In Memoriam

Mike Wright

We are extremely saddened to hear of the passing of former Entrepreneurship Division Chair, Mike Wright of Imperial College in the UK. Mike was a prolific scholar and an engaging personality. Our thoughts are with his family.  This page provides our community with the opportunity to express their condolences, to share a favorite memory or story about our friend. 
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Mike Wright

  • 1.  Mike Wright

    Posted 11-26-2019 16:53
    Edited by Dawn DeTienne 11-26-2019 21:54
    Hello fellow ENT friends and scholars,

    As you may have heard, Mike Wright passed away surrounded by love ones after a brief illness.  The ENT community is reeling from this news as Mike had such a positive impact on so many.  He was a prolific scholar, an outstanding mentor, and a friend to so very many.  We are currently setting up a forum wherein you can all express your condolences and your memories.  Please reply to this discussion thread to share stories and remembrances with our whole community, or visit our “In Memoriam” page to view the comments left by others.

    With condolences,
    Dawn

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    Dawn DeTienne
    Professor
    Colorado State University
    Fort Collins CO
    (970) 631-5930
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  • 2.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 08:56
    I've known Mike for over 20 years, an in all that time, he has been nothing but a supportive, hard working gentleman. He always pulled his weight, even when working on three special issues at once. He was always a willing supporter of new ideas and inter-disciplinary work. I am terribly saddened by the loss of one of the most prolific and kind scholars in our field. Mike was committed enough to 'close the pub' when he hosted our social (Chicago, I think...) where he stayed on until 5 am - and will be remembered  as a person who defines collegiality. I will miss him terribly.

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    Benson Honig
    McMaster University
    Hamilton ON
    (905) 525-9140 x23943
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  • 3.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-28-2019 20:43

    I am very saddened to hear the news of Mike's passing. He will be remembered as a co-author, mentor, and dear friend. I am grateful and indebted to Mike for all the learning moments, laughs, inspiration, and time shared with young scholars like myself. Mike was always ready to help by providing valuable advice and referring to his experiences and war stories in the time of need. He was a treasure trove of resources and tacit knowledge about our field and always a source of inspiration and a fountain of energy. He will be sorely missed and caringly remembered. RIP and thank you one last time.

     

    *********************

    Yuliya Snihur, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor

    Toulouse Business School

    Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=NLp1iBcAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao 

    *********************

     






  • 4.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 09:35
    Mike was a true friend and one of the smartest and most generous scholars I've ever met. He has contributed immensely to the development of Lancaster University's Centre for Family Business, and every year he was very generously attending the annual event of our Centre offering brilliant contributions and taking part to two days of activities. I want to remember him with these 3 photos I took during one of these events. Mike was also crucially important for my academic and personal development. He was a true gentleman and a source of inspiration, and I have very nice memories of the time spent together while on the papers that we co-authored or on the special issue that we co-guest edited. Prayers for his family, friends and colleagues. RIP my dear friend!

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    Alfredo De Massis
    Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and Lancaster University
    Bolzano
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  • 5.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 09:57
    ​Mike was instrumental in hiring me to my first job at Nottingham and was a kind mentor, friend, and co-author. Mike was also my performance reviewer at Nottingham and was generous in his support of my career, efforts and achievements, and especially my personal development. he always gave such insightful advice. Mike had such incredible intellect and work ethic, and he leaves us with a rich legacy. I feel so sad for his passing and especially for his family. It is a tragic loss and I can only be thankful for the time I knew him in life, and the opportunities I had to grow under him. My heartfelt sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues. Rest in peace, Mike.

