INSEAD Dean Ilian Mihov delivered the tribute:

The professors’ academic partnership began over 30 years ago at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, United States. After joining INSEAD they continued their research in the field of strategy and innovation. They have published a series of influential articles in top academic and managerial journals like Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of International Business Studies, Harvard Business Review, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

Their first book, Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, was published in 2005. It has sold over four million copies, been translated into 48 languages, and is recognised as one of the most iconic and impactful strategy books ever written. In 2022, Harvard Business Review selected Blue Ocean Strategy as one of the magazine’s most influential and innovative articles over the last 100 years.

In 2017, Kim and Mauborgne followed this up with the New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Los Angeles Times bestseller Blue Ocean Shift: Beyond Competing. To date, Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift teaching materials have been adopted by nearly 3,000 universities across the globe.