Jean-François Manzoni (born 1961, Paris, France) is a French and Canadian academic and the President (Dean) and Nestlé Chaired Professor of

International Institute for Management Development International Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institute with campuses in Lausanne, Switzerland and Singapore. IMD is known for its executive education and its proximity to business. In 2024, it named David B ...

(IMD), an independent business school with a main campus located in Lausanne, Switzerland and an executive learning center in Singapore.

Early life

Manzoni was born in Paris, France, on May 15, 1961. He immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1978. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1981 from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montréal and he earned an MBA in 1986 from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In 1993 he graduated with a Doctorate in Business Administration from

Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in Boston.

Career

He spent 12 years on INSEAD Business School's Fontainebleau campus in France (1992–2004) during which he founded and directed the PwC Research Initiative on High Performance Organizations. He spent seven years at the IMD business school (2004–2010), where he served as Professor of Leadership and Organizational Development and directed IMD’s Breakthrough Program for Senior Executives. He taught 5 years on INSEAD Business School's Singapore campus (2011–2016) during which he directed the school’s Global Leadership Centre. Manzoni assumed the role of president of IMD business school on 1 January 2017. Manzoni has co-authored several books and more than 30 business case studies on how leaders can create a high performance work environment reshaping management culture and unlearning bad practice. Four of his case studies were recognised in the Case of the Year Awards by the European Foundation for Management Development and the European Case centre. Manzoni has written several articles in the ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a not-for-profit, independent corporation that is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. ''HBR'' is published six times a year ...

'' and ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''. He is the author of ''The Set-Up to Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail'', which he co authored with Jean-Louis Barsoux. The book expands on an similarly themed article in ''The Harvard Business Review'' in which the authors explored how managers’ behavior might contribute to employees poor performance. In an interview with

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, Manzoni explained how employees also contribute to their own unsatisfactory relationships with their superiors. Manzoni cautioned that attaching labels like demanding or overbearing can ultimately become a self-fulfilling prophecy. "The moment you label someone as difficult you’ve just made them more difficult to work with because you’re not going to give this person the benefit of the doubt anymore and you’re not going to relate with them on a productive level." Manzoni was invited to speak at the 2014 and 2016

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meetings in Davos. Manzoni is a member of the Human Capital Leadership Institute’s International Advisory Panel, Digital Switzerland, Singapore’s Public Service Division and the

Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) is a federal state-funded institution of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. With the merger of Academy of National Economy (ANE), Russian Academy ...

Personal life

Manzoni currently resides in Lausanne, Switzerland where he moved from Singapore in 2016 to join IMD as a Professor of Leadership & Organisational Development.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manzoni, Jean François 1961 births French expatriates in Canada French expatriates in Singapore French expatriates in Switzerland Living people Swiss academics HEC Montréal alumni McGill University Faculty of Management alumni Harvard Business School alumni Academic staff of INSEAD Academic staff of International Institute for Management Development