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    Mathew (Mat) Hughes
    Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
    Loughborough University, U.K.
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    ------------------------------
    Mathew Hughes
    Professor
    Loughborough University
    Loughborough
    +44 1509 223263
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  • 6.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 10:29
    This is a very sad day.
    I had the honor of serving as an ENT Division officer when Mike was serving as Chair and later as Past Chair. In this role I could admire his brilliant and creative insights, his effective leadership, and the friendly, relaxed and fun atmosphere he always generated with his guidance. I remember at the very last executive meeting he attended, when one of the newly elected officers asked: "Who is the outgoing Past Chair?", grinning cheerfully he replied: "The one with the smile!". But Mike was always smiling. It was always a great pleasure having him around. I'm sure you will all agree: one of the smartest and most pleasant colleagues we ever met. And he was a great mentor: Pramodita Sharma and I co-edited with Mike a special issue that had to do with "learning and educating around the world": as Alfredo and Benson already mentioned, this could be taken as a defining feature of Mike's life and career. The many seeds of knowledge and goodwill that he planted in each and every one of us will continue to bring fruits to our community, and they will last forever.
    ---------------------------------------
    Carlo Salvato
    Bocconi University
    ---------------------------------------

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    Carlo Salvato
    Bocconi University
    Milan
    carlo.salvato@unibocconi.it
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 10:29
    Dear Mike,

    I hope you rest in peace. You will be missed.

    Jim

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    James Chrisman
    Mississippi State University
    Mississippi State MS
    (662) 325-1991
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 10:29

    I had the honor of serving as an ENT Division officer when Mike was serving as Chair and, later, as Past Chair. I thus had the chance to admire his brilliant and creative insights, his effective leadership, and the relaxed, informal and fun atmosphere that he always managed to create. I remember the very last executive meeting he attended as Past Chair. One of the newly elected officers asked: "Who is the outgoing Past Chair?" Grinning cheerfully Mike replied: "The one with the smile!!!" But Mike was always smiling; it was always a great pleasure having him around. I'm sure you'll all agree he was one of the smartest and most pleasant colleagues we ever met. Pramodita Sharma and I co-edited a special issue with Mike, which had to do with "learning and educating around the world": as others have already mentioned above, this has been a defining feature of Mike's career and life. He planted in all of us many seeds of knowledge and goodwill that will continue to bring fruits. And they will last forever.



    ------------------------------
    Carlo Salvato
    Bocconi University
    Milan
    carlo.salvato@unibocconi.it
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 10:48

    In hearing about Mike's passing, I started to think about when and where i had met him, and It was so long ago (30+ years), that I can't really remember the first time. I do remember the multiple times in many capacities in which Mike was of great help, his enthusiasm, his love of the field and of research and the camaraderie and good cheer he expressed.  Few individuals have done more for the field, both in terms of socialization, of pushing the boundaries, and in terms of total contribution.  I will definitely miss him. I will be hard to think of a Babson or AOM conference without him. Rest in Peace



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    Julio De Castro
    IE Business School
    Madrid
    +34915689600
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  • 10.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 11:10

    Mike was not only a brilliant scholar and a kind person, but also a person I could trust, always giving this bit of advice that only someone who knew the world of academia inside out could give. He knew how to work with people and was often the 'glue' of teams of co-authors that he put together. I remember I asked him how he managed to edit 10 books and 20 special issues at a time with so many people. He just knew the whole world.

    A lot of Mike's work at the beginning of his career was done around privatization in Russia, CIS, and CEE, corporate governance, and strategy in emerging economies. Some of his most cited works – e.g., AMJ (2000) and JMS (2005) are from that period. His research reached into so many different areas – entrepreneurship (he is the most cited scholar in the field of entrepreneurship only according to Google Scholar), private equity and buyouts, university spin-outs, and many others (according to his Imperial web site, he has written over 40 books and more than 300 papers in academic and professional journals, but even that is probably an understatement!).

    He agreed to become one of my supervisors shortly after he joined Imperial College in 2011. I was doing work on corporate governance in Russia and he was still interested in this field. I remember our first supervision meetings. Mike would sit in front of his computer, halfway turned towards me, and while I was bubbling away about my progress, he would listen, comment, occasionally refer to a JMS or SMJ article from a few years ago (he literally knew by heart the content of each issue) and AT THE SAME TIME write editorial decision letters, edit manuscripts, respond to emails, and many other things like arranging his train rides between Nottingham and London. I learned to share Mike's time with many other people. This is how Mike worked, and this is why he was so prolific. After I graduated, I continued to work with Mike and published my first paper with him, and then another paper... We went on to organize an SMS extension on state capitalism in 2018 where he did a brilliant keynote speech (pictured after), secured a contract with Oxford University Press for the Handbook on State Capitalism, amongst other projects..

