Rosabeth Moss Kanter Biography

Rosabeth Moss Kanter is an innovative leader who is changing the world through her research, work, and teaching. In the many years that she has researched and studied business, Kanter has inspired cutting-edge innovation, strategy, leadership and culture across a broad spectrum of for-profit and non-profit industries, including celebrated corporations like IBM, Proctor & Gamble and Verizon. Attendees of her talks emerge with the tools to not only become more effective corporate team members and leaders, but also to apply their business know-how to tackle social change.

Named among the 50 most powerful women in the world (Times of London) and the 50 most influential business thinkers in the world (Accenture and Thinkers 50), Kanter is a distinguished social scientist, educator and writer whose strategic and practical insights guide leaders of large and small organizations worldwide. Her latest book, “MOVE: Putting America’s Infrastructure Back in the Lead” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015), is a sweeping look across industries and technologies shaping the future of mobility and the leadership required for transformation. Kanter’s most highly regarded presentation themes – on the leadership of turnarounds and mastering change in turbulent times – are particularly relevant in today’s economic environment. Other popular lectures describe how to “load for growth,” outline the enduring skills of change leaders and explain why surprises are the new normal and resilience is the new skill.

Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, where she specializes in strategy, innovation and leadership for change. She is also the chair and director of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI), an innovation that helps successful leaders at the top of their professions apply their skills to national and global challenges in their next life stage. A collaboration across all of Harvard, ALI aims to build a new leadership force for the world. In addition, through Goodmeasure Inc., the consulting group Kanter co-founded, she advises numerous CEOs and has partnered with IBM on applying her leadership tools from business to other sectors. She is a senior advisor for IBM’s Global Citizenship portfolio.

Kanter is the author or co-author of 19 books. “SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good” (Crown Business, 2009), a manifesto for leadership of sustainable enterprises, was named one of the 10 Best Business Books of 2009 by Amazon.com. Kanter’s “Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End” (Crown Business, 2004) was a New York Times best-seller and rated #1 by Businessweek. She is also one of the top business bloggers for Harvard Business Review, providing of-the-moment commentary on newsworthy items in relation to corporate social responsibility, leadership and innovation.

Kanter has received 24 honorary doctoral degrees, as well as numerous leadership awards and prizes. These include the Academy of Management’s Distinguished Career Award for her scholarly contributions to management knowledge; the World Teleport Association’s “Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year” award; the International Leadership Award from the Association of Leadership Professionals, and the Warren Bennis Award for Leadership Excellence. Kanter has served on numerous business and non-profit boards, including City Year – the urban “Peace Corps” now focused on addressing the school dropout crisis – and on a variety of national or regional commissions including the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors.

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