Leo Paul Dana

Léo-Paul Dana is recognized for his expertise in international entrepreneurship, with a career encompassing research, institution-building, and academic leadership. Dana is a graduate of McGill University and HEC-Montreal, completed postdoctoral research at Princeton University, and has served as a visiting professor at INSEAD in France and Kingston University in the United Kingdom. He began his teaching career at Concordia University, later taught at McGill, and subsequently joined INSEAD. Dana is the founder of the "Journal of International Entrepreneurship," published by Kluwer Academic in the Netherlands, which has contributed to defining the field globally.

Dana has served as expert witness for the Government of Canada House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport and as senior advisor to the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises, which holds United Nations advisory status. Formerly tenured at the University of Canterbury, Dana is a full professor of entrepreneurship at Montpellier Business School and has also taught at Dalhousie University in Canada. His biography appears in the "Canadian Who's Who," published by University of Toronto Press, reflecting his ongoing influence in Canadian academic and public life.

Dana's research focuses on entrepreneurship in different cultures and includes 45 books and numerous articles published in journals such as "Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice," "International Business Review," "International Small Business Journal," "Journal of Business Research," "Journal of Small Business Management," "Journal of World Business," "Small Business Economics," and "Technological Forecasting & Social Change." Notable works include the "Handbook of Research on International Entrepreneurship," the "Handbook of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship," "Entrepreneurship and Religion," and the "World Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship." These reference volumes are widely used by scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in the fields of entrepreneurship, small business management, and economic development.

Dana's research interests include cultural issues, the internationalization of entrepreneurship, and indigenous entrepreneurship. He has conducted research with Indigenous peoples, focusing on those whose ancestors lived in an area prior to colonization or within a nation-state prior to its formation. Dana's scholarly contributions span economic anthropology, indigenous entrepreneurship, minority entrepreneurship, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and diversity, equity, and inclusion. His work has accumulated over 40,000 citations on Google Scholar, indicating significant impact in entrepreneurship research.

Dana has served as keynote speaker at international conferences in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. His work bridges academic research and policy, providing insights for government bodies, international organizations, business schools, and entrepreneurship communities. Dana addresses topics such as the challenges facing SMEs, the influence of culture and religion on entrepreneurial behavior, and the economic empowerment of indigenous communities, offering a cross-disciplinary and global perspective on entrepreneurship.