CBS Leadership
CBS Leadership connects researchers and business professionals around a shared ambition: to enable leaders to create value and resilience in companies and organisations, and to drive necessary transformation fuelled by societal agendas such as sustainability, AI & digitalisation, diversity and leadership challenges.
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Combining business economics with a deep understanding of societal challenges, CBS equips present and future leaders to set direction and create responsible results in collaboration with others.
Stay up to date with our latest events and gain fresh insights into leadership and other relevant topics.
About us
Responsible leadership is key to value creation and prosperity in companies and organisations. It is essential for businesses and the public sector to assume their growing responsibility for addressing societal challenges that affect individual countries and the planet as a whole.
CBS Leadership facilitates these advancements in leadership practice – it is a meeting place for leadership researchers and professionals in Denmark and internationally.
We assemble, strengthen, and communicate CBS leadership research, and we enable interaction with practitioners in both private and public sectors.
The ambition is to inspire the transformation needed to address agendas such as geopolitical risk, sustainability, digitalisation, and diversity.
With CBS Leadership, CBS aims to make the university the Nordic centre for leadership knowledge and inspiration by strengthening and mobilising leadership research, education, and outreach.
Our purpose and raison d'être
We develop insights on new leadership frontiers to inspire leadership for a positive future.
We support CBS’ ambition to inspire and support responsible leadership through knowledge, education, and engagement with practice and society.
Our vision
To become a nexus for novel leadership insights in Denmark and the Nordic countries, and globally acknowledged.
Our work
We convene a vibrant community of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to encourage research, strengthen education, and create opportunities for the development and sharing of insights on new leadership frontiers.
Where you’ll meet us
CBS Leadership is a portal for accessing leadership research and knowledge produced in different areas of the university.
Dive into a world of knowledge
Focus areas
CBS Leadership explores leadership from multiple perspectives. The focus areas highlight how leadership is shaped in organisations, how it evolves in times of change, and how it responds to major societal agendas such as digitalisation, sustainability, diversity, and uncertainty. Dive into our focus areas below.
Leadership and Organisation
Leadership is about inspiring and involving people, but also about balancing concerns and finding solutions that fit the organisational purpose and context. CBS research explores core challenges in leadership practice, including change management, leadership in teams and networks, and leadership training and evaluation.
CBS RESEARCH
Dive into CBS research on core challenges in leadership and ways to handle them:
CHANGE MANAGEMENT:
- From Connecting Leaders to Connecting Leadership: A Study of Interaction
- Leadership in Interaction: An Introduction to the Special Issue
- The 4 Types of Leadership
- Slow Management
Read more Change management research stories here.
LEADERSHIP IN TEAMS AND NETWORKS:
- Openness Towards Language Differences and Cultural Differences in Multicultural Teams: How do they Interact?
- How to Lead Academic Departments Successfully
LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND EVALUATION:
- Conditions for Reflexive Practices in Leadership Learning: The Regulating Role of a Socio-moral Order of Peer Interactions
- Taking Leadership Fashions Seriously as a Vehicle for Leadership Learning
- Taming the Survey: Managing the Employee Survey to Create Space for Change Oriented Leadership
- The Deep Organisation: The Organisational View in a Public Management and Leadership Development Programme
Read more Leadership training and evaluation research stories here.
CBS RESEARCHERS
Researchers working with Leadership and organisation:
- Annemette Kjærgaard
- Carsten Greve
- Christian Dyrlund Wåhlin-Jacobsen
- Dan Kärreman
- Dana Minbaeva
- Eric Guthey
- Elias Gilling Borgmann
- Eva Boxenbaum
- Frank Meier
- Frans Bevort
- Jan Molin
- Johan Simonsen Abildgaard
- Kristian Kreiner
- Magnus Larsson
- Majken Schultz
- Nicolai Foss
- Nicole Ferry
- Sara Louise Muhr
- Signe Vikkelsø
- Silviya Svejenova
- Susanne Boch Waldorff
- Thomas Ritter
The Leadership Role
Being a leader means balancing multiple roles under constant scrutiny. CBS research highlights the personal aspects of leadership, from hubris and narcissism to authenticity and followership. The work shows how leadership identity is shaped in interaction and under pressure.
