Dominique Turpin

Professor Emeritus of Marketing Strategy

Dominique Turpin is Professor Emeritus of Marketing Strategy. A marketing expert and Japan specialist, he was IMD’s Dentsu Chaired Professor of Marketing and the Dean of External Relations until 2022 and served as IMD President and Nestlé Professor from 2010 to 2016.

Turpin has extensive teaching, consulting, and research experience in the fields of marketing and international strategy in Europe, Latin America, and Asia, particularly in the areas of brand management, customer orientation, and communications strategy.

While marketing has changed dramatically as a result of new digital techniques, the essence of marketing is still the same – understanding, creating, delivering, and communicating value to customers.

Turpin remains active in the writing of case studies and is working on two books – one with Goutam Challagalla on digital transformation in marketing, and another containing the many quotations from business leaders that he has gathered over his long career.

He continues to teach on IMD’s flagship Orchestrating Winning Performance (OWP) program and was previously Director of the school’s MBA program and its Program for Executive Development Diploma (PED).

He has also directed customized programs for companies such as KAO, Mondelez, Groupe SEB, Panasonic, and Japan Tobacco International, and he has worked as a consultant and management educator with a large number of international companies including Coca Cola, CPW, Danone, DSM, Jardine Matheson, Nestlé, Novo Nordisk, Philips, and Uponor.

In September 2022, he was appointed as European President of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), which has campuses in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Zurich, and Accra.

Turpin is the author of more than 100 books, articles, and case studies. He has had articles published in the Financial Times, European Business Forum, and MIT Sloan Management Review, and has been a regular contributor to the Nihon Sangyo Shimbun, one of the leading business dailies in Japan. He is also an editorial advisor for the Singapore Management Review.

His case studies have won several awards. His cases on Toyota and Kineer were recognized in the 2022 John Molson MBA International Case Writing Competition Awards, and his case Sam100: Will construction robotics disrupt the US bricklaying industry? won an EFMD Case Writing Competition Award in 2020. He was also included on The Case Centre’s list of the top 40 best-selling case authors both in 2015/16 and 2018/19.

Turpin is Chairman of DAA Capital Partners, a Geneva-based private equity firm investing in impactful trends and serves on the boards of several listed and unlisted companies and educational institutions.

Before joining IMD in 1986, he spent several years in Tokyo as a representative of a French firm in Japan. He earned a doctorate in economics from Sophia University in Tokyo, after receiving a master’s degree in marketing from French business school ESSCA.

