Lynda Gratton

Lynda Gratton is a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School where she directs the program ‘Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Companies’ – considered the world’s leading program on human resources. Lynda is the founder of The Hot Spots Movement and for over five years has led the Future of Work Research Consortium which has brought executives from more than 80 companies together both virtually and on a bespoke collaborative platform.

Lynda has written extensively about the interface between people and organizations. Her eight books have been translated into more than 15 languages. They cover the link between business and HR strategy (Human Resource Strategy: corporate rhetoric, individual reality and Living Strategy), the new ways of working (The Democratic Enterprise), the rise of complex collaboration (Hot Spots and Glow) and the impact of a changing world on employment and work (The Shift). Lynda’s case on BP won the EECH best case of the year, her article on ‘signature processes’ the MIT Sloan award, and in 2012 The Shift received the best business book of the year award in Japan. Her latest book The Key, which will be published in 2014, looks at the impact of the changing world on corporate practices, processes and leadership.

Lynda’s work has been acknowledged globally – she has won the Tata prize in India; in the US she has been named as the annual Fellow of NAHR and won the CCL prize; whilst in Australia she has won the HR prize. She was named by The Times/Harvard Business Review ‘Business Thinkers 50’ as one of the top 15 business thinkers in the world. Lynda is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum and has chaired the WEF Council on Leadership. She serves as a judge on the FT Business Book of the Year panel, chairs the Drucker prize panel and is on the governing body of London Business School. In 2013 she was awarded the Life Time Achievement Award by HR Magazine and equally in 2013 she was amongst the 15 top thought leaders in the Thinkers50 ranking.

Lynda’s work has been acknowledged globally – she has won the Tata prize in India; in the US she has been named as the annual Fellow of NAHR and won the CCL prize; whilst in Australia she has won the HR prize. She was named by The Times/Harvard Business Review ‘Business Thinkers 50’ as one of the top 15 business thinkers in the world. Lynda is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum and has chaired the WEF Council on Leadership. She serves as a judge on the FT Business Book of the Year panel, chairs the Drucker prize panel and is on the governing body of London Business School.

Lynda actively advises companies around the world and sits on a number of advisory boards. She sits on the Guardian Sustainable Business Awards panel, the FT Business Book of the Year panel and chairs the World Economic Forum council on the future models of leadership. In 2006 she founded the Hot Spots Movement. Since that time the Hot Spots Movement has become the focus of a global community of many thousands of people all of whom share a passion for bringing energy and innovation to people at work. The movement has engaged with many companies including ARM, BT, Fujitsu, Generali, Philips and Unilever. Lynda is currently engaged with her colleagues on research commissioned by the Singapore Government to examine innovation and team performance across 10 companies in the country and to draw up recommendations for the government.

Lynda was appointed a Senior Fellow of the UK's Advanced Institute of Management Practice in 2004. In 2006 she was the founding director of the Lehman Centre for Women in Business at the London Business School and as such directed a number of important research programs on work, life balance; women's routes to the top and the attitudes and aspirations of Gen Y. Now, in 2010 Lynda was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources.

Over the last twenty years Lynda has directed six consortia that bring together academics and corporations. The topics have ranged from women in business, strategic HR, cooperation and the future of work. The cooperation theme was funded in part by the Singapore Government and explored innovative capability in complex teams. The current consortium on the Future of Work is now in its fifth year and has engaged executives from more than 80 companies around the world to examine fundamental changes in working life. As part of this, Professor Gratton and her team have developed one of the most advanced collaborative platforms capable of bringing together more than 5,000 people in virtual FoWlab ‘jams’ to focus on a theme. These themes have included Gen Y, talent, corporate agility, and business and society.