Herminia Ibarra

Herminia Ibarra

Pioneering Authority on Organisational Behaviour, Leadership Transitions, and Executive Reinvention

Core Intelligence Domain: Leadership & Organisational Culture
Location: London, United Kingdom | Languages: English, Spanish
Representation: Represented globally by PSpeakers Global Intelligence

Herminia Ibarra is the Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School and one of the globe’s foremost authorities on leadership development and career reinvention. Consistently ranked among the top management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, she equips C-suite executives and senior leaders with the proprietary frameworks necessary to navigate complex organisational transitions, champion diverse leadership pipelines, and adapt to rapidly shifting global markets.

Professional Background and Academic Leadership

Before joining London Business School, Professor Ibarra served on the faculties of INSEAD and Harvard Business School. Her extensive academic tenure has allowed her to conduct rigorous, decades-long research into how professionals adapt to new challenges, build strategic networks, and step up to larger leadership roles. She is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, and her groundbreaking articles on leadership and gender have won numerous prestigious accolades.

Proprietary Frameworks and Bestselling Publications

Ibarra is celebrated globally for challenging conventional wisdom regarding leadership development. Her proprietary “Outsight” principle—detailed in her international bestseller, Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader—argues that leaders must change their actions before they can change their mindsets. Her seminal book, Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career, provides a robust, research-backed roadmap for professionals seeking structural and personal evolution through active experimentation.

Major Achievements and Accolades

• Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School.
• Consistently ranked in the elite tiers of the Thinkers50 global management ranking, including multiple appearances in the top 20.
• Winner of the esteemed Thinkers50 Leadership Award.
• Elected Fellow of the British Academy.
• Serves on the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network and advises numerous corporate boards on talent and leadership strategy.
• Recipient of the McKinsey Award for best article in the Harvard Business Review.

Key Speaking Themes and Strategic Topics

• Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader: Applying the “Outsight” principle to transition from operational management to visionary strategic leadership.
• Navigating Career Transitions: Proven strategies for executives looking to pivot, adapt, or completely reinvent their professional identities in disruptive times.
• Women in Leadership: Overcoming structural barriers, moving from mentorship to active sponsorship, and fostering genuinely inclusive corporate cultures.
• Strategic Networking: Developing robust, diverse networks that drive innovation, circumvent organisational silos, and accelerate professional growth.
• Leading Through Disruption: How agile leaders adapt their styles and organisational structures to meet unforeseen global challenges and technological shifts.

Key Takeaways

• Action Precedes Insight: True leadership transformation requires changing routine behaviours to generate new perspectives, rather than waiting for introspective clarity.
• Identity is Fluid: Successful career transitions rely on testing new roles through structured “safe experiments” to discover a fitting working identity.
• Sponsorship Over Mentorship: To effectively advance underrepresented talent into the C-suite, organisations must focus on active sponsorship and advocacy.
• The Power of Network Diversity: Sustained strategic success demands cultivating connections outside of one’s immediate operational sphere to foster continuous innovation.