Dr. Blair Sheppard

Dr. Blair Sheppard is an Emeritus Global Leader for Strategy and Leadership at PwC and Emeritus Dean and Professor at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. He is a recognized expert in organizational strategy, leadership development, and geopolitical change. Over his 33 years at Duke, he became known as a pioneer of the modern executive education model by becoming founder, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE). He expanded his firm through three continents by leading it to revenues of $56 million, and records show that Duke CE was globally ranked #1 by Financial Times and Business Week for nine years in a row.

When serving as Dean of the Fuqua School of Business, Dr. Sheppard was implementing a global expansion strategy during one of the most crises in modern history. He played a leading role in establishing Duke Kunshan University in China—only one of two American universities with an independent legal status in the country—continuing his advisory role in strategic fundraising, local development, and international development. Throughout his career, Dr. Sheppard initiated many innovative educational programs, including The Duke MBA—Global Executive, which contributed to his faculty’s leadership among the top two in academic productivity.

Dr. Sheppard has a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Western Ontario and a Ph.D. in social and organizational psychology from the University of Illinois. He wrote more than 50 books and articles on corporate strategy, negotiations, organizational design, and leadership in complex environments. In addition to his academic work, he advised over 100 Fortune 500 companies and foreign governments, helping them to deal with systemic disruption, climate change, technology integration, and global economic changes.

Dr. Sheppard is using his strategic vision to evaluate how traditional leadership models have to change in order to create sustainable organizations based on human-centered concepts.