Michael Yaziji

Michael Yaziji is a professor of Strategy and Leadership. Professor Yaziji's holds a PhD in Management and Strategy (with an emphasis in Nonmarket Strategy) from INSEAD. He holds a second PhD in Analytic Philosophy (with an emphasis in Ethics, Ontology and Epistemology) from the University of California.

Believing deeply in integrating multiple academic and practical perspectives, Professor Yaziji is author of award-winning books and articles and talks on a wide range of topics including: race-to-the-top strategies, new capitalism based on governance changes, NGO-Corporate relations, cross-sectoral ecosystem business models, personal leadership, and ethics.

Recognized as a world-leading expert on NGO-corporate relations, he has published widely on the topic including a seminal, award-winning book (Cambridge University Press) and in academic and managerial journals such Harvard Business Review. His survey on NGO campaigns against corporations is the world's largest and most comprehensive.

Professor Yaziji helps board, senior leaders and organizations sharpen their thinking and develop solutions for working with nonmarket stakeholders such as media, NGOs, and politicians and regulators. He was the founding director of the Business and Society Forum at INSEAD and Director of the IMD Corporate Sustainability Management Center.

His latest research includes the world's largest survey on psychological drivers, psychological safety, and organizational performance. He explores and explains the relationship among the three and highlights how very-human biases and self-deception can impact decision-making and how they can be mitigated

Believing in the interdependence across levels of analysis—individual, team, and organization—and across strategy, organization, and leadership, Professor Yaziji advises senior leaders on integrated approaches to change.

Professor Yaziji is a board member, trustee, advisor, and/or executive teacher for Fortune 500 corporations across a wide range of industries (e.g., Microsoft, Shell, Pepsico, Ericsson, PwC, Lufthansa, Sumitomo, Bosch, Vestas, NTT, Munich Re, Hydro, Grundfos, Maersk, Bunge Alimentos, Holcim), the Red Cross, WWF, the University of California, and the World Economic Forum.

An American and Swiss national, Professor Yaziji has spent most of his life as an expat global citizen, having lived in Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland, and the United States.