CBS RESEARCH
Dive into research on the personal aspects of leadership and leadership development:
- CEO Narcissism and Board Composition: Implications for Firm Strategy and Performance
- Differentiating Leader Hubris and Narcissism on the Basis of Power
- The Fallacy of Discrete Authentic Leader Behaviours: Locating Authentic Leadership in Interaction
- The Risky Path to a Followership Identity: From Abstract Concept to Situated Reality
Read more research stories here.
CBS RESEARCHERS
Researchers working with The leadership role:
Leadership Ethics
Taking the lead involves making difficult decisions that are often subject to criticism. CBS research addresses the ethical dimensions of leadership and investigates what it means to act responsibly, and what distinguishes good leadership from bad leadership.
CBS RESEARCH
Dive into research on leadership ethics:
- Guilt, Responsibility, and Leadership
- Magt og omsorg i det eksistentielle lederskab
- The Truths and Falsehoods of Post-Truth Leaders
CBS RESEARCHERS
Researchers working with leadership ethics:
Leadership in Times of Digitalisation
Digitalisation and new technologies are transforming organisations and business models. CBS research investigates how leadership can navigate these transformations and explores how digital tools shape communication, interaction, and decision-making.
CBS RESEARCH
Dive into research on Leadership in times of digitalisation:
CBS RESEARCHERS
Researchers working with Leadership in times of digitalisation:
Leading in Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Innovation and entrepreneurship are vital for both start-ups and established organisations. CBS research and activities at Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship examine how leadership enables growth, drives creativity, and supports founders in moving from small teams to larger organisations.
Leading start-ups and moving from being a small team of founders to an organisation with a larger number of employees implies leadership knowledge that is often not part of the founders DNA. Leadership is crucial for continued innovation growth and for maintaining energy and drive of both founders and the company’s growing workforce. The latter is the focus of research in leadership of entrepreneurship at CBS and the hands-on experience at our Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE) – the CBS entrepreneurship centre with incubator, accelerator programme, educational offerings and numerous activities that focus on how to succeed as an entrepreneur.
CBS RESEARCH
Dive into research on Leading in entrepreneurship and innovation:
- Organizational and Institutional Entrepreneuring: Introduction to the Special Issue
- Organizational Entrepreneurship, Politics and the Political
CBS RESEARCHERS
Researchers working with Leading in entrepreneurship and innovation:
Leading for Green Transition
Climate change demands a radical green transition in economy and society. CBS brings together researchers, students, and external partners through CBS Green Office and other initiatives. Leadership research focuses on how leaders can connect the right people to create sustainable solutions.
CBS RESEARCH
Dive into research on Leading for green transition.
CBS RESEARCHERS
Researchers working with Leading for green transition:
- Andreas Rasche
- Anne-Karen Hüske
- Christian Garmann Johnsen
- Dennis Schoeneborn
- Erin Leitheiser
- Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen
- Jacob Hasselbalch
- Jonathan Feddersen
- Julie Uldam
- Karin Buhmann
- Kristian Roed Nielsen
- Lena Olaison
- Majken Schultz
- Miriam Feuls
- Philip Beske-Janssen
- Steen Vallentin
- Stine Haakonsson
- Susana Borras
- Tor Hernes
LEARN MORE
Read about Green Transition at CBS here
Leading for Diversity
Diversity requires an interdisciplinary approach. CBS Diversity and Difference Platform consolidates and advances research on inclusion and difference. CBS research addresses how leadership interacts with issues such as gender, culture, and identity, and how leaders can foster more inclusive organisations.
CBS RESEARCH
Dive into inspiring research on Leading for diversity:
- From Presence to Influence: Gender, Nationality and Network Centrality of Corporate Directors
- Bias and Leadership Aspirations: Exploring the Interaction of Gender and Parental Status in Self-Evaluations
- Mentoring as Affective Governmentality: Shame, (un)Happiness, and the (re)Production of Masculine Leadership
- 'Almost like Female Men': The Performative Violence of Gendered Leadership
Read more research stories here.
CBS RESEARCHERS
Researchers working with Leading for diversity:
Leading through Uncertainty
Leadership in uncertain times requires both overview and insight. CBS research investigates how leaders handle crises, balance immediate challenges with long-term perspectives, and develop resilience and adaptability in organisations.
CBS RESEARCH
Dive into research on Leading through uncertainty:
- Politics, Governance, and Leadership: What Can We Learn From the Academy of Management's Response to EO13769?
