Dr. V. Kumar (VK) is the Regents Professor; Richard and Susan Lenny Distinguished Chair & Professor in Marketing; Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Brand and Customer Management, Georgia State University, J. Mack Robinson College of Business. VK has been recognized with 14 lifetime achievement awards in several areas in Marketing from the American Marketing Association (AMA) and other professional organizations. VK has published over 250 articles, 25 books (translated in multiple languages), and has received over 25 Research and Teaching Excellence Awards. VK has been honored in multiple countries with prestigious awards and fellowships including the Chang Jiang Scholar, HUST, China; Senior Fellow, Indian School of Business, India; and Fellow, Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. VK spends his “free” time visiting business leaders to identify challenging problems to solve. VK has worked with several Global Fortune1000 firms to maximize their profits and publish studies with rigor and relevance. Finally, VK is chosen as a Legend in Marketing where his work is published in a 10-volume encyclopedia (Sage Publications) with commentaries from scholars worldwide. Werner Reinartz is a Professor of Marketing at the University of Cologne, Germany, the Director of the Center for Research in Retailing (IFH), and the coordinator of the research initiative on “Digital Transformation”. Professor Reinartz holds a Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Houston. His research on marketing strategy, retailing, customer relationship management (CRM), and service strategies has been recognized with some of the most prominent global awards in the marketing field. In addition, his findings are prominently featured in the practitioner literature amongst them five different feature articles in Harvard Business Review. In terms of research productivity, he has been ranked among the top 2.5% of scholars in the world in terms of time - adjusted publication rate in the top four marketing journals. Also, he has been ranked as the #1 scholar outside the US in citations in the top marketing journals. Moreover, he is on the editorial board of multiple top journals. Besides his academic activities, he is a frequent sparring partner for top managers and an experienced marketing strategy management trainer.
