Professor of Major Programmes & Innovation
Saïd Business School · since 2026
New Space · A special celebration
Celebrating
Chris Tucci.
A celebration of research,
mentorship and community.
An occasion to celebrate the ideas, teaching and collaborations of Christopher L. Tucci, alongside the New Space conference.
Discover the recognition programme Day 1 · Afternoon sessions & conference dinnerPROFILE / CHRISTOPHER L. TUCCIIDEAS ↔ PEOPLE
01 / Academic leadership & service
Professor of Digital Strategy & Innovation
On leave for 2026–2027
President, Academy of Management
2026–2027
02 / The journey
Across disciplines.
Across borders.
From music and mathematics to technology and management. Follow the places and ideas that have shaped Chris’s career.
Eight chapters · One journey
A career in connections1982 → TODAY
Stanford, California · United States
Education01 / 08
1982–1984
Stanford University
Stanford, California · United States
More than one way of thinking.
A BS in Mathematical Sciences (1982), an AB in Music (1983) and an MS in Computer Science (1984). Three degrees bringing analytical and creative disciplines together.
Industry & research02 / 08
1983–1985 · 1987–1989
Ford Aerospace
Palo Alto, California · United States
Innovation, hands on.
Software Engineer (1983–1985), researching computer communications and Internet protocols. Returning as Senior Software Engineer (1987–1989), Chris worked on artificial intelligence. An early connection between computing, industry and the questions that would shape his research.
Education03 / 08
1992 · 1997
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts · United States
A bridge to organisations.
A master’s in Technology and Policy / EECS (1992), followed by a PhD in Management (1997). Technology and policy became part of a wider inquiry into how organisations work.
Academic appointment04 / 08
1996–2003
NYU Stern
New York · United States
Teaching the next questions.
Visiting Professor in 1996–1997, then Assistant Professor at Stern School of Business from 1997 to 2003. An academic chapter spanning the rise of Internet business models.
Academic leadership05 / 08
2003–2020
EPFL
Lausanne · Switzerland
Bringing technology and management together.
Chair in Corporate Strategy & Innovation. As Dean of the College of Management of Technology (2013–2018), Chris also helped shape the institutional home for that connection.
Academic leadership06 / 08
2020–present
Imperial College London
London · United Kingdom
Connecting AI, learning and innovation.
Professor of Digital Strategy & Innovation and Co-Director (Education) of I-X. His work brought education across science, engineering, medicine and business into the AI conversation.
On leave for 2026–2027. I-X education co-directorship ended in 2026.
Institution building07 / 08
NEOMUNIVERSITY
2024–2025
NEOM University
NEOM region · Saudi Arabia
Helping build a new institution.
Founding Dean of the College of Business & Innovation. His remit included college strategy, faculty recruitment and curriculum design.
Academic appointment08 / 08
Since 2026
University of Oxford
Oxford · United Kingdom
The next chapter.
Professor of Major Programmes & Innovation at Saïd Business School. A new setting for his work across innovation, technology and organisations.
03 / Contributions
Ideas that help us see
what is possible.
Five areas of contribution, explored through the questions, frameworks and collaborations behind the work.
2005 · 2017
How does a promising technology become a viable business?
Concepts that clarify
Making the logic of a business visible.
With Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, Chris helped clarify the business model concept: its vocabulary, uses and relationship to information systems. Their 2005 paper gave a more precise language to a term used in many different ways.
With Lorenzo Massa and Allan Afuah, his 2017 review distinguished three perspectives: what a firm actually does, how people understand its business, and how that business is formally represented. Separating these perspectives makes it easier to see what an innovation changes.
Why it matters
A clearer language for designing, comparing and questioning how businesses work.
2012
When can a crowd solve a problem better than familiar experts?
Searching beyond the familiar
The right answer may come from elsewhere.
With Allan Afuah, Chris explained how crowdsourcing can transform a difficult search for distant expertise. A problem unfamiliar to an organisation may be routine for someone outside it; broadcasting the challenge lets those people recognise it and choose to respond.
Their framework also identifies the conditions that matter: a problem that can be clearly communicated, capable and motivated solvers, and a solution that can be assessed and put to use. It helps explain when opening a search is likely to work.
Why it matters
Design the problem and the invitation so that relevant expertise can find you.
2020
What happens to a technology that does not fit the existing business?
From unused ideas to new ventures
Giving good ideas a path into the world.
With Henry Chesbrough, Chris connected open innovation with Lean Startup. Their 2020 paper explains how experiments can help discover and validate business models for technologies that an established company has left underused.
It also examines why those experiments can be difficult inside a large firm: new ventures encounter established roles and ways of working. Bringing external knowledge in, or finding routes to market outside the firm, can help companies organise the search for new value.
Why it matters
Innovation requires a route to market, a business model to test and room to learn.
2021 · Research & education
Which decisions turn AI’s potential into value?
From technical promise to organisational choices
Understanding what it takes to create value with AI.
With Gianvito Lanzolla and Simone Santoni, Chris developed a framework for the strategic and organisational trade-offs involved in AI adoption. Their 2021 study of financial services compared that framework with media and institutional narratives from 2013–2019, finding a gap between the choices involved and the stories being told.
He also helped connect AI research with education as Co-Director (Education) of Imperial’s I-X initiative, bringing perspectives from business, engineering, science and medicine into shared programmes.
Why it matters
Put organisational choices and learning at the centre of the AI conversation.
2025–2026 · Recent presentations
How will new space activities become workable businesses and ecosystems?
A new setting for enduring questions
Bringing management questions into the space economy.
Chris’s recent conference presentations bring three strands of his interests into this setting: business model innovation in the space economy ecosystem (2025), public policy as market architecture (2026), and the relevance of AI and space to management research (2026).
Together, these topics frame a conversation about how new technologies, organisations and institutions develop alongside one another. They offer a starting point for the New Space conference’s discussion of what makes emerging activities viable.
Why it matters
A conference connection: explore the business models and institutions around new technologies.
This section draws on presentation titles in the September 2026 CV. The conference connection is an editorial interpretation.
04 / In their words
The people.
The memories.
Personal reflections from doctoral students, alumni and colleagues. Contributions to be added.
Doctoral students & alumni
Testimonies · TBDPHOTO · TBD
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PHOTO · TBD
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Colleagues
Testimonies · TBDPHOTO · TBD
TESTIMONIALTBD
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TESTIMONIALTBD
05 / Celebrating Chris together
Four sessions.
Dinner with Chris.
After the Day 1 conference, join four sessions on crowdsourcing, innovation, AI and space. Then gather over dinner for a fireside conversation with Chris and his collaborators, followed by a talk from Chris — a chance to share ideas, stories and our appreciation.
17:00–19:00Day 1 · Approximately 30 minutes per session
Crowdsourcing
Speaker & session title · TBD
~30 minInnovation & open innovation
Speaker & session title · TBD
~30 minArtificial intelligence
Speaker & session title · TBD
~30 minSpace
Speaker & session title · TBD
~30 minAround 19:30
Conference dinner
Conversation with Chris.
A moderated fireside chat with collaborators, followed by a talk from Chris. Participants, format and timings to be confirmed.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME · Session order, speakers and final timings will be announced.
Conference date and venue to be announced.
The Chris we know
A generous spirit.
A smile we all know.
When we think of Chris, we think of his smile. And of the generosity that makes him such a valued colleague, teacher and friend.
This celebration is a chance to give some of that warmth back. To gather the people who appreciate him, share a few stories, and say something simple:
Thank you, Chris.