People

Laura is the founding Director of the Centre for Professional Service Firms. Her research explores how professionals and the firms they work within respond to and manage change, including changing forms of governance, post-merger integration, and the emergence of new organisational identities. Laura's current research project is concerned with leadership dynamics in professional service firms and is funded by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council.

Professor Laura Empson's Cass Expert Profile

Tara is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Centre and is also involved in specific research initiatives. She has extensive experience of university administration, most recently as Project Manager of the Change Management Consortium. Tara has an MSc in Information Studies.

Louise's Doctoral research at the University of Oxford examined diversity management and equal opportunities policies and practices in leading UK corporate law firms. Her research at Cass Business School is extending this study across the professional service sector by conducting comparative analysis into management consultants, accountancy firms, investment banks and law firms.

Dr Louise Ashley's Cass Expert Profile

Michael has a first degree in Psychology with Biology and an MSc in Medical Ethics from Imperial College London. He is currently Director of Research at the College of Optometrists. He has also worked in a range of roles within specialised psychotherapeutic residential care. His PhD is looking at leadership in professional bodies.

Imogen has a First Class degree in Law from the University of Oxford. Her work experience includes several years as a solicitor at Linklaters LLP and she has also worked as a business analyst. Her PhD is exploring the formation and 'transformation' of partner identity in a professional service firm.

Imogen Cleaver's Cass Profile

Janet is currently one of the independent lay members of the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and a member of the Board of the Financial Ombudsman's Service. Between 2006 and 2010, she was the Commissioner for Public Appointments in England and Wales. During the previous five years she was the Senior Partner at Simmons and Simmons, where she founded and led the employment law department. Her research focuses on the changing expectations of professionals and their clients, together with the changing nature of professional work and composition of the professional workforce. Janet was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.

Janet Gaymer's website

A lawyer by training, Richard has spent most of his career in investment banking. His senior appointments have included Chairman of CSFB European Investment Banking, joint Head of Global Corporate Finance at BZW, and Founding Chief Executive of the Shareholder Executive, Cabinet Office.

Amanda's work is on leadership and institutional performance; specifically, how the former influences the latter. She focuses on knowledge-based organisations where the core business is reliant on expert knowledge. After a varied career, she gained her PhD in 2007 from Warwick Business School, where she was recently a Leverhulme Fellow.

Amanda has also been a Research Fellow at Cornell University and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Zurich.

Dr Amanda Goodall's website

Alistair was Global Vice Chairman of KPMG. During his 35-year career with the firm, he acted as Head of UK Marketing, Vice Chairman of its UK Financial Services practice, International Managing Partner, Global Markets and latterly as a member of its EMA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Board. He is a non-executive director at Prudential.

Gianvito is interested in strategic management, including mergers and acquisitions and technology management. His current research investigates strategies and capability configuration mechanisms for firms that seek to deal successfully with rapid technological and institutional change. He is examining 'first mover advantage' in the context of professional service firms.

Professor Gianvito Lanzolla's Cass Expert Profile

Vince has conducted in-depth research in to how clients choose their professional service provider and the role of risk within that choice. His second area of research is on how to develop and deepen client-provider relationships using interpersonal psychological theories and modern customer relationship management technologies.

Professor Vincent-Wayne Mitchell's Cass Expert Profile

Chizu specialises in financial services law, company law, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, business ethics, corporate sustainability, and the control of financial crime. Her current research focuses on the governance of financial services firms as well as conflicts of interest in the financial services sector.

Dr Chizu Nakajima's Cass Expert Profile

Cliff's research interests focus on the application of aspects of discourse, dramaturgy, tropes, narrative and rhetoric to the study of management, organisations, organising processes, and organisational change.

Professor Cliff Oswick's Cass Expert Profile

Jo's research focuses on the assessment and development of individuals in public, private and political organisations, particularly in relation to leadership, diversity and organisational change. Leadership in investment banks and leadership election processes are particular areas of interest.

David is interested in how people learn and develop as leaders of change, how people contribute very different qualities and skills to the activity of leadership, and in the relationship between leadership and elite professional work.

Professor David Sims' Cass Expert Profile

Stefan joined Edelman from the Financial Times, where he had been the leading management columnist. He has been a journalist for 20 years, contributing to a range of business titles, including Management Today, Corporate Finance magazine, and the BBC's Money Programme. He continues to blog for the Harvard Business Review.