Jean Tirole
2014 Nobel Prize in Economics | Honorary Chairman, Toulouse School of Economics | Visiting Professor, MIT
Julian Birkinshaw
Dean of Ivey Business School | Former Vice Dean, London Business School | Authority on Management Innovation & Digital Transformation | Thinkers50-Ranked Thinker
Julian Birkinshaw is one of the world's leading authorities on management innovation, reinventing how companies are run. Dean of Ivey Business School, former LBS vice dean, and a Thinkers50-ranked thinker, he studies how big companies stay agile and thrive amid digital disruption. On stage, he combines a scholar's rigor with a leader's experience to show how any organization can become more innovative and future-ready.
Want to book Julian Birkinshaw as a speaker for your event? Please provide the info below and we’ll get in touch within 24h:
Julian Birkinshaw biography
Julian Birkinshaw is one of the world’s leading authorities on management innovation, the discipline of reinventing not just what companies do but how they are run. A business school dean, prolific author, and adviser to global corporations, he has spent his career studying how large, established organizations can stay agile, entrepreneurial, and resilient in the face of relentless digital disruption, and how they can fight back against nimbler challengers.
Business speaker Julian Birkinshaw is Dean of the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada, a role he took up in 2024 after 25 years at London Business School, where he served as Vice Dean and Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship. He is best known for pioneering the field of “management innovation”, the idea that how a company is managed can be a source of competitive advantage as powerful as any product or technology. His research on organizational agility, corporate entrepreneurship, and digital transformation has made him a fixture on the Thinkers50 ranking of the world’s most influential management thinkers, and his HBR article “How Incumbents Survive and Thrive” was named the best Harvard Business Review article of its year.
Reinventing How Companies Are Managed
Birkinshaw is the author of 15 books and more than 90 articles, exploring themes from making companies “fit for the future” to becoming a better boss. His most recent book, Resurgent, written with former Pearson CEO John Fallon, examines how established companies can defend themselves and thrive in an age of digital transformation, drawing on real examples of incumbents that reinvented themselves rather than being disrupted. A Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Management with honorary degrees from Copenhagen Business School and the Stockholm School of Economics, he has advised and spoken for major organizations including PepsiCo, RBC, Ericsson, and Bayer. Born in the north of England, he holds a degree in geology from Durham University and an MBA and PhD from Ivey, the school he now leads.
As a speaker, Julian Birkinshaw brings the perspective of both a rigorous scholar and a practicing leader running a major institution through change. He speaks on management innovation and organizational agility, how established companies can thrive amid digital disruption, corporate entrepreneurship and resilience, and leading in the age of AI. Audiences leave with a clear-eyed understanding of why so many big companies struggle to adapt, and a practical set of principles for making their own organizations more agile, innovative, and future-ready.
Julian Birkinshaw Speaking Videos
How tech innovation shapes business | Julian Birkinshaw | TEDxLondonBusinessSchool
The costs of complexity – Reinventing management | Julian Birkinshaw | TEDxLondonBusinessSchool
Julian Birkinshaw Keynote Topics
Birkinshaw argues that the way a company is managed, its structures, processes, and culture, can be a bigger source of competitive advantage than any product. He shows how organizations can innovate not just in what they offer but in how they operate, escaping outdated bureaucratic models to become faster, flatter, and more adaptive.
Drawing on his latest book, Birkinshaw takes on the assumption that incumbents are doomed to be disrupted. He shares real examples of established companies that reinvented themselves to thrive in the digital age, and gives leaders a practical framework for defending their position and going on the offensive against nimbler challengers.
Why do big companies so often struggle to move fast? Birkinshaw unpacks the forces that make large organizations slow and risk-averse, and shows how leaders can build genuine agility, combining the scale and resources of an incumbent with the speed and entrepreneurial spirit of a startup.
As artificial intelligence reshapes every industry, Birkinshaw explores what it means for how companies are organized and led. He helps leaders understand how to adopt AI in ways that strengthen rather than fossilize their organizations, and how to build the human capabilities, judgment, adaptability, and entrepreneurship, that matter most in an AI-driven world.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Julian Birkinshaw
Why Julian Birkinshaw?
Booking Julian Birkinshaw gives audiences a rare combination: a world-class management scholar who is also a sitting business school dean, leading a major institution through the very disruption he studies. A pioneer of "management innovation," author of 15 books, and a longtime fixture on the Thinkers50 ranking, he brings deep research on why big companies struggle to adapt, and practical guidance on how they can. He has advised and spoken for global organizations including PepsiCo, Ericsson, and Bayer, and his work on incumbents, agility, and digital transformation is especially timely in the age of AI. Insightful, credible, and grounded in both theory and practice, he is an ideal speaker for events on strategy, innovation, leadership, and transformation. To bring Julian Birkinshaw to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Who is Julian Birkinshaw?
Julian Birkinshaw is a British-Canadian academic and one of the world's leading authorities on management innovation. He is Dean of the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada, a role he assumed in 2024 after spending 25 years at London Business School, most recently as Vice Dean. The author of 15 books, including Fast/Forward and Resurgent, and more than 90 articles, he is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Management and has been ranked among the Thinkers50 most influential management thinkers. He holds an MBA and PhD from Ivey.
What is "management innovation"?
Management innovation is a concept central to Julian Birkinshaw's work. It refers to innovation in how a company is managed, its organizational structures, management processes, and practices, rather than innovation in its products, services, or technologies. Birkinshaw argues that because management practices are harder for competitors to copy than products, reinventing how an organization is run can be one of the most durable sources of competitive advantage, allowing large companies to become more agile, entrepreneurial, and resilient.
What topics does business speaker Julian Birkinshaw cover?
Julian Birkinshaw speaks on management innovation and organizational agility, how established companies can thrive amid digital disruption, corporate entrepreneurship and resilience, and leading in the age of AI. His keynotes suit events on strategy, innovation, leadership, and transformation, especially for large organizations navigating change. To book Julian Birkinshaw as a speaker, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Julian Birkinshaw as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Julian Birkinshaw as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Julian Birkinshaw's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Julian Birkinshaw or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Julian Birkinshaw speaking fee?
Julian Birkinshaw speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Julian Birkinshaw to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Julian Birkinshaw.
How can I contact Julian Birkinshaw?
We only work with Julian Birkinshaw on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Julian Birkinshaw and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Julian Birkinshaw speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Julian Birkinshaw for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Julian Birkinshaw for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Julian Birkinshaw is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Julian Birkinshaw for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
