Christian Terwiesch

Christian Terwiesch is the Andrew M. Heller Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he serves as Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions and Professor of Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine. He chairs the Operations, Information and Decisions department and co-directs Penn's Mack Institute for Innovation Management. His work bridges operations management, innovation, and healthcare delivery, with research published in leading journals from Management Science to The New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Terwiesch received his doctoral degree from INSEAD and a Diploma from the University of Mannheim. His academic journey has positioned him at the intersection of business operations and healthcare innovation.

Terwiesch's research focuses on healthcare operations, innovation management, lean operations, and new service delivery models. He is particularly known for his work on connected strategies that transform traditional episodic customer interactions into continuous relationships. His research explores how digital technologies can reshape business models, particularly in healthcare delivery, with an emphasis on improving quality while increasing efficiency. He has pioneered work on innovation tournaments as a systematic approach to generating and selecting new ideas, and has recently expanded his research to examine AI's impact on creativity and business processes.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on artificial intelligence's impact on business operations and innovation processes. Terwiesch has extensively examined how AI, particularly generative models like ChatGPT, affects creativity, customer service, and business strategy. His work reveals both the potential and limitations of AI in business contexts, highlighting areas where human-AI collaboration can yield optimal results. He has also continued his research into connected healthcare strategies that improve patient outcomes through better monitoring and engagement.

Terwiesch has received numerous teaching awards throughout his career, reflecting his excellence in both MBA and executive education:

• Distinguished Fellow: Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (2017)
• Multiple Executive MBA Excellence in Teaching Awards (Philadelphia and San Francisco, 2014-2017)
• Helen Kardon Moss Anvil Award winner (2012)
• MBA Excellence in Teaching Award (2012, 2010)
• Numerous "Goes above and beyond the call of duty" and "Tough, but I'll thank you in 5 years" awards
• Miller-Sherrerd Core Teaching Award (multiple years)
• Named by Online Course Review as one of the 50 Most Popular MOOCs of All Time (2015)

As an educator, Terwiesch has made significant contributions to online learning, developing the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in business on Coursera, which has enrolled over half a million students. He co-authored the widely used textbook "Matching Supply with Demand" and has written influential management books including "Innovation Tournaments" and "Connected Strategies." His consulting work ranges from small startups to Fortune 500 companies, helping them become more innovative through implementing innovation tournaments and restructuring innovation portfolios. He has also received research grants from the Wharton e-Business Initiative.

Terwiesch leads the "N=1, t=infinity Project," which focuses on connected healthcare strategies. This initiative aims to reimagine medicine by leveraging connected technologies to create continuous patient-provider relationships that improve outcomes while optimizing resource use. His work in this area has resulted in numerous publications and practical applications in healthcare delivery systems, including research on medication adherence and hospital readmissions using electronic monitoring devices.