It is with great sadness that the University announces the death of Professor Mark Easterby-Smith, who died on 15th April 2020.

Mark spent most of his career at Lancaster University Management School, which he joined in 1978, the then School of Management and Organisational Studies. He was part of the Management Teaching and Development Unit (MTDU), which in 1984, transformed into the Department of Management Learning.

Mark quickly became a driving force in the fledgling department, always passionate about his teaching and his research. He is best known, internationally, for his contribution in the fields of management research methodology, and organisational learning, and he played a pivotal role in shaping the evolution of both fields from their birth. Moreover, he regularly explored and developed interest in areas long before they became more widely researched such as writing about the non-Western perspectives on management education (e.g. ‘Is the Western view inevitable? A model of the development of management education’, in 1989) and organising visits and workshops in China long before it became fashionable to set up Anglo-Chinese relationships.

Through his passion for teaching and learning, he become the Director of the International Teachers Programme (ITP) between 1980 and 1988, and from 1989 until 1997 had national responsibility for co-ordinating the Economic and Social Research Council’s Management Teaching Fellowship Scheme. In in 1994, he oversaw the conversion of the Management Education and Development journal into the Management Learning journal through his editorship, helping it to become one of the top journals in the field of Management Learning and Development.

Mark’s achievements and contributions both nationally and internationally never seemed to stall and continued throughout his long career. He worked tirelessly for the British Academy of Management after its establishment in 1986, first as a council member in the 1990s, and eventually as President in 2006. He was awarded the Richard Whipp Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010, and was an Academician of the Academy for Social Science. Between 2003 and 2007 Mark was a Senior Fellow of the Advanced Institute of Management Research, focusing his efforts partly on national capacity-building within Business and Management Studies, and partly on research into Dynamic Capabilities and Organisational Learning.

Beyond the Management School, Mark is remembered for his active role in Grizedale College, taking on a number of positions, including that of Acting Principal in 1984/85.

Mark retired from being a full-time academic in 2014 shortly after being deservedly awarded a Distinguished Professorship. Nonetheless, he continued to supervise students and write papers until very recently.

On top of his stellar academic career, Mark will be remembered for his personality; his sense of humour, his warmth, kindness, and never-ceasing willingness to help others – either in times of hardship, or to grow and develop. He supervised and mentored countless PhD students and early career colleagues, a notable number of whom have become leading figures in their respective fields.

Mark’s friends and colleagues knew he could always be relied upon for advice, support, or if necessary, a helpful challenge, or to join in on celebrating others’ success and achievement. Above all, the most striking side of his personality was his exceptional humility. Despite decades of academic achievement, a succession of leadership roles, and a plethora of highly cited books and articles, it seemed like prominence and status didn’t matter one bit to him. His door was always open for others.

He was a very special person to his friends and colleagues, and he will be missed by so many people whose lives he touched. A celebration of his life for friends and colleagues will be arranged at a later date.

Mark is survived by his wife Anna, and three children: Sarah, Sam, and Sophie.