Marc Stierand, Ph.D.
Business Creativity & Aesthetic Leadership Coach
Marc Stierand is a globally recognized scholar and thought leader in culinary and business creativity, aesthetics, and innovation. A former Michelin-trained chef turned academic, he is a Full Professor of Service Management at EHL and the Founding Director of the Institute of Business Creativity. Marc pioneered the research field of culinary and business creativity in 2007 and has since become a leading voice on shaping distinctive brand, service, and organizational signatures through creativity and aesthetic leadership.
Marc advises global corporations and teaches senior executives at leading business schools—including CEIBS and IMD—helping organizations translate cutting-edge research into strategies for creativity-driven growth and competitive differentiation. His work has attracted multimillion-dollar research funding, earned multiple academic awards, and been featured in top-tier management journals. He also serves on several editorial and advisory boards, contributing to the advancement of innovation, leadership, and multi-sensory experience design worldwide.
Bridging the precision of haute cuisine with the rigor of management science, Marc brings a rare interdisciplinary perspective that empowers leaders to cultivate curiosity, elevate their service culture, and design experiences that resonate emotionally and commercially.
Areas of Expertise:
- Business Creativity for Innovation – Harnessing creativity as a strategic driver of innovation and growth.
- Aesthetic Leadership & Organizational Signatures – Using aesthetics to shape distinctive brand, service, and organizational identities.
- Culinary & Multi-Sensory Experience Design – Leveraging crossmodal and culinary creativity to craft memorable guest experiences.
- Curiosity as a Strategic Capability – Cultivating curiosity to unlock adaptive thinking and innovation.
- Cultivating Mastery Through Formative Talent Journeys – Designing pathways that develop mastery, craftsmanship, and enduring excellence.