Linda E. Ginzel

Linda E. Ginzel is a clinical professor of managerial psychology at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, specializing in negotiation, managerial psychology, leadership, and executive development. Ginzel has taught at Chicago Booth for more than three decades and has also instructed MBA and PhD students at Northwestern and Stanford. She has designed customized educational programs for Fortune 500 companies and established the Corporate Executive Education Program at Chicago Booth, managing and growing a custom-designed program that is recognized as a leading executive education offering globally.

Ginzel’s teaching philosophy emphasizes that leadership is a learnable skill developed through reflection and practice. Her work focuses on the concept of leadership capital—the courage, wisdom, and capacity to decide when to manage and when to lead. As part of her executive MBA class on leadership capital, Ginzel compiled her notes into a workbook, resulting in the book "Choosing Leadership," which has reached audiences beyond the university setting. Ginzel leads programs and teaches MBA and executive education courses in leadership capital, high-performance leadership, social psychology of management, essentials of effective leadership, managerial psychology, negotiations, and decision-making.

Ginzel has received multiple honors for her teaching, including the Faculty Excellence Award, the Inaugural Global Hillel Einhorn Teaching Award, and the Emory Williams Award for Teaching Excellence. She is a two-time recipient of the James S. Kemper Jr. Grant in business ethics.

Outside the classroom, Ginzel is a consumer and child-safety advocate. She co-founded Kids In Danger (KID) following the death of her son, Danny Keysar, due to a recalled portable crib. Through KID, Ginzel and her co-founder advocated for the ban of recalled children's products in Illinois and contributed to the enactment of the Children's Product Safety Act. They also played a role in the creation of federal legislation mandating tougher safety standards and compulsory testing for durable children's products, including a provision named after her son.

Ginzel has testified before the United States Congress and state legislatures on children's product safety. Her work has been featured in ABC Nightly News, the Today Show, Oprah, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, USA Today, and People Magazine. In recognition of her advocacy, President Bill Clinton presented her with the President's Service Award. Ginzel has served on President Obama's Transition Team and on the board of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports.