Chris Laszlo

As one of the originators of the concept of sustainable value, Chris Laszlo, PhD, reframes sustainability as a business opportunity, turning environmental and social risks into drivers of innovation, greater employee engagement, and a new, inimitable source of competitive advantage.

Laszlo is the author of five books, including Flourishing Enterprise: The New Spirit of Business (2014), Embedded Sustainability: The Next Big Competitive Advantage (2011), and Sustainable Value: How the World''s Leading Companies are Doing Well by Doing Good (2008), all from Stanford University Press. An earlier book, The Sustainable Company (2003, paperback 2005), was published by Island Press. He has numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the general editor of The Business of Sustainability, the second volume of the Encyclopedia of Sustainability (2010). Professionally, Laszlo was elected a Fellow of the International Academy of Management. His book Flourishing Enterprise was chosen as one of the top sustainability books by Sustainable Brands. In 2012 he was selected by his peers to be a “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America™.

As a co-founder and managing partner of Sustainable Value Partners LLC, he provides advisory services to senior leaders in some of the world’s largest companies. Laszlo has led hundreds of seminars and spoken widely on sustainability for strategic advantage both at companies and at leading business schools such as INSEAD, Darden School of Business, Cornell University, and Kenan-Flagler Business School.

In addition to his academic experience and consulting work, Laszlo spent nearly 10 years as an executive at Lafarge, a world leader in building materials; he held positions as head of strategy, general manager of a manufacturing subsidiary, and vice president of business development. Prior to that, he spent five years with Deloitte Touche, where he consulted on strategy to global industry leaders.

Laszlo received his doctorate with distinction in economics and management science from the University of Paris. He holds a MPhil in economics and a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and a BA with honors from Swarthmore College.

Academic and Professional Activities

• Committee Member, Member of five PhD or DM Committees, 2017 - Present
• Guest Speaker, Graduate Student Council, 2017 - Present
• Committee Member, Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative, 2017 - Present
• Faculty Executive Director, Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, 2016 - 2018
• Committee Member, Ignacio Pavez doctoral committee, 2013 - 2016
• Faculty Advisor, Fowler Center for Sustainable Value, 2012 - 2018
• Faculty Advisor, Fowler Center, 2010 - 2018

Awards

• Recipient of the Doctoral Teaching & Mentoring Award, (2016).
• Elected Fellow, International Academy of Management. (2015).
• Flourishing Enterprise chosen one of Top Sustainability Books by Sustainable Brands , (2015).
• Top 100 Thought Leader in Trustworthy Business Behavior for 2012, Trust Across America. (2012).
• Invited Commencement Speaker, Duquesne University. (2011).