Over the past 25 years, Dan has advanced the field of Organizational Development and is one of its leading scholars, practitioners and teachers.  His work has made many key contributions to the understanding of organizational culture and its relationship to bottom-line business success. The Denison Model of Organizational Culture is the basis for one of the industry’s leading organizational culture assessment tools. His research has shown a strong relationship between organizational culture and business performance metrics such as profitability, growth, customer satisfaction, and innovation. He has consulted with many leading corporations regarding organizational change, leadership development, and the cultural issues associated with mergers & acquisitions, turnarounds, and globalization.

“It’s amazing getting to work with top-level executives around the world who are trying to build their organizations for the future,” says Dan. “We get to have an impact in companies from India to China, to Russia, to Saudi Arabia, to Japan, to Columbia, to Malaysia. And despite all of the travel, I really enjoy it!”

From 1999 through 2016, Dan was a Professor of Management and Organization at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Starting in January 2017, he took the title of Professor Emeritus. Prior to joining IMD, Dan was an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Michigan Business School, teaching in MBA, Ph.D., and Executive Education programs.

A prolific author, Dan’s latest book, co-authored with IMD colleague Robert Hooijberg, is Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 2012). He is a frequent speaker at professional conferences, is widely published in leading journals, and has contributed chapters to many books.

Having lived, taught, and consulted in Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East and the Far East, Dan brings a broad understanding and breadth of experience to Denison clients worldwide.

Dan earned his B.A. in Psychology, Sociology & Anthropology from Albion College, his M.A. in Sociology from Kent State University, and his Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan.

Dan is currently based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Gain insight on aligning culture and strategy through Dan Denison’s latest book, Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations, now searchable online.

Dan is also a Formula 2000 Racing driver. Get an up-close look at racing and culture as Dan speaks about the parallels of high-performance racing and high-performance culture.