Jean-François
Manzoni

Jean-François Manzoni just joined IESE as Visiting Professor of the Practice of Management and will become Professor of the Practice of Management starting on January 1, 2027.

His research, teaching, and consulting activities are focused on leadership, the development of high-performance organizations and corporate governance.

At an organizational level, JFM studies the content of change (including the use of levers such as strategy, structure, and systems), the management of the change process and the role of leaders therein. His work in this area has appeared in several books, articles, and over 30 cases – four of which received Case of the Year awards. He also acted as a content expert in the development of the Change Pro Simulation®, a groundbreaking computer-based change management simulation.

At an individual level, he studies how leaders can create a caring, high-performance work environment. This stream of research has led to several articles and a book entitled The Set-Up to Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail (with Jean-Louis Barsoux). The book, which builds on Manzoni and Barsoux’s initial Harvard Business Review article introducing the term “set-up-to-fail syndrome,” received two Book of the Year awards and is discussed in undergraduate, MBA, and executive development programs all over the world.

On the corporate governance side, JFM focuses on interpersonal dynamics within the boardroom and between management and the board. His research examining the impact of interpersonal dynamics on increasingly diverse boards of directors received the Research Award on Leadership and Corporate Governance from the Association of Executive Search Consultants. A Fellow and Senior Accredited Board Director of the Singapore Institute of Directors, he served (2018-2024) on the board of Keppel Ltd. Over that period, Keppel transformed from an international diversified group to a global asset manager and operator and received the Best Managed Board Award among large listed companies at the 2023 Singapore Corporate Awards.

Prior to joining IESE, JFM served on the faculty of IMD, where he was President from 2017 to 2024. He also served on the faculty of INSEAD (in Fontainebleau and in Singapore), where he directed the PwC Research Initiative on High Performance Organizations and the Global Leadership Centre, and for several years co-directed the International Directors Program.

A citizen of Canada and France, JFM received his doctorate from Harvard Business School. He had earlier graduated from L’École des hautes études commerciales de Montréal and worked with Ernst and Young in Montreal before receiving an MBA from McGill University.

The recipient of multiple distinctions for his teaching, JFM is also a frequent keynote speaker and discussion partner for business leaders, including through the IMD CEO Dialogue Series in which he has been holding frank and insightful discussions with more than 50 CEOs. He has also performed consulting, top management team support and leadership development work for many international organizations, which has led him to work in more than 30 countries over the years.

He serves or has served on a number of International Advisory Panels of industry bodies (e.g., DigitalSwitzerland), academic institutions (e.g., EHL Hospitality Business School and the University of St Gallen) and corporations (e.g., Novartis Culture Leadership Advisory Board).