Allan R. Cohen

Updated at: May 21, 2007, 2:20 a.m.

Allan R. Cohen, A.B., Amherst College; M.B.A., D.B.A., Harvard University.

The Edward A. Madden Distinguished Professor of Global Leadership at Babson College, Cohen recently completed seven years as Chief Academic Officer, leading major curriculum and organizational changes, and has returned to the faculty to teach leadership, change, and negotiations. He is a noted author, speaker, and consultant.

Dr. Cohen is the co-author of the best seller, Managing for Excellence, (recently reissued by Wiley as a Management Classic), and Influence Without Authority. His latest book with David Bradford, Power Up; Transforming Organizations Through Shared Leadership, was published in March, 1998, and selected as one of the best leadership books of 1998 by the Management General website. Among his many publications is a co-authored textbook, Effective Behavior in Organizations (Richard D. Irwin, 7 editions, latest 2000), which has been adopted by more than 300 colleges, and has had a major impact on the teaching of organizational behavior. He also co-authored the award winning Alternative Work Arrangements: Integrating Individual and Organizational Needs. Dr. Cohen edited The Portable MBA in Management (1993).

Dr. Cohen's consulting clients for a variety of change projects have included General Electric (Work Out), Rohm and Haas, The Hartford, Polaroid, Home Depot, Reebok, Pfizer, IBM, Decision Resources, General Scanning, General Mills, Chubb Life, SmithKline Beecham, and Digital Equipment Corporation.

A popular speaker, he has given speeches and seminars to such organizations as CSC, the Digital Equipment Corporate Leaders Forum, Rockport, Nypro, New Balance, Mellon Private Bank, American Productivity Management Association, Chase Bank, Wescott Communications, Lafarge, DSM, and AT&T on:

  • Leadership: Creating Extraordinary Performance
  • Influence Without Authority: Getting Things Done
  • Implementing Strategic Change
  • Managing for Excellence

Formerly the J.R. Carter Professor of Management at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire, Cohen was director of the Whittemore School's M.B.A. program from 1974-1979, where he was voted outstanding faculty member.

Dr. Cohen helped create the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. He has also been a visiting professor at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, a consultant in London and Austria, and a guest seminar leader at IMEDE (now IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School and a guest lecturer at Stanford Business School. Recently he completed a two-year term as chair of the Business Accreditation Committee of the AACSB.


Related Books

The Portable MBA in Management