- Managing Through a Crisis: Managerial Implications for Business-to-business Firms
- Analyzing the Impact of the Coronavirus Crisis on Business Models
CBS RESEARCHERS
Researchers working with Leading through uncertainty:
Contact
CBS Executive Education
executiveeducation@cbs.dk
Dalgas Have 15
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
People (Panel content)
Academic Affiliates
International affiliates and Leaders in Residence
International Affiliates
We want to work with leading researchers from universities, as visiting scholars and or other types of affiliation.
Affiliates to be announced.
Leaders in Residence
We are joining forces with high profile short-term guests that work on a co-created project with members of CBS Leadership.
From 1 November 2024, Christian Bason, PhD and Co-Founder of Transition Collective, joins the CBS Leadership as Leader in Residence. He contributes to the centre’s work on Collaborative Leadership, exploring how leaders can navigate complex societal challenges by shifting from hierarchical control to fostering collaboration and innovation across organisations and ecosystems.
With a background in innovation, strategic design, and leadership, Christian is the former CEO of the Danish Design Center and the author of numerous books. He holds an MSc in political science from Aarhus University and a PhD from CBS.
Think Tank (Panel content)
The CBS Leadership Think Tank brings together more than 50 members, including accomplished leadership practitioners and distinguished researchers from CBS. Together, the members represent diverse experiences and mindsets that support the development of new thinking about leadership.
The Think Tank consists of 55 trend-setting and accomplished leadership practitioners and researchers. Together, we will explore the future of leadership and the capabilities required in a world of constant change.
On a backlog of the climate crisis, geopolitical changes, inequality discussions, and other impactful megatrends, the world is facing a shift in paradigms.
But what does the future of leadership look like, and what are the critical leadership capabilities in a world of constant change? In the Leadership Think Tank, we combine the newest research with the experiences of leadership practitioners, to create a visionary, robust, and nuanced picture of the future of leadership.
Get first hand insights from leadership practitioners and researchers
Members of the Think Tank
Adam Wolf
CEO, Danske Regioner
Aleksandra Gregoric
Associate Professor, Ph.D., Dept. of Strategy and Innovation, CBS
Alero Akuya
Vice President of Global Brand, LEGO
Anna Frellsen
CEO, Maternity Foundation
Anne Jastrup Okkels
CEO, Gentofte & Herlev Hospital
Anne Marie Jess Hansen
CEO, CBS Executive Fonden
Anne Reff Pedersen
Vice Dean of Executive Education and Professor at Department of Organization, CBS
Birgitte Vedersø
Executive Advisor, Mobilize Strategy Consulting, Independent
Bjarne Corydon
CEO, Børsen
Bodil Nordestgaard Ismiris
CEO, Lederne
Brian Grevy
CEO, Hunkemöller
Camilla Holm
CCO, PFA
Caroline de la Porte
Professor MSO, Dept. of International Economics, Government and Business, CBS
Casper Kirketerp-Møller
CEO, Clever
Christian Bason
Ph.D., Founder, Transition Collective
Christian Huber
Associate Professor, Dept. of Operations Management, CBS
Christian Jensby
CEO, Deloitte Danmark
Christina Lubinski
Professor at the Department of Business Humanities and Law, CBS
Claus M. Andersen
CEO, Bornholms Energi & Forsyning
Dan Kärreman
Professor at the Department of Management, Society and Communication
Eva Fog Bruun
Centre Director, CBS Leadership Centre, CBS
Flemming Jensen
CEO, DSB
Flemming Mathiasen
Major General, Commandant of the Royal Danish Defence College
Frank Meier
Associate Professor, Ph.D., Dept. of Organization, CBS
Ghita Wolf Andreasen
CEO, Hans Knudsen Instituttet
Henriette Divert
Executive Advisor, Bcc
Henrik Burkal
CEO, REMA 1000
Henrik Ryberg
Rear Admiral, Admiral Danish Fleet, Forsvaret
Inger Askehave
Deputy President, CBS
Ingrid Reumert
SVP Global Stakeholder Relations, Ørsted
Jesper Theil Thomsen
