Modupe Akinola

Modupe Akinola’s award-winning research examines how organizational environments can lead to stress, and how this stress can spill over to affect performance. She studies why some people thrive under stress while others buckle, looking at how we react psychologically and physiologically to stressful situations and how these responses can affect outcomes like negotiations, decision-making, and creativity. She also studies workforce diversity, including the biases that affect the recruitment and retention of women and people of color in organizations. Modupe also speaks often on how to address leadership blindspots—the skewed logic or misleading emotions that can hamper a person’s ability to lead effectively.

Modupe’s work bridges the worlds of academia, pop culture, and business management. She’s one of the most highly rated professors at Columbia Business School, where she is the Barbara and David Zalaznick Professor of Business, as well as the Faculty Director of the Bernstein Center for Leadership and Ethics. At Columbia, she teaches the core required Leadership course to first-year MBAs in addition to several other courses, and is a recipient of the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.

Modupe is also a prominently featured expert on National Geographic’s series Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, in which the actor takes on six epic challenges to test mind and body to the max, with the help of top scientists. Her work has been published in journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Harvard Business Review and been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. Prior to academia, she worked at Bain & Company and Merrill Lynch and continues to advise global leaders on industry-defining challenges in retail, consumer products, high technology, and manufacturing. Modupe holds a B.A. and M.A. in psychology and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Harvard University. She also holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.