Linda A. Hill

Linda A. Hill serves as the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and is Faculty Chair of the Leadership Initiative. She is widely recognized as one of the top experts on leadership and innovation globally, with her work shaping how organizations approach creative problem-solving and organizational development.

Dr. Hill earned her B.A. summa cum laude in psychology from Bryn Mawr College, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D. in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Chicago. After completing a post-doctoral research fellowship at Harvard Business School, she joined the faculty where she has remained a prominent figure in organizational behavior research.

Her research focuses on leadership development, building agile innovative organizations, implementing global strategies, and digital leadership. Hill is particularly known for her work on collective genius—the concept that innovation emerges from the right organizational conditions rather than individual brilliance alone. Her research has evolved to address scaling innovation across organizations and ecosystems, with increasing emphasis on digital leadership in contemporary business environments.

Dr. Hill's scholarly output reveals consistent themes of practical leadership frameworks that help organizations navigate complex challenges while fostering creativity. Her recent work shows a progression toward understanding how innovation can be systematically scaled across organizational boundaries and through digital transformation initiatives.

• Thinkers50 top ten management thinker (2013, 2021)
• Thinkers50 Innovation Award (2015)
• Warren Bennis Prize for Excellence in Leadership (2015)
• Leadership Axiom Business Book Award Gold Medal (2015)
• #5 in Top 20 MIT SMR articles of 2020
• Included in Thinkers50 since 2011
• Named to Inc. 2025 Female Founders 500 List
• Shortlisted for 2025 Thinkers50 Innovation Award

Beyond academia, Hill has extensive advisory and consulting experience with major global organizations including Google, Microsoft, IBM, and numerous Fortune 500 companies. She has chaired numerous Harvard Business School Executive Education programs and developed innovative online learning platforms for leadership development. Her practical experience spans leadership development, innovation strategy, global implementation, and diversity initiatives across multiple industries.

Dr. Hill serves on the Board of Directors of Relay Therapeutics and the Board of Trustees of The Kresge Foundation, ArtCenter College of Design, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. She also serves on advisory boards for the American Repertory Theater, Aspen Institute programs, Calit2, and several other organizations, demonstrating her commitment to applying leadership principles across diverse domains.