CEO of Soundboks, Co-founder of Saga DK
Kasper Meisner Nielsen
Professor, Center Manager, Dept. of Finance, CBS
Katrine Winding
Director General, Erhvervsstyrelsen
Le Gammeltoft
CCO/CMO, NetCompany
Malou Aamund
Senior Advisor at EQT Group, Non-Executive Director at DSV, The Lego Foundation, Matas, KIRKBI, and WSAudiology
Marcus Schindler
Executive Vice President & CSO, Novo Nordisk
Maria Rørbye Rønn
Director General, DR
Marie Louise Mors
Professor, Ph.D., Deputy Head of Department, Dept. of Strategy and Innovation, CBS
Marie Munk
CFO, Det Kongelige Teater
Mette Louise Kaagaard
CEO, Microsoft Denmark and Iceland
Mia Jung
Head of Leadership Development, Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship, CBS
Minna Paunova
Associate Professor, Ph.D., Dept. of Management, Society and Communication, CBS
Moira Daly
Associate Professor, Dept. of Economics, CBS
Morten Enggaard Rasmussen
EVP People & Stakeholder Relations, Novonesis
Natasha Friis Saxberg
CEO, the Danish ICT Industry Association
Nima Sophia Tisdall
CEO of Nordic Makers, Co-founder of Saga DK
Pernille Tang Raschke
Deputy Director General, EVP People & Culture, Dansk Industri
Peter Møllgaard
President at Copenhagen Business School
Poul F. Kjær
Professor of Governance and Sociology of Law at the Department of Business Humanities and Law, CBS
Rabab Boulos
COO, A.P. Moller Maersk
Sheela Maini Søgaard
CEO, Bjarke Ingels Group
Sigge Winther Nielsen
CEO and Founder, INVI – Wild Problems Institute
Signe Jensen
Director, Transformation Office, Lundbeck
Silviya Svejenova
Professor, Ph.D., Dept. of Organization, CBS
Sofie Plenge
Director of Culture & Health, Vejle Kommune
Sune Schnack
CEO of Flügger Group
Sverre Spoelstra
Associate Professor, Ph.D., Dept. of Business Humanities and Law, CBS
Thomas Hanssen
CEO, Center for Ledelse
Thomas Kirk Vilsbøll
CCO / Commercial Director, ISS
Thomas Plenborg
Professor, Ph.D. / Chair of the Board, Dept. of Accounting, CBS / DSV
Thomas Ritter
Professor, Dept. of Strategy and Innovation, CBS
Tina Blegind Jensen
Professor, Ph.D., Dept. of Digitalization, CBS
Tomas Therkildsen
General Secretary, DJØF
Torsten Ringberg
Professor, Ph.D., Dept. of Marketing, CBS
Members of the Think Tank 2023-2024
- Adam Wolf, CEO, Danske Regioner
- Aleksandra Gregoric, Associate Professor, CBS, Department of Strategy and Innovation
- Alero Akuya, Vice President of Global Brand, LEGO Group
- Anna Frellsen, CEO, Maternity Foundation
- Anne Marie Jess Hansen, CEO, CBS Executive Foundation
- Anne Jastrup Okkels, CEO, Gentofte/Herlev Hospital
- Birgitte Vedersø, Executive Advisor, Mobilize Strategy Consulting (Ex Gefion)
- Bjarne Corydon, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Børsen
- Bodil Nordestgaard Ismiris, CEO, Lederne
- Brian Grevy, CEO, Hunkemöller
- Camilla Holm, Group President, PFA
- Caroline de la Porte, Professor MSO, CBS, Department of International Economics, Government and Business
- Christian Bason, Co-Founder, Transition Collective
- Christian Jensby, CEO, Deloitte
- Christian Huber, Associate Professor, CBS, Department of Operations Management
- Claus M. Andersen, CEO, Bornholms Energi & Forsyning
- Eva Fog Bruun, Centre Director, CBS Leadership Centre, CBS
- Flemming Jensen, CEO, DSB
- Frank Meier, Associate Professor, CBS, Department of Organization
- Ghita Wolf Andreasen, CEO, Engineer for the Future
- Henriette Divert-Hendricks, Executive Advisor, Bcc
- Henrik Burkal, CEO, REMA 1000
- Henrik Ryberg, Kontreadmiral, Chef for Søværnskommandoen, Forsvaret (The Danish Armed Forces)
- Inger Askehave, Deputy President, CBS, Board of Directors
- Jesper Theil Thomsen, CEO / Co-founder, Soundboks / SAGA
- Kasper Meisner Nielsen, Professor, CBS, Department of Finance
- Katrine Winding, CEO, Erhvervsstyrelsen (Danish Business Authority)
- Le Gammeltoft, CMO, Nets
- Louise Mors, Professor, Department of Strategy and Innovation, CBS
- Malou Aamund, Chair and Non-Executive Board Member, Ex Google, Microsoft, IBM
- Marcus Schindler, Executive VP & Chief Scientific Officer, Novo Nordisk
- Maria Rørbye Rønn, Generaldirektør, DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation)
