Edward Zajac

Ed Zajac joined the faculty of the Kellogg School of Management after completing his Ph.D. in organization and strategy at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. At Kellogg, he received the James F. Bere Chair and the Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Cologne and a visiting scholar at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Free University of Berlin, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Zurich. He is an elected Fellow of both the Academy of Management and the Strategic Management Society, and the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the Free University of Berlin.

Professor Zajac's research, teaching, and consulting focuses on strategy, alliances, and corporate governance. His award-winning research has been published widely in major academic journals, such as the Strategic Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Academy of Management Journal, American Sociological Review, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has repeatedly been recognized in the Institute of Scientific Information's yearly list of "most highly cited researchers" worldwide (representing less than one-half of one percent of all published researchers), and his published work has garnered over 20000 citations over his Kellogg career. His research contributions have also earned him the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management, as well as the Outstanding Scholar Award from the Western Academy of Management. He also served for many years as Co-Editor of the Strategic Management Journal.

Professor Zajac has developed a number of courses at Kellogg in his areas of expertise: Creating and Managing Strategic Alliances addresses the design and management of joint ventures, licensing agreements, consortia, and other structures for cooperation. Advanced Strategic Management examines how organizations can better adapt to changing environments by holistically addressing both strategy formulation and implementation challenges). Organizational Design focuses on the role of structure and systems in supporting an organization's strategy, and Corporate Governance analyzes the interdependent roles of the CEO, board of directors, shareholders and other stakeholders in the modern public corporation, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Professor Zajac is also active in executive education and consulting in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America in the areas of strategy formulation and implementation, strategic alliances, and corporate governance.  He has worked with organizations such as Abbott, AstraZeneca, Baxter, Blue Cross/Blue Shield (the Association, HCSC, and the Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, North Carolina, and North Dakota plans), Brady, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Brunswick, Cargill, Caterpillar, Cigna, Commonwealth Edison, ConocoPhillips, Cooper Tire & Rubber, Copersucar, R.R. Donnelly, Edwards Lifesciences, FTI Ringtail, General Mills, W.W. Grainger, Harnischfeger, Hearst, Healthways, Hollister, Hu-Friedy, IBM, Idealease, the Institute for Corporate Directors (Canada), Johnson & Johnson, Land O'Lakes, Libbey, Eli Lilly, MARKEM, Merck, Monsanto, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Premier, Procter & Gamble, Public Service Company of New Mexico, O'Melveny & Myers, Rockwell Automation, Rockwell Collins, Sanofi-Aventis, Savoy Brands Internacional, Schering-Plough, Siemens, Topco, Toyota, Zurich Insurance, several U.S. governmental agencies, and numerous professional associations (particularly in health care).  He is currently a board member at Scot Forge (an ESOP company), and he formerly served as board chair at Pioneer Surgical Technology, and as a board member at PeopleFlo Manufacturing, Roberts Industries and The Wetlands Initiative.

Education

• PhD, 1986, Organization and Strategy, University of Pennsylvania

Academic Positions

• Professor, Management & Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1995-present
• James F. Bere Distinguished Professor of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1993-present
• Professor, Sociology (by Courtesy), Weinberg College of Arts of Sciences, Northwestern University, 1995-present
• Professor, Health Enterprise Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1995-present
• Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1991-1995
• Assistant Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1986-1991

Awards

• Distinguished Service Award, Strategic Management Division of the Academy of Management
• Best Paper Award, International Corporate Governance Society
• Best Published Paper Award, Oxford University Center for Corporate Reputation, 2014
• Outstanding Scholar Award, Western Academy of Management, 2015
• Distinguished Scholar Award, Organization and Management Division of the Academy of Management, 2013
• Honorary Doctorate from the School of Business and Economics, Free University of Berlin
• Recognized as one of the "most highly cited researchers" worldwide in the Institute of Scientific Information's yearly list of highly cited researchers, Institute of Scientific Information, 2012