Paolo Taticchi is a Professor of Strategy and Sustainability and the School Deputy Director (Executive Education, MBA, and Global Engagement) at University College London’s School of Management. He is also the Co-Director of the UCL Centre for Sustainable Business.
A globally recognized expert in sustainability transformation, competitive strategy, consulting, and the future of cities, Paolo has an extensive academic and consulting career spanning multiple continents. Before joining UCL, he was at Imperial College London, where he served as Academic Director of the school’s top-ranked MSc Management, Weekend MBA, and Global Online MBA, while also leading the Global Student Experience. He remains a Visiting Professor at Imperial.
A highly active educator, Paolo regularly teaches at top business schools across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. In executive education, he has trained thousands of managers and executives from Fortune Global 500 companies in over 20 countries.
His internationally recognized research on corporate sustainability and performance measurement has led to over 50 academic journal articles and several books. His most recent works include How to Be Sustainable: Business Strategies for Leading Change (2025), Sustainable Transformation Strategy (2023), and Disruption (2023).
A sought-after public speaker, Paolo has delivered more than 250 keynotes and talks, engaging over 100,000 people at academic, governmental, and industry events worldwide.
Beyond academia, Paolo is an experienced consultant in strategy, education, and sustainability. He has worked with firms of all sizes across diverse industries and currently advises or serves on the advisory boards of leading organizations in Canada, India, Italy, Kenya, the UK, and the US. In recent years, he also advised the Italian Ministry for the Environment.
An entrepreneur at heart, Paolo has co-founded four companies in engineering, technology, and consulting. As an intrapreneur, he has spearheaded high-impact educational initiatives, including six international summer schools in New York, the launch of an MBA program, the opening of an Italian campus in partnership with Bradford School of Management, and the development of a multi-million-pound project at Imperial College. He also co-founded and co-organizes an international internship program. Passionate about mentoring, he has supported and led social impact projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Italy.
Paolo’s work has been widely recognized, earning numerous awards and media coverage in top outlets such as The Financial Times, Forbes, The Economist, Sole 24 Ore, RAI, Sky News, Mediaset, BBC, and CNN. His accolades include:
- Poets & Quants’ “Top 40 Business School Professors Under 40” (2018)
- Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2018)
- “Talented Young Italian Award” (2019)
- Named Sole 24 Ore’s most influential Italian under 40 (2021-23)
- Stefan A. Riesenfeld Memorial Award from Berkeley Law for contributions to sustainable business (2024)
- Named to the Thinkers50 Radar List (2025)
- Highly commended by the Financial Times for research on impact investing (2025)
Paolo holds a BEng and MEng in Mechanical Engineering (cum laude) and a PhD in Industrial Engineering (operations management) from the University of Perugia, as well as an MBA in Innovation from the University of Perugia and the Bradford School of Management. He also completed the High Potentials Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.
An avid traveler, Paolo has visited 56 countries and led business projects across six continents.