Stewart Thornhill has been appointed executive director of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business’ Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and the Eugene Appelbaum Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, pending approval of the Board of Regents.
In this role, which he will assume Sept. 1, Thornhill is charged with maintaining the institute’s leadership position as a top destination for entrepreneurially-minded MBA students, evolving its robust portfolio of coursework and programs, and continuing to extend and foster the growth of entrepreneurial initiatives across the university.
He succeeds Tom Kinnear, who has been executive director of the institute since its founding in 1999.
“U-M Ross is the leading school in the country for entrepreneurship education, in large part due to the innovative programs delivered through our Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies,” said the school’s dean, Alison Davis-Blake. “Since its inception in 1999, strong leadership has been an institute hallmark. I know Stewart will carry on that tradition and ensure the institute’s continued growth, innovation and success.”
Thornhill joins the Zell Lurie Institute from the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ontario, where he served as the executive director of the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship and a member of the faculty, focused on strategy and entrepreneurship. At Ivey, he has championed a number of new initiatives and has sizable experience helping entrepreneurs through his involvement in QuantumShift, an executive development program for high-growth entrepreneurs.
Thornhill’s extensive background also includes global experience, having held the Karel Steur chair in entrepreneurship at the Universidad de San Andreas, Buenos Aires and various professorial roles at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany, the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris in France and the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto.
“The Zell Lurie Institute is an incredible institution and highly respected as the premier location for the very best entrepreneurial learning,” Thornhill said. “I am excited to be a part of it and know that becoming its executive director is an incredible opportunity. I’m eager to continue the tremendous efforts of Tom Kinnear and others at the institute who have created an action-based approach to teaching entrepreneurship that is unmatched anywhere else in the world.”
Kinnear successfully built out a scalable entrepreneurship education model consisting of a comprehensive curriculum and robust portfolio of experiential programs that has engaged more than 5,000 students since the institute’s inception. This includes the creation of the first student-led venture fund, the $5.5 million Wolverine Venture Fund, Dare to Dream grants, which move students through the business creation process, and spearheading efforts to provide students with more than $3 million in the form of grants, internships and funding to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.
As a result, the institute has ranked among the nation’s top five graduate programs for entrepreneurship by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine every year since 2010.
In addition to his work at the Zell Lurie Institute, Kinnear supports the U-M Office of Tech Transfer and is chair of the state-backed Venture Michigan Fund. He also is on the board of the Michigan Venture Capital Association and co-founded several successful Michigan-based companies over the last 20 years. After stepping down as executive director of the institute, Kinnear will serve as D. Maynard Phelps Collegiate Professor of Business Administration and professor of marketing at Ross, and will remain an active member of the university’s entrepreneurial community.
“The most fulfilling part of my 14 years at the institute has been the opportunity to work with creative, bright young people who are exploring their entrepreneurial interests and have lots of new ideas, but lack experience in creating and launching a business,” Kinnear said. “It has been a thrill to guide them, to see them do well and, ultimately, to change their lives. As I step down as executive director and return to teaching full-time, I look forward to helping the institute shape the next generation of serial entrepreneurs, venture investors and corporate intrapreneurs. After all, that’s why we’re all here.”
