Jennifer Aaker

Dr. Jennifer Aaker is the General Atlantic Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business. A renowned behavioral scientist, scholar and best-selling author, Dr. Aaker studies what creates meaning versus happiness in life (and work), how digital technologies are redefining human interaction, and how to harness purpose, story and humor as a leadership tool. 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.

Aaker is a highly sought-after speaker who aims to empower leaders and employees alike to create more purposeful, productive, and joyful cultures. 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.

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, her abbreviated cooking skills have earned her family Doordash Platinum status.