Elaine J. Eisenman
Dean, Babson Executive Education

Elaine J. Eisenman
Elaine Eisenman is dean of executive education at Babson College.

In this role, she is responsible for the strategy and growth of the executive education division, as well as for all non-degree programs in entrepreneurship. She is also responsible for the management of the top-rated Babson Executive Conference Center.

Dr. Eisenman’s career includes experience as a business leader and general manager, HR executive, private and public board member, and organizational consultant. Her key areas of expertise include executive selection, transition, and succession, and the alignment of strategy, selection, compensation, and performance during periods of growth and transformation. Additionally, she has managed the human side of acquisition and integration through multiple acquisitions for three companies.

As both a board member and board consultant, she has extensive experience in corporate governance and is a frequent speaker on corporate governance issues, focusing on boardroom dynamics, CEO succession, and the role of the compensation committee. She has both consulted to and served on a number of private and not-for-profit boards and advisory boards for both start-ups and family businesses.

Currently, Eisenman is a member of the boards of firectors of DSW, Inc. and Active International. She is a faculty member for NACD’s Board Advisory Services. For nine years, she served on the board of UST Inc. She is also a founding member and member of the boards of Women Corporate Directors and The Belizean Grove.

Eisenman is co-author of I Didn’t See It Coming: The Only Book You’ll Ever Need to Avoid Being Blindsided in Business, published by John Wiley and Sons. Her article, “Power in the Post‐Sarbanes Oxley Boardroom” was published in Directorship magazine. Her article, “Public Policy: Enabler or Inhibitor of Entrepreneurial Companies,” is included in the Praeger series on Entrepreneurship. Her article, “Why CEOs Become Blindsided,” was published on Chiefexecutive.com, and her article on CEO succession was published in Boards and Directors Magazine. She has been highlighted in interviews by WSJ, Agenda, Directorship, and Board Member. In 2007, Eisenman was interviewed on ABC’s 20/20 on the topic of failure as a foundation of entrepreneurial success.

Recently, Eisenman was selected by Agenda magazine as a top 100 Diversity Board Member.

Eisenman earned a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from New York University, and an M.S. from Columbia University.