Ivey Business School professor Tima Bansal has been awarded the 2025 Panmure House Prize, one of the world’s most significant academic honours supporting interdisciplinary research.
Bansal was selected from a list of leading scholars across Europe and North America for her pioneering contributions to sustainability research and her influence on how organizations integrate long-term thinking into strategy. The judging panel, representing both business and academia, recognized her role in shifting sustainability from a peripheral issue to a central driver of corporate resilience and value creation. They noted that her ability to bridge rigorous research with practical impact had “inspired leaders across sectors to embed long-term, responsible decision-making at the heart of business practice.”
The US$75,000 award will support Bansal’s continued work through Innovation North, a research–practice initiative powered by the Ivey Business School, which she and her research team founded in 2019 to help organizations navigate systemic challenges using systems thinking. Innovation North has collaborated with more than 30 organizations across industries such as finance, agriculture, and construction.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the Panmure House Prize for the work my team is doing at Innovation North,” said Bansal. “Rooted in the philosophy of Adam Smith, the award affirms the importance of our research in working with organizations to create long-term prosperity for all through systems thinking.”
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Ivey dean Julian Birkinshaw said Bansal’s influence has reshaped how leaders understand the role of business in society.
“Tima Bansal has been a trailblazer in shaping how business leaders approach sustainability, long before it became mainstream,” he said. “Her pioneering research and leadership, grounded in systems thinking, have not only put Ivey at the forefront of sustainable business scholarship but have also inspired a generation of students and executives to rethink the role of business in society. The Panmure House Prize is a fitting recognition of her remarkable career and her unwavering commitment to long-term, systemic change.”
Adam Dixon, Adam Smith Chair in Sustainable Capitalism at Panmure House, said Bansal’s work continues the legacy of Adam Smith by applying rigorous economic thinking to modern challenges.
“Professor Bansal’s work exemplifies the spirit of Adam Smith’s legacy, bringing rigorous economic thinking to bear on the great challenges of our time,” he said. “Her research not only advances academic understanding but also provides practical pathways for businesses to thrive while creating long-term value for society.”
The Panmure House Prize, now in its fifth year, recognizes research that promotes long-term thinking in economic and business practice. In association with the Edinburgh Business School and Heriot-Watt University, Panmure House is a centre of excellence for the study of contemporary economics, a place of reflection on the legacy of Adam Smith, and a venue for social and economic debate.
