Uchenna Uzo is a Professor of Marketing at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (LBS). He serves as Academic Director of the Africa Retail Academy at Lagos Business School and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of Pan-Atlantic University. Recognised as one of Africa’s foremost authorities on retail strategy, marketing, sales and distribution, and consumer behaviour in emerging markets, his work sits at the intersection of rigorous academic research and deep market insight.

With over more than two decades at Lagos Business School, he has played a central role in shaping the institution’s teaching, research, and academic leadership, including serving as Director of MBA Programmes during which the Executive MBA was ranked among the world’s top 40 by The Economist. He holds a PhD in Strategic Management and a Master of Research in Management from IESE Business School, Barcelona, an MSc in Sociology from the University of Lagos, and has completed executive education in Strategic Planning and Management in Retailing at Babson College. He is a Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, a former Research Fellow at the Scandinavian Consortium for Organisational Research (SCANCOR), and a visiting scholar at Stanford University.

His work is grounded in a distinctive perspective on African markets, particularly the interplay between formal and informal retail systems. Rather than treating these systems as competing structures, he frames them as interdependent, requiring careful understanding and deliberate design. His research explores how organisations can build effective route-to-market strategies, strengthen last-mile distribution, and scale successfully in fragmented, price-sensitive environments where imported business models often fail. He is the author of Africa’s Goldmine: A Guide to Winning Customers in its Unstructured Markets, and his academic work has been published in leading journals such as the International Journal of Organisational Analysis, International Studies of Management and Organisation, and Qualitative Market Research. His case studies have received international recognition, including awards from EFMD, the Academy of International Business, and the Emerald/AABS Case Study Competition. Alongside his academic contributions, he actively engages with policy questions, particularly on the development of structured retail frameworks in Nigeria, translating research insights into practical guidance for policymakers and industry stakeholders.

At Lagos Business School, Uzo teaches across MBA and executive education programmes, covering marketing strategy, retail management, sales management, consumer behaviour, segmentation, branding, and route-to-market execution. As lead faculty of the Africa Retail Academy, he drives specialised programmes including the Marketing Leaders Programme, Experiential Marketing Management Programme, and Marketing in Retail Programme. His teaching is case-driven and deeply practice-oriented, focused on real business challenges in African and emerging-market contexts. He equips participants with the ability to read complex markets, make sound strategic decisions under conditions of uncertainty, execute with discipline, and lead with integrity in environments where trade-offs are inevitable.

Beyond the classroom, he is a leading voice on retail and consumer markets in Africa, frequently providing expert commentary on Channels Television and Arise News on issues ranging from consumer behaviour to market structure and retail trends. His leadership contributions extend across the school and the broader ecosystem: he has served on the LBS Management Board and currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Family Business Initiative at Lagos Business School, as well as the Board of the Enterprise Development Centre. Through his work as Academic Director of the Africa Retail Academy and as a member of the Pan-Atlantic University Senate, he contributes to shaping institutional strategy, research direction, and faculty development. His consulting and advisory engagements focus on helping organisations design effective distribution systems, expand market access, and engage more productively with informal retail channels, contributing to more inclusive, efficient, and scalable market systems.

His work is anchored in a clear conviction that Africa’s markets require context-specific frameworks rather than adapted global templates. He believes that performance and integrity are inseparable, and that leadership ultimately demands building organisations that deliver results while creating lasting value for customers, employees, and the wider economy. This belief continues to shape his teaching, research, and engagement across business and society. His contributions have been recognised through numerous awards, including EFMD and Emerald/AABS case awards, the Academy of International Business Best Teaching Case Award, the Emerald Literati Award, and institutional honours such as the LBS Exemplary Leadership Award and the LBS Dean’s Best Case Award. He also maintains an active presence in public discourse, with media features on retail and consumer trends across leading platforms.

Publications
Journal Articles
Uzo, U. (2016). Cultural Norms and Cultural Agents in Buyer–Seller Negotiation Processes and Outcomes. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 36 (2), 18.

Uzo, U. & Ogbechie, C. (in press, 2015). Price setting Patterns in Direct Selling Organizations: Insights from Nigerian Organizations. National Sales Conference 2015, Houston. ​

Uzo, U. & Mair, J. (2014). Source and Patterns of Organizational Defiance of Formal Institutions: Insights from Nollywood, the Nigerian Movie Industry. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 8 (56), 74.

Conference Papers
Uzo, U. (2016). Cultural Norms and Cultural Agents in Buyer–Seller Negotiation Processes and Outcomes. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 36 (2), 18.

Uzo, U. & Ogbechie, C. (in press, 2015). Price setting Patterns in Direct Selling Organizations: Insights from Nigerian Organizations. National Sales Conference 2015, Houston. ​

Uzo, U. & Mair, J. (2014). Source and Patterns of Organizational Defiance of Formal Institutions: Insights from Nollywood, the Nigerian Movie Industry. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 8 (56), 74.

Cases
Uzo, U. (2016). Bank PHB: Rise of Mergers and Brands. The Case Center (pp. 6). Lagos Business School.

Uzo, U. (2015). Grocery Bazaar (GB): Retail Growth Strategies. The Case Center (pp. 8). Lagos Business School.

Uzo, U. (2014). Out of Africa Lifestyle Limited: The Challenge of Market Segmentation. European Case Clearing House (pp. 6). Lagos Business School.

Uzo, U. & Tobun, S. (2014). Ibeju Water Company: Relationships in the Selling Process. The Case Centre (pp. 5). Lagos Business School.

Uzo, U. (2014). Lakeside Water Company: Pricing and Channel Decisions. European Case Clearing House (pp. 4). Lagos Business School.

Uzo, U., Akomode, T., Shogbanmu, S., & Anegbe, P. (2013). Research in Motion: Managing Channel Conflicts. European Case Clearing House (pp. 7). Lagos Business School.

Uzo, U. & Alos, A. J. (2012). Mainframe Film and TV Productions: Launching Maami. European Case Clearing House (pp. 7). Lagos Business School.

Uzo, U. (2012). Bank PHB: Rise of Mergers and Brands. To be sent to ECCH.

Chapters
Uzo, U. (2014). Embedding Ethical Issues in Marketing Management Classes: An Instructors’ Guide. Teaching Ethics across the Management Curriculum – A Handbook for International Faculty. XXX.

Uzo, U. (2014). The Future of Ethics Education in Management Curricula. Teaching Ethics across the Management Curriculum – A Handbook for International Faculty. XXX.

Supplement
Uzo, U. (2012). Shopping Finds its Stride. In Christopher Fodor (Ed.), Doing Business in Nigeria (pp. 60-61). 77 Rue du Faubourg St Denis, 75010 PARIS: Mediaside SARL.