Rate My Professor Pol Herrmann

Pol Herrmann serves as the Dean’s Professor in Entrepreneurship and Professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business, contributing to the Business & Economics field. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration with concentrations in Strategic Management and International Business from the University of Kansas (1999), a Master of Science in Engineering Management (Honors) from Southern Methodist University, and a Civil Engineering degree (Cum Laude) specializing in Structures from the Polytechnic National School in Quito, Ecuador. Herrmann joined Iowa State University in 1999 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2005 and Professor in 2012. He has held significant administrative roles, including Chair of the Department of Management (2015-2019), Director of Entrepreneurship Programs (2019-2021), and Director of Graduate Entrepreneurship Programs (2021-2023). Prior to Iowa State, he was Management Department Chair and Professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (1990-1994) and held visiting professorships in Ecuador, Mexico, and Italy.

Herrmann’s research focuses on the role of strategic leadership—encompassing demographic characteristics, personality traits, leadership styles, and cognitive capabilities—in managing innovation, as well as innovation and international business strategies. His prolific scholarship appears in premier outlets such as Strategic Management Journal, The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Notable publications include “Managing strategic change: The duality of CEO personality” with Sucheta Nadkarni (Strategic Management Journal, 2014), “What is strategic leadership? Developing a framework for future research” (The Leadership Quarterly, 2022), “The strategic leadership of innovation: A framework for future research” (International Journal of Management Reviews, 2021), and “CEO transformational leadership and SME innovation: The mediating role of social capital and employee participation” (International Journal of Innovation Management, 2019). Herrmann has earned numerous accolades, including the Iowa State University Alumni Association Faculty-Staff Inspiration Award (2020), Dean’s Advisory Council Senior Faculty Research Awards (2010, 2012), multiple Best Reviewer Awards from the Academy of Management (2001, 2002, 2005, 2012), the Dean’s Professor in Entrepreneurship appointment (2025), and teaching honors such as the Dean’s Advisory Council Undergraduate Teaching Award (2001).