The American Marketing Association (AMA) and the American Marketing Association Foundation (AMAF) are thrilled to announce Rajesh K. Chandy as the winner of the 2026 William L. Wilkie “Marketing for a Better World” Award.
Dr. Rajesh Chandy is Professor of Marketing and the Tony and Maureen Wheeler Chair in Entrepreneurship at London Business School, where he is also the Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. Professor Chandy has contributed significant research that enhances prospects for firms developing and commercializing innovations (Fortune magazine described Chandy’s findings on innovation as “an unorthodox and bracing set of management principles”). Fostering innovation is one of the most potent ways for marketing to contribute to a better world. Innovation helps create markets, stimulates economic growth that creates jobs and wealth, and can improve the quality of life by solving health, education, and environmental problems. Reflecting the status of his research, Professor Chandy has served as a member of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Advisory Committee on Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy, and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Global Innovation Forum.
In recent years, Professor Chandy has also focused on the challenges of supporting economic development and entrepreneurship in emerging markets as a means to reduce poverty. His projects here have included: enhancing and analyzing the impact of business skills among micro-entrepreneurs in South Africa, dealing with property rights limitations in slums in Egypt, reducing gender inequity through sales jobs in rural India, and improving productivity and growth through digitization among small businesses in Romania. All of Professor Chandy’s work has the support of development organizations or social enterprises, including the World Bank, the Gates Foundation, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), J-PAL (the Jameel Poverty Action Lab, a global research center at MIT that uses scientific evidence to reduce poverty), and Dharma Life (an Indian social enterprise that empowers rural women entrepreneurs to provide sustainable products and services in their communities). Professor Chandy has also been engaged in advocacy for research among the poor in emerging markets as an Expert Advisor to the World Bank and as an invited participant in the World Economic Forum, Davos, on multiple occasions.
Chandy has served as a member of the advisory board of the Journal of Marketing and as coeditor of the journal’s notable special issue on “Better Marketing for a Better World.” Together with the other coeditors, this effort has been extended for continuing impact through BMBW.org and the community of scholars involved in its ongoing activities. He is also coeditor of the Management Science special issue on “Business and Climate Change,” and previously served as an Area Editor for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation area at Management Science. Chandy’s research and publications have received several awards, including the Mahajan Award for Lifetime Contributions to Marketing Strategy Research, the ISMS Gary Lilien Practice Prize for research that contributes most to the practice of marketing, the Journal of Marketing Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award for contributions to marketing theory and thought, the Excellence in Global Marketing Research Award for significant contributions to the literature on global marketing, and the AMA TechSIG Award for the best article on Technology and Innovation (twice). He has also received the Varadarajan Award for Early Contributions to Marketing Strategy Research and was named an MSI Young Scholar.
He has provided advisory and executive education services to a wide range of firms, the World Economic Forum, and the U.S. and UK governments. Chandy received his PhD in 1996 from the University of Southern California. In 2018, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2025, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American Marketing Association.
In commenting on the award, William (Bill) Wilkie stated:
“I’m extremely pleased that the committee selected Dr. Rajesh Chandy as the 2026 winner of this award. I have followed his career with interest for many years. He has not only published highly impactful strategy research on marketing and innovation but has moved strongly into the thorny but great potential issues of marketing’s roles in fostering economic development and better lives. Rajesh has been a most impressive scholarly leader in the journals and conferences that serve to advance our knowledge and help us to make the world a better place. Congratulations to this fine marketing scholar. I’m really looking forward to his speech at the upcoming AMA Winter Conference.”
Chandy responded to the announcement with the following quote:
“I am deeply honored to receive this award. Bill Wilkie’s work—and that of the distinguished scholars who have received this award before me—shows us that marketing can and should be a force for good. At its finest, marketing empowers us and lifts us up: creating inspiration, dignity, well-being, and prosperity. It reminds us to pay heed to the hopes, aspirations, and needs of all, including those who are left behind. I am grateful to the collaborators and communities who champion this vision and who show, every day, what it means to create a profound impact on the world.”
About the Wilkie Award
The William L. Wilkie “Marketing for a Better World” Award honors thinkers who have significantly contributed to our understanding and appreciation for marketing’s potential to improve our world and from whose work notable advances have ensued – in the mold of Bill Wilkie of the University of Notre Dame. For more information about the William L. Wilkie “Marketing for a Better World” Award, visit ama.marketing/WilkieAward.
About the American Marketing Association (AMA)
As the leading global professional marketing association, the AMA is the essential community for marketers. From students and practitioners to executives and academics, we aim to elevate the profession, deepen knowledge, and make a lasting impact. The AMA is home to five premier scholarly journals including: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, and Journal of Interactive Marketing. Our industry-leading training events and conferences define future forward practices, while our professional development and PCM® professional certification advance knowledge. With 70 chapters and a presence on 350 college campuses across North America, the AMA fosters a vibrant community of marketers. The association’s philanthropic arm, the AMA’s Foundation, is inspiring a more diverse industry and ensuring marketing research impacts public good.
AMA views marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. You can learn more about AMA’s learning programs and certifications, conferences and events, and scholarly journals at AMA.org.