Heather Cairns-Lee

Heather is Adjunct Professor of leadership at IMD, an experienced leadership development professional whose work involves the design and delivery of executive learning, research into leadership and organizational development, group facilitation and executive coaching.

She has designed and run programs for senior executives and management teams at top European and U.S. Business Schools and for many international organizations.

She successfully directed IMD’s Partnership program business and led the Learning Network of 140 companies through its early stages of digitization. She has contributed to the design and delivery of IMD’s flagship leadership programs including the MBA leadership stream, Strategies for Leadership for women leaders and Mobilizing People as well as numerous partnership programs including ABB, Adecco, BASF, Generali, Swisscom and UEFA. Heather has also run deep dive and mega dive processes with management teams to enhance strategic direction.

Heather’s research focuses on the development of self-awareness, authenticity and sensemaking and the role of metaphor in break-through thinking and creativity.

Her PhD thesis on how leaders make meaning through metaphor won the University of Surrey Researcher of the Year Award, 2017 and the prestigious Emerald/EFMD Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research for Leadership and Organisational development. Her research and program designs have won awards for innovation and impact and she is currently publishing in academic journals and books. Her early career work supported the setting of industry standards in management education through contributing to EFMD’s introduction of EQUIS and through the initiation of UNICON’s Research and Benchmarking Committees.

Heather is British and Swiss and nurtures her career, family and volunteering with enthusiasm and energy.