Nakata, Cheryl C. | Bryan School of Business and Economics

Cheryl Nakata holds the Joseph M. Bryan Distinguished Chair of Innovation and is Professor of Marketing in the Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality, and Tourism Department of the Joseph M. Bryan School of Business and Economics at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). At UNCG she focuses on innovation research, curriculum, and initiatives. Formerly she was Professor of Marketing and International Business as well as Department Head of Managerial Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She earned a Master of Management from Northwestern University and Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research and teaching interests are innovation, culture, strategy, and the social and global impact of businesses.

Cheryl has published her research in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Product Innovation Management, and other scholarly outlets, garnering awards from the American Marketing Association and the Academy of Marketing Science. The Journal of Retailing gave her paper the Top Five Most Cited Paper Award for 2013-2016, and the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice awarded another of her papers the Top 20 Most Impactful Articles for 1993-2015. She is on the editorial board of six journals, and has organized academic conferences, including the first doctoral consortium in innovation for the Product Development and Management Association, the leading organization of innovation academicians and practitioners. In addition, she has been recognized for her teaching with the Honors College Fellow of the Year as well as Favorite MBA Professor of the Year awards from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Prior to her academic career, Cheryl worked for several years in managerial and analytical positions in the U.S. and China, as well as started and operated her own international business consultancy. She was employed at General Mills in Minneapolis and Kraft in Chicago as a marketing researcher. Later she lived and worked in China at a joint venture as the head of business intelligence, before returning to the U.S. to begin her marketing consultancy. The consultancy provided marketing research services in over 40 countries to Fortune 500 corporations to expand their global reach. Her consultancy work was recognized with the top research award from Abbott Laboratories. In her spare time, Cheryl enjoys nature walks, cultural events, international travel, and culinary adventures.