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Professor Aguilera is a regular public speaker and advisor for professional organizations as well as business organizations world-wide.

Professor Ruth V. Aguilera is one of the world's foremost authorities on corporate governance, boards of directors, and global business strategy. A Harvard-trained sociologist and Trustee Professor at Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business, she brings together rigorous academic research and real-world executive engagement to deliver keynotes and masterclasses that are equal parts provocative and practical.

With over 100 peer-reviewed publications and fellowships from the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society, the International Corporate Governance Society, and the Academy of International Business, Aguilera speaks with rare authority on the forces reshaping how companies are governed, led, and held accountable — across borders, ownership structures, and generations.

She is a sought-after keynote speaker and executive advisor on:

• Corporate Governance — How boards can move from compliance theater to genuine strategic advantage, including the role of institutional investors, ownership structures, and governance deviance.

• Boards of Directors — How to design, evaluate, and evolve boards that actually work: composition, independence, diversity, and the real dynamics of board power.

• Family Business Governance — Structuring governance mechanisms that protect both financial performance and family legacy across generations, drawing on comparative research across Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

• Sustainability & ESG — The governance of environmental and social commitments: how boards drive — or derail — sustainability agendas, and what real accountability looks like.

• Internationalization & Global Strategy — How firms navigate geopolitical risk, institutional complexity, and regional variation when expanding across borders.

• Geopolitics & Business — How shifting political landscapes, state ownership, nationalist sentiment, and regulatory divergence reshape corporate strategy and board priorities.

Aguilera has taught in MBA and executive programs at ESADE Business School, IMD (Switzerland), the National University of Singapore, the Wharton School and Northeastern University, among others. She advises boards and leadership teams in Spain, the United States, and across Europe and Latin America. She is fluent in Spanish, Catalan, English, Italian, and French.

Whether your audience is a boardroom, a business school, or a leadership summit, Ruth Aguilera delivers the clarity and conviction that turns complexity into action.

ACEDE 2026 Annual Conference, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain, June 2026

“Can Shareholders Still Govern the Corporation?”

China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai, China, May 2026

“International Corporate Governance. Looking at Compensation Practices”

Cátedra de Empresa Familiar de la Universitat de València (CEFUV), EDEM, Valencia, Spain, March 2026

“Estrategia y crecimiento en la Empresa Familiar: aproximación desde el gobierno corporativo”

3rd Behavioral Perspectives Workshop on “Sustainability,” Institut d'Estudis Catalans, Barcelona, Spain, February 2026

Opening Keynote

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Bangalore, India, January 2026

“International Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets”

University of Vermont Grossman School of Business, Burlington, Vermont, April 2025

“Sustainability and Corporate Governance at a Crossroads”

Iberoamerican Academy of Management, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, December 2023

“Mapping the Challenges and Opportunities in the Management in the Iberoamerican Region Through the Lens of Corporate Governance and Sustainability”

ACEDE Business and Society, El Escorial, Spain, October 2023

“Retos de la Empresa en la Compleja Sociedad Contemporánea”

European Corporate Governance Institute, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2023

“Leading, Managing and Governing Corporate Purpose”

Center for Emerging Markets, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, May 2023

“Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets. The case of Gender Quotas in India”

Spring Stakeholder Conference, Deer Valley, Utah, May 2023

“Value Creation, Appropriation, and Distribution within Democratic Principles”

EUMODFRAUD, Prevention of Fraud in European Funds, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, June 2021

“Corporate Corruption in Management Research”

HEC S&O 6th Research Day, HEC Paris, May 2021

“Corporate Governance in Society and Organizations”

International Corporate Governance Society, Shanghai, China, October 2018

“Publishing Top Research in Top International Journals”

Business for Society, European Academy of Management (EURAM), Reykjavik, Iceland, June 2018

“Governance Deviance”

4th International Governance Workshop, Critical & Alternative Approaches to Governance Workshop, Accounting, Control & Performance Management LAB, Barcelona, Spain, June 2017

“Innovation in Governance Research”

Global Forum, Center for International Business Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, May 2015

“A Cross-National Comparison of Corporate Governance and CSR”

Family Business Conference, Centre for Governance, Institutions & Organisations (CGIO), National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, Singapore, April 2014

“Ownership and Strategy around the World”

Dutch Central Bank and Corporate Governance: An International Review Special Issue Workshop on Board Diversity, Amsterdam, Netherlands, December 2013

“Legislating a Woman’s Seat on the Board”

Conference on Top Management Teams in an International Context: an Institutional Perspective, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 2013

“Top Management Teams in the Context of Comparative Corporate Governance”

Annual Meeting, International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA), St. Gallen, Switzerland, July 2013

“From the Dining Room to Board Room. The Professionalization and Internationalization of Family Business Firms”

Conference on Corporate Governance Bundles, Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom, September 2012

“How National Are Governance Bundles?”

10th An Anniversary Conference, International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Nottingham University, Nottingham, United Kingdom, April 2012

“Who owns CSR?”

Inaugural Lecture of the Academic Year, Master and Doctorate Program in Economics, Management and Organization, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Universidad Pública de Navarra and Universitat de les Illes Balears, Barcelona, Spain, October 2011

“New Challenges in International Corporate Governance”

Inaugural Lecture of the Academic Year, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universtitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, October 2011

"El Govern Corporatiu de les Empreses Espanyoles en el Contexte Internacional"

Conference on Board Diversity and Economic Performance, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2011

“Ownership Diversity as a Precursor of Board Diversity”

XXI Congress, ACEDE, Barcelona, Spain, September 2011

“New Creativity in International Corporate Governance”

Booz & Co/Strategy + Business Eminent Scholar in International Management Award, Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Montreal, Canada, August 2010

“Kobrin: The Transition to the Transnational Firm”