Transformational Leadership for Inclusive Innovation

Jia Lin Xie is a Professor of Organizational Behavior and Magna Professor in Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Since earning her Ph.D. from Concordia University in 1992, she has been a faculty member at the University of Toronto, teaching and lecturing globally, including in China, Hong Kong, and Europe. Dr. Xie’s research focuses on job design, job stress, cross-cultural organizational behavior, and knowledge management, with her work featured in prestigious journals such as Academy of Management Journal and Journal of Applied Psychology. As a past president of the International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR), she is dedicated to advancing the internationalization of management knowledge.

Nouman Ashraf is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in Organizational Behavior at the Rotman School of Management. With a focus on fostering inclusive and innovative practices in teams, organizations, and boards, he has held senior roles at the University of Toronto, including Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Rotman. A recognized thought leader in governance, Ashraf has been instrumental in teaching thousands of directors through Rotman’s Not-for-Profit Governance program, in partnership with the Institute for Corporate Directors, since 2007.

Sarah Kaplan is a Distinguished Professor of Gender and the Economy, Professor of Strategic Management, and Director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. She also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship and the Wharton School's Mack Institute for Innovation Management. Kaplan is the Academic Director of the Gender Analytics Specialization and lead faculty for "The 360º Corporation: Tools for Achieving Corporate Purpose." An accomplished author, her works include the bestselling Creative Destruction and Survive and Thrive: Winning Against Strategic Threats to Your Business, along with her recent publication, The 360° Corporation: From Stakeholder Trade-offs to Transformation. Her research investigates organizational responses to emerging fields and technologies, with a current focus on applying innovation to tackle gender equality challenges. Kaplan's previous roles include a professorship at the Wharton School and nearly a decade as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. She holds a BA in Political Science from UCLA and an MA in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Follow her on Twitter at @sarah_kaplan.