Dr. Jennifer Aaker is the General Atlantic Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Coulter Family Faculty Fellow at Stanford Graduate School of Business (2020–21). A behavioral scientist and author, Dr. Aaker is a leading expert on how meaning and purpose shape the choices individuals make, how money and time can be used in ways that cultivate long-lasting happiness, and how technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Mixed Reality (XR) are redefining human interaction.
Her work has been widely published in leading scientific journals, and featured in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Science.
At Stanford, she teaches classes including Designing AI to Cultivate Human Well-Being, Rethinking Purpose, A New Type of Leader, Power of Story, and Humor: Serious Business. She is the recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award, Stanford Distinguished Teaching Award, Citibank Best Teacher Award, George Robbins Best Teacher Award, Robert Jaedicke Silver Apple Award, and the MBA Professor of the Year Award.
Dr. Aaker is the co-author of several books including the award-winning book, The Dragonfly Effect, which has been translated into over 10 languages. She is the national bestselling co-author of Humor, Seriously, named #1 Recommended Business Book by the Financial Times as well as one of Top Business Books that are Surprisingly Fun to Read by Adam Grant, Susan Cain, Malcolm Gladwell, and Dan Pink.
Dr. Aaker is a highly sought-after speaker on the application of behavioral science to help companies and leaders positively impact human well-being through technology, business practices, story, and purpose-driven leadership. Dr. Aaker serves as a board member and advisor helping companies and leadership teams with digital transformation, incorporating human well-being into corporate strategy to drive business performance, global brand building and embracing a new leadership type for the innovation economy - one anchored on purpose, fueled by levity.
She is the recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award, Stanford Distinguished Teaching Award, Citibank Best Teacher Award, George Robbins Best Teacher Award, Robert Jaedicke Silver Apple Award, and the MBA Professor of the Year Award.
Before joining Stanford University, Aaker was a professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management where she conducted the research that resulted in her seminal paper, Dimensions of Brand Personality. She completed her PhD degrees at Stanford University, and holds a BA from UC Berkeley. In terms of personal accomplishments, she counts winning a dance-off in the early 1980s among her most impressive feats; and her abbreviated cooking skills have earned her family Doordash Platinum status.
