Paul Lillrank received a Ph.D. in Social and Political Sciences at Helsinki University in 1988 after spending six years as a post-graduate student in Japan where he researched quality management in Japanese industry. After graduating he joined The Boston Consulting Group in Tokyo and later in Stockholm, returning to academia in 1992 as Affiliated Professor at the European Institute of Japanese Studies at the Stockholm School of Economics. He has been visiting professor at the University of Tokyo, served as program director at College des Ingenieurs in Paris, and teaches at the Indian Institute of Technology-Khagarpur.

Professor Lillrank has conducted research in several service industries, such as software, telecom, airlines and retailing. During the recent past his focus has been in healthcare. He has been a pioneer in introducing industrial management methods to the study of healthcare service production. He has co-founded The Institute of Healthcare Engineering, Management and Architecture (HEMA), and The Nordic Healthcare Group (NHG), a consultancy. He has been a frequent speaker and advisor to several healthcare producers and government agencies. His current research interests are in Healthcare Operations Management, particularly operating modes, process coordination and knowledge integration, and regional supply systems. His major work is The Logics of Healthcare - The Pratitioner's Guide to Health Systems Science (CRC Press / Francis & Taylor, Boca Raton 2018)