ESCP Professors Alisa Sydow and Philip Meissner have been named to the 2025 Thinkers50 Radar List. The annual list highlights 30 promising voices whose ideas are set to have a significant impact on management thinking in the years ahead.

Founded in 2001, Thinkers50 has become one of the world’s leading authorities on identifying and celebrating management thought leaders. Since 2016, the Thinkers50 Radar List has served as a platform for recognising the next generation of influential thinkers.

Associate Professor Alisa Sydow: Championing Entrepreneurship and Global Impact
Alisa Sydow is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Academic Director of the MSc in Digital Transformation Management & Leadership at ESCP. She specialises in teaching entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship, with an emphasis on new technologies and social impact.

“I am truly honoured to be part of the Thinkers50 Radar. It’s an incredible opportunity to share my ideas with a broader community and engage in meaningful conversations that can shape future management,” says Prof. Sydow.

Prof. Sydow’s research interests include entrepreneurship in developing countries such as Kenya and Uganda, with a particular focus on technology-based and women-led ventures. She has also created a startup, Nampelka, which builds a community to provide continuous and accessible support to African founders.

She is also interested in what she sees as a likely global shift in power from Western and developed economies to emerging markets, particularly across the entire African continent as economic and political power dynamics evolve.

Recent publications:

Workaround practices within gender-biased entrepreneurship ecosystems–evidence from female entrepreneurs in the East African coffee sector. De Gruyter Handbook of Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Economies: Theory and Practice, 2024
How an African approach to financing models can drive growth and inclusion, World Economic Forum, 2024
Social entrepreneurs concerned about Impact Drift. Evidence from contexts of persistent and pervasive need, Journal of Business Venturing, 2024
Trust Formation in New Ventures’ Cross-Border Stakeholder Relationships-Evidence from South Africa, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2024

Professor Philip Meissner: Enabling Strategic Technology Integration
A leading voice in future technologies and AI-based decision-making, Philip Meissner is the Academic Director of the Master in Strategy and Digital Business and Chair of Strategic Management and Decision Making at ESCP’s Berlin Campus. His work sits at the intersection of strategy, technology, and psychology. He is also the Co-founder and Director of the European Center for Digital Competitiveness.

“Being recognised on the Thinkers50 Radar list is a great honour, and I am very grateful to join this fantastic network of young thought leaders from around the world,” says Prof. Meissner.

Prof. Meissner’s research focuses on the potential of digital technologies to solve major societal challenges, particularly in the areas of green tech and digital democracy. He is also interested in the importance of preparing for technological change and the implications of technology for managers, from AI for productivity or decision-making to geopolitical implications.

He has received numerous accolades for his insights and leadership, including being named in Capital Magazine’s “40 Under 40” list and as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2022.

Recent publications:

AWAKENING 2025: 10 levers for the digital turnaround in Germany (in German)
The human factor in AI-based decision-making, MIT Sloan Management Review, 2021
Managerial overreliance on AI-augmented decision-making processes: How the use of AI-based advisory systems shapes choice behavior in R&D investment decisions, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2021