Rosabeth Moss-Kanter

Rosabeth Moss-Kanter’s background

Rosabeth Moss-Kanters work has had a huge impact on the business world and has helped to change the way many organizations treat employees. She set out as a sociologist but is now a professor at Harvard Business School. She hit the management headlines in 1977 with her first book, Men and Women of the Corporation, which was awarded best book of the year on social issues. It introduced the concept of empowerment with which she has been associated ever since.

Her many books embrace complex ideas and are supported by a wealth of research. She tackles a wide range of issues which impinge on modern corporate life including; managing change, strategy, innovation and leadership.

She was the last academic to edit the Harvard business review to which she regularly contributes. Her 2011 HBR article, “How Great Companies Think Differently,” won a McKinsey Award for best article.

Her 2013 book SuperCorp based on a 3 year worldwide research programme, looks at how a new generation of values-driven businesses do well while still maintaining a social conscience. Other books include Confidence – a book about why winners succeed based on the study of leading companies such as Continental Airlines, Seagate, and Verizon.

She is chair of the consultancy Goodmeasure which has worked with IBM, Gap Inc., Monsanto, British Airways, and Volvo. In 1988 she was advisor to the Democrat Michael Dukakis during his presidential campaign.

Awards, Accolades, Achievements, Honours

• A Guggenheim Fellowship
• The Scholarly Contributions to Management Award 2001 from the Academy of Management
• The Intelligent Community Forum’s Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year Award 2002.
• Good Housekeeping magazine named her one of the “125 women who changed our world”
• Boston Magazine called her one of the “50 most powerful women in Boston”
• She was the top-ranking woman in a 2002 study of Top Business Intellectuals.
• She holds 23 honorary degrees and has an award in her name which is given in recognition of the best piece of work-family research.

Current/Past Roles and Positions

• Professor at Harvard Business School and former editor of the Harvard Business Review
• Author of 18 highly influential management books including SuperCorp and Men and Women of the Corporation.
• Named in the top 50 business thinkers by Thinkers 50 2011
• One of the few women in recent years to have achieved genuine guru status’ The Economist

Speaking Style

With boundless enthusiasm and a powerful command of ideas, she continually engages with the issues of the day and keeps her audiences riveted.