Nicola Pless

Dr Nicola M. Pless is an expert in Sustainability, Leadership, Leadership Development & Executive Education and a pioneer and thought leader in responsible leadership.

She is a Chaired Professor of Management at the University of South Australia, Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland and serves as a Guardian of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (partnership of EFMD, AACSB and UNGC). She served on the faculties of ESADE, INSEAD and University of St. Gallen and as Honorary Jef-Van-Gerwen SJ Chair at the University of Antwerp and Distinguished Visiting Professor at EBS University. She sits on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Perspectices and Academy of Management Collections (2023 AOM Best Reviewer Award). In additiion, she has substantial executive experience in board functions and as manager and former Vice President International Leadership Development working for global Fortune 500 companiies in Switzerland, Germany and the US, and serving at the World Bank Group in Washington DC.

She has published several books and over 90 academic papers, among them 18 articles classified as A/A* on the Australian ABDC-list, 15 articles on the FT50 list. Her research on responsible leadership, sustainability, global governance, ethics, diversity & inclusion, and neuroscience appeared in leading academic journals (e.g., Academy of Management Learning & Education, Academy of Management Perspectives, Human Resource Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Management Studies, Organizational Research Methods), received numerous awards (among them four Academy of Management Awards), and has been featured in the media (e.g., BBC, Boston Globe, Business Week, CEO Magazine, Fortune). She has mentored numerous PhD students and early career researchers to success. Her teaching was honoured with the Aspen Institute’s Faculty Pioneer Award. She is a certified executive coach by INSEAD and IECL, and a Fellow of the Institute of Coaching at McClean Hospital / Harvard Medical School Affiliate.

Apart from her leadership career in banking, she served on the Board of ABIS (Academy of Business in Society founded by INSEAD and ESADE) and as Chair of the Strategy group. She was also Director of the Center of Responsible Leadership and Business Ethics at the University of South Australia. Since 2020, she fullfills a governance role as a Guardian to the Board of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (partnership of EFMD and AACSB).

Her mission is to contribute through research, teaching and collaboration to the development of responsible global leaders.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolapless/

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SELECTION OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Books

Maak, T., M., Pless, N.M., Orlitzky, M., & Sandhu, S. (Eds.) (2023). The Routledge Companion to Corporate Social Responsibility. New York and London: Routledge. Pless, N.M. & Maak, T. (Eds.; 2nd revised edition) (2022). Responsible Leadership. London, New York: Routledge.

Articles

Javed, M.**, Pless, N. Waldman, A. E., et al. (2024). What, When, and How of Responsible Leadership: Taking Stock of Eighteen Years of Research and Future Agenda. Journal of Management Studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.13157 [FT50/BW20 list; ABDC: A*; 2022: 5y IF: 10,5]

Yildiz, M.*, Pless N. M., Ceyhan, S. & Hallak, R. (2023). Responsible Leadership and Innovation during COVID-19: Evidence from the Australian Tourism and Hospitatlity Sector, Sustainability, 15(6), 1-22. [Q1 journal]

Pless, N. M., Sengupta, A.**, Wheeler, M., & Maak, T. (2022). Responsible Leadership and the reflective CEO: Resolving stakeholder conflict by imagining what could be done. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(1), 313-337. [FT50/BW20 list; ABDC: A, 5y IF: 8,086]

Wang, D.*, Waldman, Balthazard, P. A., Stikic, M., Pless, N. M., Maak, T., Berka, C. & Richardson, T. (2021). Applying Neuroscience to Emergent Processes in Teams. Organizational Research Methods. 24(3), 595-615. [ABDC list: A*, JCR 12/194 in Management, 18/226 Psychology, IF 2020: 5-year IF 9,289] *PhD at project start. **Early Career Researcher

AWARDS

2023 Academy of Management Best Reviewer Award 2023 Academy of Management Award Finalist, Honour by the League of Leadership (Division: MED, Management Education) 2022 Academy of Management Best Paper Award (Division: NEU, Neuroscience) 2011 Academy of Management Best Paper Award (Division: MED, Management Education) 2010 Academy of Management Caroly Dexter Finalist Award (all Academy of Management Award)

Aspen Institute, Aspen Faculty Pioneer Award Winner for Teaching Innovation & Excellence, NYC