Niro Sivanathan

Niro Sivanathan is a professor of organizational behavior at London Business School, where he has been a faculty member since 2008. Sivanathan's research draws on social psychological and evolutionary theories to examine how judgments, decisions, and behaviors are shaped by the psychological experience of status and power within social hierarchies. He also investigates how the drive to maintain self-integrity can influence cognition and behavior in ways that are not always rational.

Sivanathan earned a Ph.D. in management and organizations from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, as well as an MSc in management and a BA in psychology (honors) from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada.

His work has been published in leading journals in science, management, and psychology, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Human Behaviour, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Journal of Applied Psychology. Sivanathan's research has also been featured in practitioner outlets such as Harvard Business Review and has received international media coverage in CNN, MSNBC, Financial Times, Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Atlantic, Sunday Times, and Forbes. He has provided advisory and executive education services for organizations including Credit Suisse, Kearney, YPO, Merck, Central Bank of Turkey, Salesforce, and LVMH.

Sivanathan is known to general audiences for his widely viewed TED Talk, "The Counterintuitive Way to Be More Persuasive," which explores the dilution effect—a cognitive bias that can weaken persuasive arguments—and emphasizes the importance of focusing on strong arguments. The talk draws from his academic research, including studies published in Nature Human Behaviour, and informs his work advising business leaders on effective persuasion strategies.

Sivanathan teaches negotiations, influence, and decision-making to a broad audience and has received multiple teaching awards, including recognition as one of the world's top 40 best business school professors under 40 by Poets and Quants, the Excellence in Teaching Award at London Business School, and selection as best MBA teacher by the graduating class. He was nominated for the Poets and Quants recognition by students and alumni from London Business School. Students have noted his direct, no-nonsense teaching style, which combines personal engagement and humor. Sivanathan's research, public speaking, and executive education contributions position him as a leading voice at the intersection of psychology, power, and organizational behavior.