Brian Uzzi is the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Leadership at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.  He also co-directs the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO), and holds professorships in Sociology and at the McCormick School of Engineering. He has been on or visited the faculties of INSEAD, Chicago, Harvard, and Berkeley.  His work has received 17 teaching prizes and 15 scientific research prizes worldwide in the social, physical, and computer sciences. 

His research uses social network science and computational methods to explain outstanding human achievement.  Media outlets featuring his research include the WSJ, Newsweek, The Economist, The New Yorker, Fortune, other media outlets and TV, and scientific journals in management, physics, ecology, sociology, medicine, economics, psychology, and computer science have covered or published his research.  Grants for his research have come from the U.S. government and private agencies.

A globally recognized scientist, teacher, and consultant on leadership, social networks, and AI, Brian consults for organizations and governments in over 30 countries, including the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), McKinsey, PWC, KPMG, Deloitte, Baker and McKenzie, Pepsico, P&G, Kraft, Abbott Labs, UNITE, Total Quality Schools, Hearst Media, the World Bank, ABN AMBRO, CreditSuisse, AON, U.S. intelligence agencies, Thomson Reuters, BAE, Google, MicroSoft, Intel, Facebook, and non-profits worldwide.

Before Kellogg, Brian worked as a management consultant, carpenter, and musician. He holds an MS is in social psychology from Carnegie-Mellon University and a Ph.D. in sociology from The State University of New York at Stony Brook.

To read more about Professor Brian Uzzi's research and teaching, and his Forbes column on AI, visit his personal web site: kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/uzzi/index.htm

Social Networks, Complexity Theory, Embeddedness, Diffusion

• PhD, 1994, Sociology, State University of New York, Stony Brook
• MA, 1991, State University of New York, Stony Brook
• MS, 1989, Organizational Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
• BA, 1982, Business Economics, Hofstra University

• Faculty Director, Kellogg Architectures of Collaboration Initiative (KACI), Northwestern University
• Co-Director, Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO), Northwestern University
• Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, McCormick School of Engineering (Courtesy), Northwestern University
• Richard L. Thomas Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• Professor of Sociology, Weinberg College of Arts of Sciences (Courtesy), Northwestern University
• Professor of Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• Warren E. and Carol Spieker Chair in Leadership, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley, 6/30/2008
• Visiting Professor of Strategy, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, 8/31/2005
• Summer Fellow, Santa Fe Institute, 8/20/2003
• Summer Fellow, Santa Fe Institute, 8/20/2002
• Visiting Professor of Strategy and Organization Behavior, INSEAD, 8/31/2000
• Faculty Fellow, Insitute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, 8/31/2000
• Associate Professor of Sociology, Weinberg College of Arts of Sciences (Courtesy), Northwestern University, 8/31/2004
• Associate Professor of Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 8/31/2004
• Assistant Professor of Sociology, Weinberg College of Arts of Sciences (Courtesy), Northwestern University, 8/31/1995
• Assistant Professor of Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 8/31/1995

• Chairs Core Teaching Award, Kellogg School of Management, Kellogg School of Management, 2022-203
• 2023 Network Science Society Annual Meetings Keynote Speaker, The Network Science Society, 2023
• 2023 Distinguished Lecture in Leadership, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, 2023
• Chairs Core Teaching Award, 2022, 1 year
• Euler Award, 2022, Lifetime
• Professor of the Year, 2021, Kellogg-Racanti Executive MBA Program
• Euler Award, 2022, Network Science Society, 2022-2023
• Professor of the Year, 2020, Kellogg Executive MBA Program, 2018-2020
• Fellow of the Network Science Society, Network Science Society, 2020
• Professor of the Year, 2019, Kellogg-Racanti Executive MBA Program
• World Wide Web (WWW) Best Paper Prize, 25th World Wide Web Conference, 2016-2017
• Star-Nelkin Science, Knowledge and Technology Award, Honorable Mention, American Sociological Association, 2015
• Starred Outstanding Paper Award, Conference on Complex Systems, 2015
• Professor of the Year, 2014, Kellogg Executive MBA Program
• Professor of the Year, 2013, Kellogg-Racanti Executive MBA Program, 2013
• Vanguard Award for Science, La Vanguardia, 2011
• Kellogg Alumni Professor of the Year Award, Kellogg School of Management, 2009
• Executive MBA Program Outstanding Teaching Awards, Kellogg School of Management, 2007, 1999
• Professor of the Year, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 2007
• W. Richard Scott Best paper Prize, American Sociological Association, 2006
• Professor of the Year, Kellogg Hong Kong University of Science and Techonology Executive MBA Program, 2004
• Distinguished Scholarly Contribution Award, Administrative Science Quarterly, 2003
• W. Richard Scott Best paper Prize, American Sociological Association, 2002
• Professor of the Year, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 1999
• Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 1994-1995
• Louis Pondy Best Paper Disseration Award, Academy of Management Assocation, 1994
• Faculty Teaching Honor Role, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 1993-present
• Institute for Socio Economics Best Conference paper Prize, Institute for Socio Economics, 1993
• Institute for Management Science Dissertation Proposal Award, Institute for Management Science, 1992

• Referee, Industrial and Corporate Change, 2023
• Referee, Nature Scientific Reports, 2017-
• Referee, Nature Communications, 2017-
• Referee, Nature Human Behavior, 2017-
• Ad-hoc Reviewer, Science
• Managing Editor, PNAS
• Ad-hoc Reviewer, Nature
• Ad-hoc Reviewer, American Journal of Sociology
• Ad-hoc Reviewer, Administrative Science Quarterly
• Ad-hoc Reviewer, American Sociological Reivew

Leadership, Persuasion, Networks, Teams, Decision Making

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Leadership (MORSX-431-5)


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This course provides students with the social science tools needed to solve organizational problems and influence the actions of individuals, groups and organizations. It prepares managers to understand how to best organize and motivate the human capital of the firm, manage social networks and alliances, and execute strategic change. This is accomplished through knowledge of competitive decision making, reward system design, team building, strategic negotiation, political dynamics, corporate culture and strategic organizational design.

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This course provides students with the social science tools needed to solve organizational problems and influence the actions of individuals, groups and organizations. It prepares managers to understand how to best organize and motivate the human capital of the firm, manage social networks and alliances, and execute strategic change. This is accomplished through knowledge of competitive decision making, reward system design, team building, strategic negotiation, political dynamics, corporate culture and strategic organizational design.