Dr. Nicola Pless is Research Director and Reader in Responsible Leadership at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. She is also a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in INSEAD (France) where she co-directs the INSEAD-PwC research stream on "Developing Responsible Leadership". She holds a M.SC. in business administration (with distinction) from the University of Bayreuth, a Ph.D. (cum laude) from the University of St. Gallen and an executive degree (cum laude) in clinical organizational psychology from INSEAD.

Prior to joining above mentioned faculties she worked for six years in the financial services industry. As a Vice President she was responsible for leadership development in a global financial services institution and served as an HR Generalist at the World Bank Group in Washington, DC.

At the University of St. Gallen, she teaches bachelor and master students as well as executives on various topics, including Global Leadership & Talent Development, Diversity Management, Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Leadership.

Her research focuses on corporate responsibility and responsible global leadership. Starting in 2002 she has set up a comprehensive research program on responsible leadership with a focus on the individual and organizational level. Her research combines a process view on creating inclusive cultures, leading responsible change and building intelligent stakeholder relations with a content view on diversity, sustainability and ethics. Main research questions are: What is responsible leadership? What makes a responsible leader? How to develop responsible leaders? And how to create organizational change towards responsible leadership?

She has delivered training and consulting services for the International Finance Corporation, UBS, Volkswagen, Deutsche Telekom and PricewaterhouseCoopers and works as an executive coach (educated by Prof. Manfred Kets de Vries and certified by INSEAD). She has published three books and several articles in practitioners and academic journals. The latest book on "Responsible Leadership" (with Thomas Maak) was published by Routledge 2006.

Memberships: Academy of Management, International Association for Business & Society, European Business Ethics Network

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Tel: +41 (0) 52 203 3424
Fax: +41 (0) 52 203 3425
Cell: +41 (0) 79 701 33 57

E-mail:
nicola.pless@insead.edu
nicola.pless@unisg.ch