Howard V. Perlmutter

Dr. Howard V. Perlmutter, "is a world authority and pioneer on the globalization of firms and other institutions. He is an internationally recognized teacher, scholar, advisor to corporations, cities and governments, and universities. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (Tau Beta Pi) from M.I.T., an Honorary Master's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in Social Psychology.

"He assumed his professorial post at Wharton in 1969, and served as Secretary of the Faculty of Wharton School. Currently he is an Emeritus Professor and Director of the Emerging Global Civilization project, where he teaches one course and conducts research on different aspects of our First Global Civilization and its implications for the transition to transformation of international organizations, including the UN, national governments, religious institutions, enterprises, cities and global leadership.

"His paper The Multinational Firm and the Future, published in the Annals of Political and Social Science in 1972 accurately forecast the evolution of the viability and legitimacy issues for MNCs. In 1998-1999, the Financial Times published a four article series by Prof. Perlmutter on the MNC in the Emerging Global Civilization which drew up a scenario for the next thirty years which received world wide attention and the need to develop a Global Civilization Mindset and Missing institutions and Networks to meet increasingly global challenges which range from those which are ecological such as renewable energy, ethnic and religious conflict, global terrorism with Weapons of Mass Destruction, and issues of Global regulation. A new version of this work on the Multinational Corporation is called The Tortuous Evolution of the Globally Civilized Enterprise in the 21st Century.

"At Wharton, he led the internationalization process as Chairman of the Multinational Enterprise Unit and Founder-Director of the Worldwide Institutions Research Center. During this time with his colleague, the late Eric Trist, he formulated his vision the Social Architecture of the Global Societal enterprise, based on this paradigm for organizations in the 21st Century, now being applied to many other international organizations, nations and cities...

"He has held board or advisory positions in Alfa Laval and Pharmacia in Sweden. He currently is an active member of the Board of Directors of the Global Interdependence Center in Philadelphia and on the International Advisory Boards of R post (registered E-mail) and Itradefinance, as well as on the editorial board of The Multinational Business Review.

"He has been listed Who's Who in the World. He is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, and the Academy of International Management and a Commissioner on Globalization in the State of the World Forum led by Mikhail Gorbachev."


 * Trustee, Global Dialogue Institute