Prof Calof is a full professor of strategy and international business at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa in Canada. The NWU has a longstanding relationship with Prof Calof of more than 20 years, during which he was also appointed as an extraordinary professor.
Prof Jonathan Calof gave a presentation on competitive intelligence during the recent MBA summer school. Here he is (left) with Prof Ronnie Lotriet, programme manager of the MBA course.
In his presentation Prof Calof referred to the importance of gaining intelligence about market and consumer trends as well as the competition to stay ahead of the pack on a strategic level.
He also shared some of the finer tricks of the trade that he has developed over his many years of consulting internationally in the private and public sector.
Prof Calof emphasised the need to gathering information in an ethical manner. According to Prof Calof, 80-90% of information needed to gain a strategic advantage is available in the public domain and may be obtained legally and ethically.
More about the expert
Prof Calof’s research and consulting focus on helping governments and companies make better decisions through competitive intelligence, foresight and business analytics. He is a prolific author with more than 150 publications to his credit, as well as several books on competitive intelligence.
Prof Calof is also a popular public speaker boasting more than 1 000 talks. He is the writer of a column on event intelligence for Competitive Intelligence Magazine and executive editor for Frontline Safety and Security. In addition to his involvement in the consulting and academic world, Prof Calof is also a director with several companies.
He recently released the results of a global study looking at lessons learned from the largest corporate failures in Canadian corporate history. The study results have led to new tools and skills for boards of directors, measurements for organisational resilience and understanding of the origin of customer doubt as well as how it can be measured and managed.
Prof Calof has received several international honours including Frost and Sullivan’s Lifetime Achievement award in competitive intelligence; the Fellow award from the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals; an honorary professorship at Yunnan Normal University in China; and an appointment to the international advisory board for the Russian Foresight Committee of HSE to – name but a few.
