ProfessorIleana Stigliani

Dr. Ileana Stigliani is a Professor of Strategic Design at the Management and Entrepreneurship Department. She received her Ph.D. in Management from Bocconi University, Milan.

By conducting in-depth inductive studies using grounded theory techniques, her research generates empirical insights and theoretical interpretations that expand current theories on three main topics:
a)    managerial and organisational cognition by illuminating the material and aesthetic underpinnings of creative cognitive processes;
b)    identity formation and construction processes by illustrating the deep mechanisms that underpin the unfolding of these identity dynamics;
c) organisational change and strategic transformation by explaining the role of design (conceived of as a set of practices and principles) as a powerful driver of change.

Ileana's research has been published in leading management journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, the Journal of Management Studies, the Journal of Management, the Academy of Management Annals, the International Journal of Management Reviews, and Organisation Studies.

She is a member of the Editorial Board of Administrative Science Quarterly, and the Journal of Management Studies.

At Imperial, she teaches Design Thinking for Innovation and Design for Strategic Transformation to MSc and MBA students.

In 2016, she received the Imperial College Business School Teaching Excellence Award for Innovation in teaching. In 2023, she received the Imperial College Business School Teaching Excellence Award for MBA core module teaching.

In 2018, Ileana was recognised for her outstanding teaching by Poets & Quants, a prestigious international business education website that covers news about business schools and MBA degree programs.

Her opinions about how Design Thinking can contribute to companies' success have been featured in media outlets, like The Economist, The Financial Times, Forbes, the BBC, The Guardian, etc.