Academic publications
Case Study
Bhanton Towels: The pricing dilemma of an exporter
Business to BusinessPricingStrategyMarketing
In April 2022, Bhanton Towels (Bhanton), an export-oriented company in the Philippines, received an order from AliTex Enterprises (AliTex), China. One of Bhanton’s major customers in Europe had jus...
6 July 2022
Case Study
GSK Consumer Healthcare: Building communities of practice to drive post merger innovation
Organizational LearningCulture
The GSK Consumer Healthcare (GSK CH) case study deals with building a community of practice (CoP) in a merged, complex organization and a virtual environment. The case focuses on the introduction o...
15 March 2022
KINTO: Toyota’s new mobility services platform
Case Study
KINTO: Toyota’s new mobility services platform
StrategyGrowthCustomer CentricitySustainability
In 2019, Toyota launched KINTO, its new mobility services brand, in Europe – to address the increasing shift in consumer preferences from ownership to on-demand usership. KINTO was only the third b...
31 January 2022
Kineer: A social marketing challenge
Case Study
Kineer: A social marketing challenge
MarketingStrategyDiversity and Equity and InclusionGrowthSocial PlatformSustainability
Kineer Services Limited (Kineer) was a social marketing startup set up in 2018 by Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi, a prominent Indian transgender, and Manish Jain, an ex-hospitality industry veteran. Thei...
26 January 2022
Case Study
Going plastic neutral: The Nestlé Philippines experience (A)
SustainabilityStrategyMarketingOperationsDiversity and Equity and Inclusion
In March 2019, Kais Marzouki, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Philippines Inc. (NPI), wanted his company to reach plastic neutrality at the earliest possible time. Globally, including in the Philippines...
31 December 2021
Case Study
Going plastic neutral: The Nestlé Philippines experience (B)
SustainabilityStrategyMarketingOperationsDiversity and Equity and Inclusion
In March 2019, Kais Marzouki, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Philippines Inc. (NPI), wanted his company to reach plastic neutrality at the earliest possible time. Globally, including in the Philippines...
31 December 2021
Book Chapter
Book Chapter
デジタルマーケティング アジャイルな経営は「謙虚なリーダー」を求める
LeadershipAgilityDigitalMarketing
The chapter looks at what makes digital marketing strategy different from "traditional marketing". Firstly, I emphasize that a must for any company has always been and still is to get close to its ...
15 October 2020
Case Study
Netflix: Hustling for more in India’s crowded OTT space
StrategyMarketing
How to position Netflix in the Indian entertainment market?
21 July 2020
Case Study
SAM100: Will construction robotics disrupt the US bricklaying industry?
Marketing
This case explores the marketing challenges that a robotics and automation technology start-up faces in the construction industry. A recommended framework for analysis is Rogers’ Diffusion of Innov...
20 July 2020
Case Study
Turning around Avon: The rebirth of an iconic global brand (A)
Marketing
The (A) case describes the difficult situation Avon faced back in 2018 when a new CEO arrived
22 April 2020
Case Study
Turning around Avon: The rebirth of an iconic global brand (B)
Marketing
The (B) case describes the decisions taken by the new CEO as well as the impressive results achieved in less than 2 years
22 April 2020
Case Study
Driving a digital ecosystem at bank of New Zealand (BNZ)
Marketing
The Bank of New Zealand (BNZ)’s market share among Small and Medium Enterprises is declining. The new general manager discovers a pain point among SMEs – they are spending a couple of hours a day c...
5 March 2020
Case Study
Eco Tasar Silk Private Limited: Moving beyond business
SustainabilityMarketing
The CEO of Eco Tasar, a socially responsible company based in India has to decide how to deal with a customer request that may jeopardize his corporate values.
19 November 2019
Case Study
CP Meiji: Challenges & opportunities for a Thai-Japanese joint venture (A)
StrategyMarketing
A Thai and a Japanese company disagree on how to grow their business in the yogurt Thai market. The case addresses both global marketing issues as well as cross-cultural ones.
12 September 2019
Case Study
CP Meiji: Challenges & opportunities for a Thai-Japanese joint venture (B)
StrategyMarketing
A Thai and a Japanese company disagree on how to grow their business in the yogurt Thai market. The case addresses both global marketing issues as well as cross-cultural ones.
12 September 2019
Case Study
Sri Sri Tattva: Diversification and expansion spree
Marketing
In mid-2018 Sri Sri Tattva (SST), an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company (FMCG) company was planning to launch 1,000 exclusive stores across the country. Some 600 of these stores were expecte...
10 May 2019
Case Study
Jean-Claude Biver: Positioning Tag Heuer for the future (Abridged)
The abridged case examines the marketing challenge of repositioning Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer in the digital era. It delves into the decisions taken by Jean-Claude Biver – the newly appointed CEO...
31 October 2018
Case Study
Sales process reengineering at Robin
EntrepreneurshipMarketing
Robin is a B2B technology (SaaS) startup, founded in Boston, MA in 2014, that develops and sells workplace software products designed to help companies manage meeting room scheduling. In March 2016...
22 October 2018
Case Study
Rebranding SCG Paper
The case examines the challenge of repositioning SGC Paper (a Thai industrial brand), following the restructuration of the company main business. The case describes the transformation of the compan...
13 April 2018
Insight for Executives
Seven trends that will affect the future of marketing
Article
Seven trends that will affect the future of marketing
Consumer Behavior Digital Marketing Strategy
Trying to predict the future is always a risky thing to do; most of us are terrible at it. But if I had to bet on what the near term will hold, I would put my money on the following 7 trends:1.] Th...
