Prof. Atuahene-Gima named Academy of Management Distinguished Scholar
The Founder and President of Nobel International Business (NiBS) University, Professor Kwaku Atuahene-Gima, has been awarded the 2025 Distinguished Scholar Award by the Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) Division of the prestigious Academy of Management (AOM).
Prof. Atuahene-Gima was recognised for his decades-long contribution to global scholarship in technology and innovation management and strategy by the world’s leading professional association for management and organisation scholars.
He becomes the first African recipient in the award’s history.
Aimed at recognising individuals who have developed a core set of ideas that fundamentally advanced research and understanding in the field of technology and innovation management, the award also marks a pivotal moment for African research and executive education.
Speaking at the AOM’s Annual Meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, BT Professor of Major Programme Management at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Prof. Daniel Armanios, said the AOM TIM Distinguished Scholar Award, which honoured a career of scholarly achievements, was one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Technology and Innovation Management.
He said recipients of the award had made exceptional contributions to the field through their scholarly work and service.
Introducing Prof. Atuahene-Gima as the winner, Prof. Armanios said that through his extraordinary journey across geographic and scholarly boundaries, he had inspired a generation of scholars to embrace disciplinary peripheries to deliver much-needed fundamental change to the core.
Prof. Armanios described him as the embodiment of a scholar who has the courage and audacity to create and trailblaze. "I can’t think of no one whose very life story and scholarly journey so personifies and so exemplifies the breadth, depth, and spirit of exploration that our TIM scholar has, he said."
African scholarship
In his address, Prof. Atuahene-Gima said the award was not just for him, but a recognition of what African scholarship could contribute to the world.
"I am honoured to bring this home to Ghana and to all African innovators,” he said.
Prof. Atuahene-Gima indicated that in recognition of the award, NiBS University would host a series of Innovation Management and Leadership events to bring together executives, policy leaders and alumni to explore how cutting-edge research can drive transformational innovation in African organisations.
"The award affirms NiBS University's mission to bridge world-class research with African executive practice,” he said.
“It is a call to deepen our commitment to bold, locally relevant innovation," he added.
Trailblazer
A trailblazer in innovation and executive education, Prof. Atuahene-Gima has trained and mentored hundreds of public and private sector leaders across Hong Kong, China, Europe and Africa.
His leadership at NiBS University continues to reimagine doctoral education by making it practice-driven, executive-focused, and globally recognised.
TIM Awards
Since 1996, the Technology & Innovation Management Division has been presenting the Distinguished Scholar Award to scholars whose contributions have been central to the intellectual development of the field.
Recipients include Prof. Maria Roche of the Harvard Business School, and Prof. Paula Stephan of Georgia State University, who received the TIM 2025 Emerging Scholar and the TIM 2024
Lifetime Achievement Awards, respectively, in recognition of their contributions to the study of technological innovation, mentorship and institution building.
The Academy of Management (AOM) is the leading professional association for management and organisation scholars based in New York, United States.
With over 20,000 members across 110 countries, its community includes professors, doctoral students, and practitioners, advancing knowledge and its real-world impact.