- Marie Munk, Økonomi- og personaledirektør, Det Kgl. Teater (The Royal Theatre)
- Mette Kaagaard, CEO, Microsoft Denmark and Iceland
- Mia Jung, Head of Leadership Development, Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship
- Minna Paunova, Associate Professor, Department for Management, Society and Communication, CBS
- Moira Daly, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, CBS
- Morten Enggaard Rasmussen, CEO / EVP People, Sustainability & Brand, Novozymes
- Nima Tisdall, CEO (Forbes 30 Under 30), Nordic Makers
- Pernille Tang Raschke, EVP People & Culture / Board Member at DI, DI – Dansk Industri (Confederation of Danish Industry)
- Rabab Boulos, Executive VP Logistics, Mærsk
- Sheela Maini Søgaard, CEO, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG Architects)
- Sigge Winther Nielsen, CEO, INVI
- Signe Jensen, Director, Transformation Office / Berlingske Talent 100, Lundbeck
- Sofie Plenge, Director, Culture & Health, Vejle Kommune
- Thomas Hanssen, CEO, Center for Ledelse
- Sara Louise Muhr, Professor, Department of Business Humanities and Law, CBS
- Silviya Svejenova, Professor, Department of Oganization, CBS
- Sverre Spoelstra, Associate Professor, Department of Business Humanities and Law, CBS
- Tina Blegind Jensen, Professor MSO, Department of Digitalization, CBS
- Thomas Kirk Vilsbøll, CCO Facility Management, ISS
- Thomas Plenborg, Professor, Department of Accounting, CBS
- Thomas Ritter, Professor, Department of Strategy and Innovation, CBS
- Torsten Ringberg, Professor, Department of Marketing, CBS
Education (Panel content)
Education
CBS offers a broad range of leadership education. From programmes to short courses, we cater to both experienced and aspiring leaders across sectors and industries.
A great starting point for lifelong learning at CBS is CBS Executive Upgrade: a portfolio of targeted courses for specialists and leaders in the private sector, focusing on strategy, leadership and digitalisation.
Learn more about Executive Upgrade and our other offerings below.
Leadership programmes
A leadership programme can be a comprehensive package of courses focused on a specific area of leadership. Each programme description outlines the courses included. We also offers a wide range of single courses focusing on leadership.
Participating in a programme allows you to specialise in a subject area. By studying a series of interconnected courses, you enhance your skills in a field of particular interest, which may qualify you for specific jobs or industries. If there is no programme available in your desired area, you can still specialise by taking individual courses.
Agile lifelong learning
CBS Executive Upgrade is a new, scalable learning format designed to strengthen the portfolio of leadership courses offered to private sector professionals. At the same time, the format is intended to evolve into a flexible, long-term platform for lifelong learning for CBS and Executive Education graduates, thereby supporting the implementation of the Danish Master's Reform.
Executive Education programmes:
- Master of Management Development
- Master of Public Governance
- Executive MBA
- Master of Business Development
- HD2 Organisation og Ledelse
- Executive MBA in Shipping & Logistics (the Blue MBA)
- Full-time MBA
Undergraduate programme:
Executive Education courses
At CBS Executive Education, we offer a wide range of courses focused in leadership & management. Take one course at a time or combine them to increase your skills,
Browse through our offer of courses here.
See the range of open courses here.
Founder to Leader
Based on the Leadership for the Future report, CBS Executive Foundation has launched an exclusive programme tailored for founders to equip them for an increasingly complex world.
The programme develops core leadership competencies, focusing on purpose, courage, and continuity.
Individual courses
Choosing individual courses gives you the flexibility to tailor your own specialisation. You can select courses that match your interests and expertise, making it possible to focus on one leadership area or combine several fields.