Laura Empson

My research focuses on professionals, professionals, and the professions, with a particular focus on their leadership, management, governance, and the changing nature of professional work.  I have also developed a separate strand of autoethnographic studies concerning research impact. 

In addition to my position as Professor of Leadership and Organization at Copenhagen Business School, I am Professor in the Management of Professional Service Firms at Bayes Business School, University of London, and hold Research Fellowships at both Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge. 

Alongside my publications in leading academic journals, I have published several books with Oxford University Press.  My latest is Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas (2022).  

I am committed to translating my academic insights into practical action to help leaders of professional organizations address some of their most challenging issues.  I write regularly for Harvard Business Review and present the podcast series, Leading Professionals.  

I currently serve on the editorial board of Organization Studies and the Journal of Management Studies. I am a founder member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies (SAMS) and a member of the Peer Review College of the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain. 

I was previously Associate Professor at the University of Oxford. I have a PhD and MBA from London Business School.