Patrick Wright, Thomas C Vandiver Bicentennial Chair, Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina
HR Most Influential 2012 International Thinker - position 11
"An excellent influencer"
"Real academic insight into high performance HR"
Wright teaches, conducts research, and consults in the area of strategic human resource management (SHRM), particularly focusing on how firms use people as a source of competitive advantage and the changing nature of the chief HR officer role (CHRO). For the past eight years he has been studying the CHRO role through a series of confidential interviews, public podcasts, small discussion groups, and conducting the Cornell/CAHRS Survey of chief HR officers. In addition, he is the faculty leader for the Cornell ILR Executive Education/NAHR programme, The Chief HR Officer: Strategies for Success, aimed at developing potential successors to the CHRO role. He was the lead editor on the recently released book, The Chief HR Officer: Defining the New Role of Human Resource Leaders.
He has published more than 60 research articles in journals as well as over 20 chapters in books and edited volumes. He has co-authored two textbooks entitled Human Resource Management: Gaining Competitive Advantage (now in its third edition) and Management of Organizations. He has co-edited a special issue of Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management entitled, Strategic Human Resource Management in the 21st Century,’ and guest-edited a special issue of Human Resource Management Review, entitled Research in Strategic HRM for the 21st Century.
He has conducted programmes and/or consulted for a number of large organisations including Comcast, Royal Dutch Shell, KennaMetal, AstraZeneca, BT and BP. He currently serves as a member on the Board of Directors for the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR). He is a former board member of HRPS, SHRM Foundation and World at Work (formerly American Compensation Association). In 2011 he was named by HR magazine as one of the 20 Most Influential Thought Leaders in HR.
Prior to joining USC, he has served on the faculties at Cornell University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Notre Dame.
HR Most Influential 2011 International Thinker - position 19