Dr. Vanessa Iwowo is Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology and Programme Director for the MSc in Human Resources (HRD & Consultancy Pathway) at Birkbeck, University of London, as well as Senior Visiting Fellow to the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) where she is Lead Coach and Facilitator on the
Programme for African Leadership (PfAL).
She is an award-winning management scholar whose research focuses on ways
of enhancing Human Resources and Leadership Development in international
cross-cultural contexts. Her interests lie in the critical study of processes,
interactions and power relationships through which knowledge is generated and
disseminated, particularly in the fields of leadership development and
management education. Before joining Birkbeck, Vanessa taught Leadership
and Decision Sciences at LSE and previously at the Centre for Leadership
Studies (CLS), University of Exeter Business School, from where she also
received her PhD in Leadership Studies. Her research in critical leadership
studies has received global recognition and she sits on the Commonwealth
Panel of Experts. In 2024, She received the UK ‘HR Most Influential
Thinker’ Award and remains a leading voice in issues that centre on Global HR
and Leadership Development.
As an early pioneer of the scholarly movement for Decolonizing the
Curriculum, Vanessa’s work in the area of Decolonizing Management
Education is internationally recognized as groundbreaking. Her doctoral thesis
on Leadership Development received the prestigious ‘US Academy of
Management (AoM) ‘Best Prize’ in Critical Management Studies’. Since then,
her work on Leadership Development has gone on to win several awards such
as the notable ‘Emerald Literati Award for Excellence’ as well as the US
Academy of Management (AoM) ‘Best Critical Paper’ Award. She is also a
recipient of the prestigious British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Research
Fellowship for research in Gender and Leadership Development in Africa.
When not working, Vanessa enjoys composing and recording music.