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BIO

Sarah Kaplan is Professor Emerita and Founding Director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. She is the author of three books, including the business bestseller Creative Destruction; The 360° Corporation, based on her award-winning Rotman course, which offers leaders a practical roadmap for navigating real trade-offs beyond the limits of “win-win” shared value; and the forthcoming Products for the People (W.W. Norton), which shows how designing for people outside the default unlocks braver ideas, stronger demand, and lasting advantage.

 

She was a strategic lead on Canada’s 2020 Feminist Economic Recovery Plan, the first of its kind globally, and co-authored 360° Governance: Where Are the Directors in a World in Crisis (2021), outlining board responsibilities for the 21st century. She regularly advises corporations, governments, and agencies on ESG-related policy and practice, including board governance and diversity, care work, employment, pay equity, and gender-based analysis. As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Professor Kaplan has dedicated her work to supporting women and people who belong to all marginalized groups. She serves on the Board of Directors of LGBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD Law) in Boston.

 

Her honors include the Governance Professionals of Canada’s Peter Dey Governance Achievement Award, recognition as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network, and the Academy of Management Career Award for Scholar-Practitioner impact. Formerly a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where she remains a Senior Fellow, and an innovation specialist at McKinsey & Company, she holds a PhD from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, a BA with honors in Political Science from UCLA and an MA in International Relations and International Economics with distinction from the School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

 

If you want to take any of my online courses, you can learn about:

 

MEDIA

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ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Professor Emerita
    University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, Canada1 Jul 2025 - present
  • Distinguished Professor of Gender & the Economy
    Rotman School of Management and Graduate Department of Management, University of Toronto, Canada2016 - present
  • Founding Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE)
    Rotman School of Management and Graduate Department of Management, University of Toronto, Canada2016 - present
  • Senior Fellow, Massey College
    Rotman School of Management and Graduate Department of Management, University of Toronto, Canada2020 - present
  • Senior Fellow, Mack Institute for Innovation Management
    The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, United States2009 - present
  • Professor of Strategic Management
    Rotman School of Management and Graduate Department of Management, University of Toronto, Canada2015 - 30 Jun 2025
  • Associate Professor of Strategic Management
    Rotman School of Management and Graduate Department of Management, University of Toronto, Canada2009 - 2015
  • Fellow, Lee Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship
    Rotman School of Management and Graduate Department of Management, University of Toronto, Canada2020 - 2021
  • Visiting Scholar
    Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States2013 - 2014
  • Assistant Professor of Management
    The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, United States2004 - 2009

NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Consultant
    McKinsey & Company (United States), New York, United States1990 - 1999
  • Consultant
    Theodore Barry & Associates, Los Angeles, United States1986 - 1988
  • Board Director
    GLAD Law (GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders), United States1 Jan 2023 - present

DEGREES

  • Ph.D. in Management
    Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States2004
  • M.A. in International Relations and International Economics (with distinction)
    School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, United States1990
  • B.A. in Political Science (with departmental highest honors, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa)
    University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States1986

CERTIFICATIONS

  • ICD.D
    Institute for Corporate Directors31 Mar 2024 - present

POSTGRADUATE TRAINING

  • Directors Education Program
    Rotman School of Management, Canada3 Oct 2023 - 31 Jan 2024

AVAILABILITY

  • Media enquiries
  • Membership of an advisory committee
  • Join a web conference as a panellist or speaker

INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

  • Institute for Pandemics (IfP)
  • School of Cities
  • Data Sciences Institute (DSI)
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs@UofT)

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