Herminia Ibarra FBA is a scholar in the fields of organizational behaviour, leadership, and career development. She is the Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School.[1]
Ibarra was born in Cuba and obtained her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in organisational behaviour from Yale University.[1]
Ibarra began her career as a professor at Harvard Business School in 1989. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1994 and to Full Professor with tenure in 1998. In 2002 she joined the INSEAD faculty as Chaired Professor of Organizational Behaviour. At INSEAD she created and directed the executive programs The Leadership Transition and Women Leading Change. In 2017, Ibarra joined the London Business School faculty as the Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behavior.
She is a member of the World Economic Forum Expert Network, a jury member for the Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year Award and has been named by Thinkers 50 as one of the world's most influential businesses thinkers.[2][3] She is also listed as one of the top 40 business case study authors by The Case Centre.
Ibarra is a Governor of the London Business School. Previously, she chaired the Visiting Committee of the Harvard Businesses School and was a member of INSEAD's board.
In July 2019 Ibarra was elected Fellow of the British Academy.[4]
Her research areas and publications include:
Ibarra's research on career development challenges traditional career advice and emphasizes the importance of possible selves, provisional identity and experiments with one's self in the process of making career transitions.
Notable publications include:
Ibarra's research on leadership delves into the complexities of modern leadership roles and the challenges leaders face in a global and diverse environment. She has emphasized the importance of adaptive leadership and explored leadership transitions in-depth.
Notable publications in this area include:
Ibarra's work on women's career advancement has illuminated the systematic barriers women face in making their way from junior to senior roles, notably getting assigned to mission-critical roles, building relationships with powerful sponsors and in key network, and sustaining a credible image and identity in contexts where leadership models are male-typed. Her research has provided insights for organizations seeking to increase the diversity of their senior ranks.
Notable publications in this area include:
Throughout her career, Professor Ibarra has been an award-winning teacher, case writer and course developer. Her achievements include:
Best selling business case studies
Teaching awards
Course creation
Professor Ibarra has received awards and honors in recognition of her contributions to academia and her impact on the business world. Some of these accolades include:
