Babson Professors Cohan, Davenport Named Top Retail Experts Again 

Listen

Babson College professors Peter Cohan and Thomas Davenport once again have been named Top Retail Experts by RETHINK Retail, one of the most prestigious global accolades in the retail and consumer packaged goods industry.  

Headshot of Peter Cohan
Peter Cohan, associate professor of management practice at Babson

This is the fifth consecutive year that Cohan has been honored as a Top Retail Expert, and it is the third year in a row that Davenport has been recognized for the distinction. Both Cohan and Davenport were included in the Academia category. 

Cohan, associate professor of practice in the Management Division, is a prolific author who writes for Inc. and Forbes magazines and has written 17 books, including Brain Rush: How to Invest and Compete in the Real World of Generative AI, which was published last year. 

Portrait of Thomas Davenport
Thomas Davenport, the President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management (Photo: Pat Piasecki)

Davenport—the President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management and the new faculty director of the C. Dean Metropoulos Institute for Technology and Entrepreneurship—is an expert on artificial intelligence who has written or edited more than 20 books, including All Hands on Tech: The AI-Powered Citizen Revolution, which also was published last year. 

The honor from RETHINK Retail is presented annually in several categories: Academia, Analysts, Associations, Consultants, Finance, Media, Real Estate, Specialists, and Technologists. Honorees represent the top thought leaders and market makers influencing the sector and are awarded based on the recommendations of various current members, committees, and corporations in the retail community. 

Posted in Babson Briefs

More from Babson Briefs »

Latest Stories

Babson students congregate in Babson Commons
Would You Work 72 Hours a Week? Here’s What Babson Students Say From burnout to ambition, Babson students debate the idea of working 12 hours a day, six days a week taking hold at some tech companies in Silicon Valley.
By
Hillary Chabot
Writer
Hillary Chabot
Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.
November 5, 2025

Posted in Insights

Babson Professor Jeffrey Shay ’87, MBA’91, sits at a table with professors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Babson Works with HBCUs to Boost Entrepreneurship Education A case-writing program, which teaches participants how to develop a hallmark of business education, is one of several Babson initiatives with Historically Black Colleges and Universities that aim to empower entrepreneurial leaders and the professors who educate them.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
October 31, 2025

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership

Wearing Babson-branded hard hats, nine people gather to break ground ceremonially
Babson Breaks Ground on New Executive Lodge and Conference Center Babson College trustees, leaders, and dignitaries celebrated the beginning of construction of the new Executive Lodge and Conference Center with a formal groundbreaking ceremony last week.
By
October 28, 2025

Posted in Community