, Chase Lee, Ben Chehebar, Matthew Burns, Adrian Fortino
James Meeks
Priya Gogoi, Margarita Hernandez, Kalyan Handique, Roger Newton, Len Middleton, David Bloom
Lisa Katz, Sarah Gretter PhD, Maragarita Hernandez PhD, Tom Steward, Joe Thiel
Chris Yeh
Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II
Hilary Doe, Mayor Christopher Taylor & Mayor Mike Duggan
Stacy Brown-Philpot, Greg Schwartz
Devon Townsend & Mike Vichich
Johnnie Turnage & Hill Harper
Justin Turk, Chelsea Plant, Kurt Baumgarten
Austin Yarger, Vanessa Lane, Natalie Fang, Ben Kvalo, Fred Schmidt
Terrance J.L. Reeves, Ashton Keys, Shalanda Armstrong
Dhani Jones & Ted Velie
Kelly Sexton, Jeni Olney, Kristen Wolff, Stewart Thornhill, Kurt Skifstad
Ryan Morrison, Michael Meadows, Melanie de Vries, Jonn Behrman, Ian Washington
Meagan Ward
Nia Batts & Sophia Bush
Ryan Landau, Chening Duker, Deirdre Roberson, Terra Osman
Lindsey Kilbride, Will Fung, Alison Todak, Jim Tenzillo, Chris Thomas, Joe Kaiser
MTW 2023 Now On Sale
Body: Tickets are on sale now until October 8. Tickets will be available at the gate.
Good news! Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we are pleased to offer a limited number of scholarship tickets for individuals to attend MTW 2023. If you would like to request a scholarship ticket, please complete this form and our selection team will contact you if you are eligible for a scholarship ticket.
If you’re interested, tell us about yourself by submitting a scholarship application by 10/4/2023!