    As many know, Mike was a huge fan of Bob Dylan. His skype profile was Bob Dylan's picture. He was also a BlackBerry fan. Hence he was either responding a second later or never.

    I am sure there would be many aspects of Mike's work or his wonderful personality that people would remember. This is Mike how I will always remember him. I have been lucky enough to work with him, and I will continue to work on the projects we started, for him, for his legacy.



    Anna Grosman
    Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
    Loughborough University London



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    Anna Grosman
    Assistant Professor
    Loughborough University
    Birmingham
    +447887555812
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  • 11.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 11:10
    Mike was a wonderful mentor to me, and I will miss him. I wrote to him at the start of my PhD, not really expecting a reply given everything he does! But he still made the time to write back, direct, and encourage me. For me, that is the one aspect I will always admire - his kindness. Mike always went the extra mile to help those around him and is a role model for those of us who were fortunate enough to have interacted with him.


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    Siddharth Vedula
    Assistant Professor
    Babson College
    Babson Park MA
    (781) 239-4594
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  • 12.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 11:49
    Sorry to hear of Mike's passing and may he rest in peace. I met him at the Doctoral Consortium at Babson - he inspired us with his dedication and commitment to entrepreneurship.

    Manjula Salimath
    Professor
    G. Brint Ryan College of Business
    University of North Texas

    ------------------------------
    Manjula Salimath
    Full Professor
    University of North Texas
    Denton TX
    (940) 565-4937
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-27-2019 13:28
    I will always be grateful for Mike's support and endorsement of my efforts to make a positive contribution to the ENT community -- and I will never forget his amazing ability to make even the preparation of the ENT Division's 5-year report to the AOM an incredibly fun-filled experience. 

    Raising a "virtual toast" to you, Mike!

    Jennifer

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    Jennifer Jennings
    University Of Alberta
    Edmonton AB
    (780) 492-0648
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  • 14.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-28-2019 03:19
    Mike was a great co-author, mentor and friend to many, including myself and many people in our field. Despite his busy schedule, he was always willing to take the time to listen and provide support. It is so sad he left us at such a young age. For sure, his involvement in the entrepreneurship field will have a long lasting impact on it just as his kindness and openness will be remembered by many of us. I will miss Mike, and will always remain thankful for having got the chance to know him and work with him. Mike, we will never forget you!

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    Mirjam Knockaert
    Ghent University
    Gent
    (329) 264-3459
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  • 15.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-29-2019 08:54

    Many thanks for the opportunity to share memories about Mike.

    I first contacted Mike in 2006 as a doctoral student. Mike was the leading scholar in my area (academic entrepreneurship) and his support secured me a Post Doctoral grant in Norway and the opportunity to visit Nottingham University for 6 months. He introduced me to the group and provided everything I needed for a productive stay (I even borrowed his office for a short period). Since then, I have always been impressed by Mike's responsiveness and dedication to provide feedback. Even to me as a young post doc, he was always precise and well prepared to our meetings, and in all our communication throughout the years I could trust that he always responded extremely quickly and thoroughly. Given his workload and responsibilities, Mike's ability to keep his promises and deliver above expectations was extraordinary.

    Working with Mike has been decisive for the development of my research career in several ways. He has been a highly active and dedicated contributor on the papers we have co-authored. Through our joint work, I have learned a lot about doing high-quality research that has been of crucial importance for all my research and an important basis for supervising my own PhD students. He has been an enthusiastic promotor of our research, sharing his network and always positive to contribute in workshops, research grant applications, and special issues. Working with Mike was always a pleasure, with a good dose of humor, Bob Dylan quotes, smiles and laughs.

    I know that Mike has promoted the careers of many researchers and acted as a networker bringing together people and opportunities. His achievements extends far beyond his scientific production. As an academic, Mike was very versatile. He was working with both young and well-established scholars from across the globe, contributing to theory as well as practice, and across many different subjects. Mike was a truly complete academic, who was not resting on his laurels, but actively taking part in and sharing his experience in all parts of academic life. By his inclusive approach, combined with hard work and dedication to research, Mike is a role model for all academics and beyond.

