KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Institute of Management and Strategy, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
E-mail: markus.schwaninger@unisg.ch
Markus Schwaninger is an esteemed academic and thought leader in management theory. With a rich educational background from the universities of Salzburg, St. Gallen, and Innsbruck, he earned his Dr.soc.oec.degree and habilitated at the University of St. Gallen, where he became a titular professor.
He has held guest professorships in Brazil and Colombia, and has engaged in research at top institutions in the USA, Canada, and Spain. His professional career spans roles in industry, public administration, and consulting across various countries, including Austria, Switzerland, Bermuda, and Brazil.
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At the University of St. Gallen, he has significantly contributed to the integration seminars and the doctoral program of the Business Administration Department. His work in transdisciplinary and international research projects has been widely recognized. Prof. Schwaninger is a member of the Advisory Board of the World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics (WOSC), a Fellow of the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS), and a long-standing Managing Editor of the System Dynamics Review.
Additionally, he has been involved in various advisory and editorial boards, showcasing his dedication to advancing management theory and practice globally.
Director and dean of Rajagiri Business School, Kerala, India
E-mail: arunelias@rajagiri.edu
Prof. Arun Abraham Elias is a distinguished academic leader and scholar, currently serving as the Director and Dean of Rajagiri Business School in Kochi, Kerala, India. His extensive career includes notable leadership positions such as Dean of the College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies at Fiji National University, and various roles at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, including Associate Dean (International and Accreditation) and MBA Director.
Prof. Elias holds a PhD in Management from Victoria University of Wellington and has earned two Master’s degrees: one in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, and another in Agricultural Engineering from Allahabad University. His academic journey is complemented by a Bachelor of Technology in Agricultural Engineering from Allahabad University and post-doctoral studies at the Lugano Summer School of Systems Design, University of Italian Switzerland.
He boasts an impressive publication record with recent works focusing on systems thinking, stakeholder analysis, and sustainable supply chain management. Prof. Elias has also been actively involved in mentoring with AACSB, serving on the AMBA Accreditation Panel, and being a fellow at the New Zealand-India Research Institute. His areas of expertise include systems thinking and modelling, stakeholder management, and environmental conflict management.
