Richard Rumelt Speaker

Richard Rumelt Keynote Speaker

  • Professor Emeritus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management
  • Author of 'The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists' & 'Good Strategy/Bad Strategy'
  • Recognised among the top 20 thinkers around the world in strategy by Thinkers50

Richard Rumelt's Biography

Richard Rumelt is one of the most influential thinkers on strategy and management. McKinsey called him “A giant in the field of strategy.”

Throughout his career, Richard has defined the cutting edge of strategy, developing the idea that companies focusing on core skills perform best and that superior performance is not a matter of being the in the right industry, but comes from a firm’s individual excellence.

He is the author of The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists and of Good Strategy/Bad Strategy. Richard’s description of Bad Strategy as empty rhetoric, a long lists of “priorities,” and goals without accompanying actions won him world-wide acclaim. His current concept of The Crux stresses the importance of working with challenges rather than wished-for outcomes. In particular, it asks that a business focus on the most important challenge it can actually resolve.

Richard is Professor Emeritus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and was earlier on the faculty of the Harvard Business School.

He works with corporations around the world including AT&T, Shell, Telecom Italia, Kings College London, O-I Corp, The National Bank of Canada, Lukoil, Microsoft, HP, Apple, Commonwealth Bank, Intel, Medtronic, Redgate, TransAlta, and the US Army Special Operations Command.

The Thinkers50 organization recognised Richard as being among the top 20 thinkers around the world in strategy and has inducted him in their Hall of Fame.

Read More

Richard Rumelt's Speaking Topics

  • The Crux Principle: The 7 Steps to a Powerful Strategy

The concept of challenge-based strategy and the art of defining and dealing with the crux of the situation.

  • Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: Breaking the Bad Strategy Habit

The concept of Bad Strategy, the “kernel” at the heart of every Good Strategy, and the source of power used in successful strategies.

  • Industry Leadership: How It Is Gained and Lost

Read More

Why Book Richard Rumelt as a speaker?

  • He brings unmatched authority on corporate strategy as the author of Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, helping leaders cut through empty rhetoric and focus on choices that drive superior performance.

  • He equips executives to identify and win on their distinctive strengths, translating decades of research and teaching into clear guidance on what separates firm-level excellence from industry luck.

  • He sharpens leadership decision-making through his concept of “The Crux”, enabling organisations to pinpoint the most important challenge they can actually resolve and build coherent action around it.

  • He combines academic credibility as Professor Emeritus at UCLA Anderson and former Harvard Business School faculty with extensive advisory work to global corporations, making strategy practical, disciplined and executable.

  • He is recognised among the world’s top strategy thinkers by Thinkers50 and a Hall of Fame inductee, bringing audiences a rigorous, no-nonsense approach that improves focus, alignment and results.

Videos of Richard Rumelt

Phyllis' Moon Talk - Richard Rumelt
Donga- Richard Rumelt
HSE - Richard Rumelt
Mastering the Art of Strategy with Richard Rumelt
Episode 316 - The Crux with Richard Rumelt

Articles, Media & Podcasts

Books by Richard Rumelt

Good Strategy Bad Strategy
The Cruz: How Leaders Become Strategists

Check Richard Rumelt's speaking fees and availability

Discover other speakers

Anjli Raval  Speaker
Exclusive
Anjli Raval 
Award-Nominated FT Management Editor
Walter Pasquarelli Speaker
Exclusive
Walter Pasquarelli
Generative AI & Data Expert, Advisor & Researcher
Martina Olbert Speaker
Exclusive
Martina Olbert
Founder & CEO of Meaning Global: The Visionary Strategy Company
Bim Afolami Speaker
Exclusive
Bim Afolami
Former UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister now turned HSBC board director, offering insight into global finance and economic strategy
Fergus Hay Speaker
Fergus Hay Speaker
Exclusive
Fergus Hay
Cybersecurity Visionary & Ethical‑Hacking Pioneer
Dominique Mielle Speaker
Exclusive
Dominique Mielle
Author of "Damsel in Distressed" - listed as one of the "50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds"
Stuart Kirk Speaker
Exclusive
Stuart Kirk
Columnist at the FT- Former Global Head of Responsible Investments at HSBC
Peter Hlavnicka Speaker
Exclusive
Peter Hlavnicka
Venture Partner, R3i Ventures and Founder & CEO, Phi Ventures
Lucrezia Reichlin Speaker
Exclusive
Lucrezia Reichlin
Professor of Economics at the London Business School
Amer Iqbal Speaker
Exclusive
Amer Iqbal
Founder & CEO, 5 Ways to Innovate, Author & Innovation Consultant