Ian O. Williamson is the Dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine (USA). Prior to joining the Merage School he served as the Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Wellington School of Business and Government at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). He has also served on the faculties of the Melbourne Business School (Australia), Rutgers Business School (USA), the Zurich Institute of Business Education (Switzerland), the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia). He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) and a bachelor’s degree in business from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio USA).

Prof. Williamson is a globally recognized expert in the area of human resource management. His research examines the impact of “talent pipelines” on organizational and community outcomes. In particular, his research focuses on how human and social capital influences firm operational and financial outcomes, talent management in the context of new ventures and growth-oriented firms, the role of human resource practices in driving firm innovation and the impact of social issues on firm outcomes. Prof. Williamson’s research has been published in several leading academic journals, has won numerous international awards and has been covered by several leading media outlets across the world.