March 30, 2009

IMD announces with great sadness the death of Professor Emeritus Thomas E. Vollmann, who passed away on March 26th in Lausanne, Switzerland at the age of 72.

Professor Vollmann was Professor of Manufacturing Management with particular interest in the areas of:

- Manufacturing planning and control
- Performance measurement
- Supply chain management
- Enterprise transformation

Professor Vollmann received his PhD degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and taught at Dartmouth College, the University of Rhode Island, Indiana University, INSEAD and Boston University, before joining IMD in 1989. He had previously been a Visiting Professor at IMEDE from 1979-81.

For a number of years, Professor Vollmann was a member of the Faculty team that offered the Managing Manufacturing program at IMD. He was also a founding member of, and a key contributor to, the Manufacturing 2000 research project.

He was much appreciated by IMD’s learning partners for his expertise in his chosen fields and played a significant role in the design, development and delivery of innumerable partnership programs.

Professor Vollmann was a prolific researcher, publishing numerous books, articles and cases. He was considered a global authority on manufacturing control systems and his co-authored book Manufacturing Planning and Control Systems, which was first published in 1984, is now in its fifth edition. His article The Hidden Factory, co-authored with Jeffrey Miller and published in the Harvard Business Review in 1985, was deemed a seminal work in the field. In total, he has 46 cases to his name, nine of which have been recognized in competition by EFMD, ECCH and others.

Professor Vollmann became an Emeritus Faculty member in 2001, but remained an active researcher and teacher throughout his retirement. His most recent book The Power of Two, co-authored with Professor Carlos Cordon, was published in 2008.

IMD extends its sincere and heartfelt condolences to Professor Vollmann’s entire family.