Ted London

Ted London

Ted London is a scholar and teacher on Base of the Pyramid (BoP) issues. London is a senior research fellow at the William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan. He is also on the faculty at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he teaches an MBA course on the topic, "Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid." London’s research centers on the intersection of business strategy and poverty alleviation and emphasizes creating new knowledge with actionable implications.

BoP Initiative at the William Davidson Institute

At the William Davidson Institute, London is director of the Base of the Pyramid Initiative, a program that champions innovative ways of thinking about more inclusive forms of capitalism. The initiative’s expertise lies in a deep understanding of the comprehensive impacts and unique poverty alleviation implications of the BoP Perspective.

In 2007, WDI hosted a major BoP conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan entitled "Business with Four Billion: Creating Mutual Value at the Base of the Pyramid". The conference brought together approximately 400 BoP business managers, policy makers, social entrepreneurs, academics, non-profit experts, and development agency professionals to delve into the most intriguing and timely issues facing the BoP community. These attendees came from over 30 countries on 6 continents.

In 2009, WDI hosted its second major BoP conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan entitled "Creating a Shared Roadmap:Collaboratively Advancing the Base of the Pyramid Community". The purpose of the conference is to bring together the leading thinkers and action agents in the broad domain of Base of the Pyramid with the aims of sharing the latest ideas and approaches, catalyzing new thinking, and generating opportunities to meet colleagues in an intimate setting. The conference is a by-invitation only event and limited to 100 premier thought leaders in the space.

Academic Experience

London received his PhD in strategic management from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.^[1] He was also an assistant professor of entrepreneurship, teaching strategic management, international business and poverty alleviation, and sustainable enterprise at UNC.

At UNC, London was the director of the BoP Learning Laboratory a consortium of companies, nonprofit organizations, multilateral institutions and academics that explores the opportunities and challenges associated with entering Base of the Pyramid markets.

London’s research interests center on business and development strategies in low income markets, assessment of poverty alleviation impacts, and capability development for cross-sector collaborations. He has received awards and recognition for his research, teaching, and case writing, including winning the oikos Sustainability Case Writing Competition in 2005 and 2008.^[2]

London’s work has been published in a number of academic and practitioner journals, and he has written several book chapters.

In May 2009, the Harvard Business Review published London's paper entitled "Making Better Investments at the Base of the Pyramid". The article introduces London's Base of the Pyramid Impact Assessment Framework, a tool used to explore how ventures influence the well-being of local buyers, sellers, and communities. The Impact Assessment Framework guides managers through a detailed look at an organization's effects on those constituencies in three areas: economics, capabilities, and relationships.

In late 2010, "Next Generation Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid: New Approaches for Building Mutual Value" was published. Co-editors, London and Stuart L. Hart, along with nine other leading BoP thought and practice leaders, focus on second-generation BoP innovations, techniques and business models that create with the BoP. They identify ways to conceptualize opportunities, create sustainable business ecosystems, design new technologies with BoP in mind, and even transform entire sectors through collaborative entrepreneurship.

London also has consulted for a variety of companies, non-profit organizations, and multilateral institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the U.S.. This has involved exploring entry into base of the pyramid markets, examining cross-sector alliances between companies and non-profit organizations, and assessing poverty alleviation implications of BoP ventures. He also serves on advisory boards for VisionSpring (formerly Scojo Foundation), NextBillion, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation .

Past Experience

London previously was a design engineer for General Motors after graduating from Lehigh University in 1985 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. A few years later he received his MBA from the Peter Drucker Graduate Management Center at Claremont Graduate University and went to work for Deloitte, Haskins & Sells as a senior consultant in business valuation.

In 1989 London joined the Peace Corps in Africa and co-managed a regional business development program in Malawi. Three years later, he was in Asia serving as general manager for an Indonesian joint venture operated by McCormick Spices.

In 1993, London served as a director of a multi-country initiative in the Asia/Pacific Region that linked income generation and environmental protection for Conservation International.

Three years later, London became executive director of a non-profit providing business development services to companies in Northern Virginia before pursuing his PhD at UNC.

Selected Publications

London, T. 2012. The impact of a scholar’s career: More than just the usual numbers for Jagdish Bhagwati. Advances in International Management. 25: 15-22.
London, T. 2012. Investors for a social enterprise: Having to choose the right backer. Financial Times. March 20: 10.
London, T. & Hart, S. 2011. Next Generation Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid: New Approaches for Building Mutual Value. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.
Christiansen, M. and London, T. 2011. VisionSpring: A lens for growth at the base of the pyramid. In J. Hamschmidt and M. Pirson (Ed.), Case Studies in Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: The Oikos Collection, Volume 2. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing, pp. 162–184.
London, T. & Anupindi. 2010. Revisiting Value Chain Initiatives: Insights from the Base of the Pyramid Perspective. Washington, DC: US Agency for International Development. Office of Poverty Reduction Report.
London, T., Anupindi, R. & Sheth, S. 2009. Creating mutual value: Lessons learned from ventures serving base of the pyramid producers. Journal of Business Research.
London, T. 2009. Making Better Investments at the Base of the Pyramid. Harvard Business Review.
London, T. 2008. The base of the pyramid impact assessment framework: Enhancing mutual value creation, William Davidson Institute: Working Paper.
London, T. 2008. The base-of-the-pyramid perspective: A new approach to poverty alleviation. In G. T. Solomon (Ed.), Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings.
Milstein, M. B., London, T. & Hart, S. L. 2007. Revolutionary routines: Capturing the opportunity for creating a more inclusive capitalism. Handbook of Transformative Cooperation. Stanford University Press, pp. 84-103.
London. T. 2007. A Base-of-the-Pyramid Perspective on Poverty Alleviation. Washington, DC: United Nations Development Program. Growing Inclusive Markets Working Paper Series.
London. T., Janiga, K., and Valente, M. 2007. The Base of the Pyramid Perspective and the Social Enterprise Methodology: Understanding the Facilitating Role for Development Agencies. Washington, DC: US Agency for International Development. Office of Poverty Reduction Report.
London, T., Rondinelli, D. A., & O’Neill, H. 2005. Strange bedfellows: Alliances between corporations and non-profits. In Shenkar, O. & J. Reuer (Eds.), Handbook of Strategic Alliances. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication, pp. 353-366.
Hart, S. L. & London, T. 2005. Developing native capability: What multinational corporations can learn from the base of the pyramid. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 3(2): 28-33.
London, T. & Hart, S. L. 2004. Reinventing strategies for emerging markets: Beyond the transnational model. Journal of International Business Studies, 35(5): 350-370.
London, T. & Rondinelli, D. A. 2003. Partnerships for learning: Managing tensions in nonprofit organizations’ alliances with corporations, Stanford Social Innovation Review, 1(3): 28-35.
Rondinelli, D. A. & London, T. 2003. How corporations and environmental groups collaborate: Assessing cross-sector alliances and collaborations. Academy of Management Executive, 17(1): 61-76.
Rondinelli, D. A., & London, T. 2002. Stakeholder and corporate responsibilities in cross-sectoral environmental collaborations: Building value, legitimacy and trust. In J. Andriof, S. Waddock, B. Husted & S. Rahman (Eds.), Unfolding Stakeholder Thinking. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing, pp. 201-215.

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