NEOMA Business School recruits Michelle Bligh leadership expert

NEOMA Business School has recruited high-level researcher Michelle Bligh, considered an international reference in leadership. Her knowledge of business and executive education will bring expertise and experience in line with the ambition of NEOMA Business School and its strategic positioning. Her innovative approach to teaching will be introduced to the school’s programmes and will participate in the construction of its future centre of excellence in leadership.

Dual expertise in academia and business

Michelle Bligh is now considered as one of the leading experts on issues related to leadership. For many years, she has published high- level research on this subject in recognized international academic journals.

"We are fulfilling our ambitious targets for business research with the aim of getting our studies published in the best academic journals," said Adilson Borges, Dean of Faculty at NEOMA Business School. "Michelle’s profile meets these ambitions."

Beyond the exceptional quality of her publications, Michelle also has an excellent international academic network. A board member of several high quality journals, she is also Associate-Editor of the academic journal "Leadership", an international reference on leadership issues. "Michelle’s network undoubtedly provides a showcase for NEOMA Business School, which is a real strength when it comes to facing increasingly intensified competition from abroad,” said Borges.

Michelle Bligh also possesses a true knowledge of business - fundamental to the school, which is committed to producing rigorous research. "Through her consulting for several organizations, Michelle has developed an acute understanding of the problems that businesses can meet in terms of leadership," said Borges. She has collaborated with Merrill Lynch, Cardinal Health and the New York State Police on ancillary tasks related to leadership development, organizational culture and change management.

"The particular approach to innovative leadership that Michelle has developed will also significantly contribute to our programmes," said Borges. “Charismatic leadership, interpersonal trust, gender issues and leadership applied to the highest levels of a company are all topics that have been studied by Michelle. Her work will complement the educational content of the school’s portfolio of programmes, and students will be the primary beneficiaries of this visionary approach to leadership."

About Michelle Bligh
Michelle Bligh is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at NEOMA Business School. Prior to joining NEOMA, she was a professor at the Drucker–Ito School of Management at Claremont Graduate University (USA), where she served as Associate Dean of the Division of Behavioural and Organizational Sciences. Her research interests include charismatic leadership, interpersonal trust, gender issues, and political and executive leadership. Her work has been published in Journal of Applied Psychology, Leadership, Employee Relations, The Leadership Quarterly, Applied Psychology: An International Review, Group and Organization Management, Journal of Managerial Psychology, and The Journal of Business Ethics. She also serves on the Editorial Review Board of The Leadership Quarterly and is an Associate Editor of Leadership. She received the Sage Best Paper Award in Group and Organization Management and the Sage Outstanding Paper Award for Research Methods, and she was recognized by The Leadership Quarterly as one of the top 50 most cited authors of the decade, 2000–10. Dr. Bligh has taught in the Singapore Institute of Management’s Executive MBA program since 2004, and she regularly consults with organizations in the areas of leadership development, organizational culture, and change management in law enforcement, finance, non-profits, healthcare, and real estate.