John Kotter

At 33, John Kotter became one of the youngest individuals in the university’s history to be granted tenure and a full professorship at Harvard Business School in 1980, after joining the faculty in 1972. He holds the distinguished title of Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. Throughout his prolific career, Kotter has authored 21 books, with 12 becoming business bestsellers and two reaching the prestigious New York Times bestseller list. His influential articles in The Harvard Business Review have also generated significant readership, with more reprints over two decades than any other author for the publication during that period.

His article ‘Accelerate!’ published in the Harvard Business Review, which introduced his innovative Dual Operating System business model, was honored with the 2012 McKinsey Award as the most significant article published that year. He also co-founded Kotter International, a leadership organization dedicated to assisting Global 5000 company leaders in developing the practical skills necessary for large-scale business transformations. Kotter continues to build on his foundational concepts with more recent works, including ‘Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World’ (2014) and ‘That’s Not How We Do It Here!: A Story about How Organizations Rise and Fall–and Can Rise Again’ (2016). His latest book, ‘CHANGE: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results Despite Uncertain and Volatile Times’ (2021), offers contemporary strategies for strategic agility and sustained transformation in today’s dynamic and volatile environments, solidifying his ongoing influence as a leading authority on leadership and change.