Mays Business Online

Berry
Things have changed since Texas A&M Distinguished Professor of Marketing Leonard Berry was in school studying for his doctorate. For one, professors seemed more inclined to write scholarly marketing books – and graduate students more inclined to read them – than they do now. This shift seemed wrong to Berry, so he and his wife Nancy teamed up with the American Marketing Association (AMA) to create the Berry-AMA Book Prize.

“I have devoted a good part of my career to books–both as a reader and a writer. By creating this award, it might bring more luster to the idea of books in marketing,” Berry says.

Each year the Berry-AMA Book Prize recognizes the book that has the greatest impact on marketing and related fields. The 2007 winner is The 86% Solution: How to Succeed in the Biggest Market Opportunity of the 21st Century, by Vijay Mahajan and Kamini Banga. The authors present ways to succeed in the new market of a developing world, as well as how to operate business using the local traditions and infrastructures.

“The fact that I’m a book writer played an instrumental part in me wanting to create a reward for books,” Berry says.

Berry’s latest books include Discovering the Soul of Service, On Great Service, Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality, and Delivering Quality Service, all of which are published by The Free Press. He is currently writing a new book about the service culture at Mayo Clinic that will be published in the summer of 2008 by McGraw-Hill.

In addition to writing and teaching, Berry is the founder of the Center for Retailing Studies at Mays Business School, where he served as director from 1982 to 2000. He holds the M.B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership. Berry has taught at Mays for 25 years, and in 1990 he was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching, as well as the Distinguished Achievement Award in Research in 1996, both given by Texas A&M University’s Association of Former Students. Most recently, Berry received the 2007 AMA/McGraw Hill/Irwin Distinguished Marketing Educator Award.