Christopher Pietroni

I took up post as Professor of Leadership Practice at the University of Birmingham in October 2019 where I am Director of the Birmingham Leadership Institute. The most pressing contemporary challenges – local, national and international – are frequently characterised by complexity, difference, disruption and conflict. The Birmingham Leadership Institute exists to research and develop the leadership required to make progress on them.

My  work focuses on leadership and change in complex systems with a particular interest in applying and adapting insights from narrative, framing, movement building and adaptive leadership. Working in the UK, US and Europe I lead a number of senior executive and graduate development programmes and post-graduate teaching/Exec Ed as well as consulting widely.

I am a long-time collaborator with Prof Marshall Ganz and in 2016 was a member of Prof Ron Heifetz’s adaptive leadership teaching team at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

I have wide experience directing, designing and leading systems leadership programmes across the public sector including: Senior Civil Service Programme (Civil Service Leadership Academy) Leadership for Change (Systems Leadership Steering Group), Skills for Systems Leadership (PHE), Future Vision (Leadership Centre), C21st Aspiring Directors Programme (University of Birmingham), National Graduate Development Programme for Local Government (University of Birmingham).

I have been a Senior Fellow at the Leadership Centre and a Senior Associate at the Kings Fund. In 2017-18 I was Fellow of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and I received the Lucius N. Littauer Fellowship from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2010.