4 November 2022
5 tips for making marketing matter
Article
5 tips for making marketing matter
Leadership
As the economy chills during the pandemic, here’s how to ensure your marketing leadership has lasting impact.
8 May 2022
Four keys to marketing in the digital era
Article
Four keys to marketing in the digital era
Consumer Behavior Digital Marketing Social Media Technology Management
In today’s digital era, consumers have a completely different journey than they used to. What we marketers call the ‘marketing funnel’, where at the top consumers become aware of the product throug...
25 February 2022
Article
Managing new business school ecosystems: Do’s and don’ts
StrategySustainabilityTechnology ManagementOrganizational Transformation
Business schools should be at the forefront of supporting businesses in finding their way into the future. Therefore, when business realities change, so too do the realities for business schools an...
1 July 2021
In the Field with Avon
Article
In the Field with Avon
Leadership Value Creation
How did Avon’s CEO save the livelihoods of 6 million brand ambassadors by simplifying, capturing value and staying close to workers on the ground?
23 April 2020
Article
Nous n'en sommes qu'aux balbutiements des changements à venir
SustainabilityConsumer Behavior
The Greta Thunberg generation has upset consumer habits and acclaimed the second hand. Even if a slice of the population still consumes so abusive, millennials resist consumerism. This generation ...
8 April 2020
Article
Latest marketing in the digital age [Japanese]
MarketingDigital
14 January 2019
Time to invest in Japan!
Article
Time to invest in Japan!
Asia
Trust in the economy has recently been surging among Japanese companies as well as among consumers. The most recent “Tankan” (the short-term economic survey of enterprises issued by the Bank of Jap...
16 February 2018
The other competition at the Pyeongchang Olympics: Sponsorship!
Article
The other competition at the Pyeongchang Olympics: Sponsorship!
Marketing
As the world’s top winter sports stars gear up for a month of athletic prowess in the snow and ice of Pyeongchang, the thirteen worldwide Olympic sponsors who have helped fund the global spectacle ...
9 February 2018
Article
Il est temps de ré-investir au Japon
AsiaEconomicsGrowth
Japan will always surprise us. After three decades of stagnation, the country is waking up. With 1.7% growth last year and 1.8% expected this year, nothing extraordinary; but at this rate, Japan is...
17 January 2018
Upstart start-ups and agile disruptors – and what to do about them
Article
Upstart start-ups and agile disruptors – and what to do about them
Digital Global Business Marketing Start-up
Now is the age of market disruptors: of Uber, Deezer, Alipay, Rakuten and many others. These innovative start-ups and nimble brands are crashing into markets traditionally dominated by multinationa...
27 March 2017
Article
Seven trends that will affect the future of marketing
MarketingStrategy
Trying to predict the future is always a risky thing to do; most of us are terrible at it. But if I had to bet on what the near term will hold, I would put my money on the following 7 trends:1.] Th...
26 October 2016
The marketing strategy of industry disruptors
Article
The marketing strategy of industry disruptors
Competitiveness Disruption Marketing Strategy
All the best recent disruptions have something important in common: They involve companies with the marketing common sense needed to solve customers’ headaches by using technology and cutting costs...
7 July 2016
Top leadership qualities in today’s unpredictable world
Article
Top leadership qualities in today’s unpredictable world
Competitiveness Global Business Leadership
For the foreseeable future, the world won’t be a stable or predictable place like it used to be. Think about the countries which were touted a few years ago as the future of growth for global busin...
28 April 2016
Article
Top leadership qualities in today's unpredictable world
LeadershipGlobal BusinessDisruptionCompetitiveness
For the foreseeable future, the world won’t be a stable or predictable place like it used to be. Think about the countries which were touted a few years ago as the future of growth for global busin...
13 April 2016
3 ways to engage your customers to improve your products and services
Article
3 ways to engage your customers to improve your products and services
Brand Management Customer Centricity Marketing
With online platforms making it easier and easier for consumers to communicate their opinions of products and services to the whole world, and buyers now relying on candid testimonials of customers...
21 January 2016
Article
Four keys to marketing in the digital era
MarketingTechnology ManagementGlobal BusinessDigitalConsumer Behavior
In today’s digital era, consumers have a completely different journey than they used to. What we marketers call the ‘marketing funnel’, where at the top consumers become aware of the product throug...
15 January 2016
Article
3 ways to engage your customers to improve your products and services
MarketingLeadershipCustomer Centricity
With online platforms making it easier and easier for consumers to communicate their opinions of products and services to the whole world, and buyers now relying on candid testimonials of customers...
23 November 2015
Article
How to measure and develop great leaders
LeadershipTalent Management
The leadership consulting business is booming. Every year, companies spend close to $2 billion on hiring consulting firms to assess their top talent and to find out what type of leaders they are. B...
12 October 2015
Article
Three megatrends that will affect everybody's business
LeadershipPoliticsTechnology Management
The future is hard to predict and a lot of “experts” regularly get it wrong. However, there are some facts so important and trends so inevitable that leaders would be ill-advised to ignore and not ...
28 September 2015