    Mike, you will be sorely missed and remembered with respect and gratitude.



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    Einar Rasmussen
    Full Professor
    Nord University Business School
    Bodø
    + 47 90949470
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  • 16.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 11-29-2019 21:31
    When I have heard this awful news, I was in shock, disbelief, and anger. Why Mike and why now? I have meet Professor Mike Wright in November 1998 at London Business School when he came from the University of Nottingham to present his research on post-Soviet and eastern European privatization policies and results. Ever since we stayed in close contact, and he was always very generous with his time and advice. In my view and experience, Mike was very different intellectually from most management scholars in Great Britain and United States of America. He was very well read, possessed broad and deep knowledge of social science and economics literature in general. Every time I have have intellectual discussions with Mike, I felt that I have had a great tutorial with a Grande Professor in ancient halls of Oxford or Cambridge. Mike has had this quite and reassuring demeanor of classical Oxford Don who appears in front of you in don's black hat and long gown. He was an extremely erudite person who can converse almost on any topic: From Medieval English history to informal financing methods in rural India, or oil and gas extraction in the Russian Arctics. Let me describe briefly one occasion when Mike really helped me out with my paper under review at a top journal. I emailed Mike and asked if we can talk over Skype, and he agreed. I explained the problem to Mike, and said "this is the situation, and please give your advice on this particular issue", Mike. He said you are in a tough spot, Bat, and asked what I was thinking to deal with this particular. I said may have two options: A and B. The option A is interesting, relatively novel, more radical but risky (may anger my reviewers) and the option B is less radical and more traditional approach. I asked what I should do, Mike. After a brief pause and thought, Mike said, start with your option B because it is safer at this stage, and once you get into the next around, you may introduce the elements from your option A. At that stage, your reviewers will be much more calmer and receptive to your ideas because they are convinced that you are accepting their suggestions. The end result will be the middle ground - you made concessions and your reviewers and editors also made concessions, and the end product is a consensus. I followed Mike's advice, and the review process and eventual acceptance turned out to be exactly Mike predicted. And I ended up with a paper in a top journal in management. I am forever grateful for Mike for his wise advice and guidance. Now, Mike, you are in the Heaven surrounded by many people who want learn from you thing or two on research. You left an indelible mark and intellectual legacy on this Earth. We - your students, colleagues, co-authors, mentees, and friends will carry on your intellectual TORCH, and we will cherish your memories forever. Rest in Peace,Professor Mike Wright, My Mentor!

    ------------------------------
    Bat Batjargal
    Professor
    Oklahoma State University
    Stillwater OK
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 12-01-2019 11:21
    It always seems to be the case that you only fully realise the extent of someone's legacy when they are sadly no longer here. I always suspected I had a partial view of Mike as a scholar and as a mentor but now the full, and woefully limited, extent of my partiality is revealed.

    I am amazed at the commonality across all the threads in memorium to Mike and I echo and endorse the tributes to his contribution to the field, his mentorship and his humility.

    Perhaps novel to my experience, as a fellow Northern English native, was the pride he took in his son's football (soccer) performances as a gifted midfielder and his rugged competitiveness on the bike over those chilly and wet Peak District hills.

    Farewell, Mike. I am sure that football and cycling are equally revered wherever you rest in peace.

    Simon Mosey
    Professor (thanks to Mike)
    University of Nottingham
    .


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    Simon Mosey
    Nottingham University Business School
    Nottingham
    00441159513763
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  • 18.  RE: Mike Wright

    Posted 12-01-2019 19:39

    Mike, you always exemplified what the ENT community is all about – collegiality, mentorship, hard work, dedication, and fun. You will be sorely missed. Your brilliant contributions will live on in the literature and in the community you helped build. Heartfelt condolences to Mike's family, friends, and colleagues.


    ____________________________________
    Helena Yli-Renko
    Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
    Marshall School of Business
    University of Southern California



    ------------------------------
    Helena Yli-Renko
    University of Southern California
    Los Angeles CA
    (310) 567-8598
    ------------------------------