About

Professor Paolo Aversa is Professor of Strategy at King’s Business School, King’s College London. He holds various honorary and visiting positions, including The Jonas Persson Visiting Professorship at the Center for Sports and Business, Stockholm School of Economics. Paolo earned his PhD from the University of Bologna, was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and previously served on the faculty at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), City, University of London. He was named among Poets & Quants’ “Best 40 Under 40 Professors” and has been honoured with the title of Cavaliere (Knight) of the Order of the Star of Italy. He is also a Freeman of the City of London.

Paolo closely collaborates - as advisor, consultant, or board member - with organisations across sectors ranging from motorsport and automotive to technology and professional services. He has advised companies of all kinds—including Formula 1 teams, luxury carmakers, winemakers, spirits brands, defence contractors, e-gaming firms, certifying bodies, incubators, and sports organisations—on matters of strategy, innovation, and business model transformation. His work bridges rigorous academic insight with practical application, helping firms navigate complexity and stay competitive in dynamic environments.

He is a frequent commentator in global media outlets including the BBC, Financial Times, Forbes, Sky, and Bloomberg. He also hosts a weekly segment with CNBC—Strategy Lessons from F1—where he draws parallels between Formula 1 and broader business strategy. In addition to interviews and op-eds, he consults on media productions, contributing academic insight to documentaries and scripted narratives.

Paolo’s research focuses on innovation, ecosystems, and competitive strategy in fast-paced, technology-intensive environments. He often uses (motor)sport settings to explore broader managerial questions. His work has been published in leading journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Management, and Research Policy. He serves as Associate Editor at Journal of Management Studies and sits on the editorial boards of Organization Science and Academy of Management Discoveries. He is also an active keynote speaker and advocate for interdisciplinary, engaged scholarship.

  • Paolo brings decades of strategic insight and leadership to high-growth businesses, advising founders, executives, and boards on navigating complex challenges and unlocking long-term value.

    Cristiano Cocchini
    Channel Director HP Italy

  • Professor Aversa delivered a captivating keynote address at our Confindustria Vicenza - Innovative and Technological Services event, igniting excitement among participants. His engaging style held the audience spellbound, while his insights from Formula 1 sparked profound reflection among our entrepreneurs. These insights serve as a valuable foundation for ongoing discussions on innovating our strategy.

    Gianni dal Pozzo
    Managing Director CONSIDI; President SIT Division, Confindustria Vicenza

  • Paolo Aversa is one of the most talented and successful strategy speaker I have crossed in my professional path. His remarkable curriculum and unstoppable work of research should already speak by itself, but where he truly makes a difference is in front of an audience. His natural, outgoing and inquisitive disposition, always open to dialogue, never fails to engage and mesmerize the audience with a perfect balance between wit and accademic approach.

    Pietro Mattioni
    CEO, Zonin1821

  • The collaboration with Dr Aversa provided tangible benefits in helping us significantly reshape the way we address and assess current and future business opportunities, and his insights have been pervasively integrated in the upcoming strategic development of McLaren Applied Technologies - Motorsport. I am grateful to Paolo for his knowledgeable input and wisdom and would certainly recommend his intervention and advice to other organizations that are considering engaging with strategic changes within and outside the motorsport industry.

    Rodi Basso
    Motorsport Director – McLaren Applied Technologies

  • Professor Aversa delivered an exciting keynote speech to the participants our corporate convention. His style was very engaging and it captivated the audience. His insights from Formula 1 triggered powerful reflections among our executives, and offered a helpful foundation for further reflections on how to innovate our strategy.

    Eleonora Candilera
    Brand Manager, Novo Nordisk

  • Professor Paolo Aversa's captivating lecture, 'Leading in Turbulent Times: Strategy Lessons from Formula One,' positively impressed our business community, made of Top and Senior Managers, receiving outstanding feedback, well above the annual average of our speakers. His unique perspective from the world of Formula One provided valuable topics that were not only insightful but also immediately applicable in the business world. Prof. Aversa's communication style allowed participants not only to receive to get information and knowledge, but to be inspired as well.

    Gianluca Consonni
    Partner, The European House Ambrosetti

  • Professor Paolo Aversa delivered an exciting keynote speech to the participants of our corporate convention. His engaging storytelling kept participants riveted, while his thorough knowledge sparked fresh perspectives on leadership and innovation. An inspiring session that left a lasting impact on all participants.

    Roberto Balzerani
    Public Sector, Energy and Telco Director - Sopra Steria Italy

  • Paolo Aversa's keynote at Sopra Steria's corporate event in Rome was truly inspiring. He drew insightful parallels between Formula 1 and business, emphasizing agility, perspective, and data-driven decision-making.
Aversa highlighted the importance of swift adaptation, avoiding narrow focus, and leveraging data with human intuition. These principles align perfectly with our values at Sopra Steria Group.

    Stefania Pompili
    CEO - Sopra Steria Italy

Awards & Recognitions

Knighthood - Order of the Star of Italy – “O.S.I.”

Awarded by Presidency of the Italian Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

‘Talented Young Italians’ Award – category ‘Research and Innovation’

Awarded by the Italians Chamber of Commerce in the UK and Italian Embassy in London for “individuals who have succeeded in their endeavors in the UK, at the same time keeping a link with Italy and fostering exchanges between the two countries”.

Freeman of the City of London, and member of the Worshipful Company of Communicators

World’s ‘Best 40 under 40 Professors’

Awarded by Poets & Quants (among the first Italians ever listed).

Alumnus of the Year

Awarded by CUOA Business School Alumni association

Selected Publications

Aversa, P., Moliterno, T. P., Rockmann, K. W., Bothner, M., Sharapov, D., & Eckardt, R. 2025. Exploring new playing fields: Sports settings and management theorizing. Academy of Management Discoveries. In Press.

Agarwal, R., Moeen, M., Guerra, M., Aversa, P. 2025. Creating New Industries: The Generative Role of Heterogeneous Actors. Academy of Management Annals. In Press.

allila, P. Frankort, T.W.H., Aversa, P., 2024. Revving Up or Backing Down? Cross-Level Effects of Firm-Level Tournaments on Employees’ Competitive Actions., Academy of Management Journal. 67(5): 1331–1358.

Fonti, F., Ross, J. M., & Aversa, P. 2023. Using sports data to advance management research: A review and a guide for future studies. Journal of Management, 49(1): 325-362.

Aversa, P., Bianchi, E., Gaio, L., Nucciarelli, A. 2022. The Grand Tour: The role of catalyzing places for industry emergence. Academy of Management Journal. 65 (6): 2058-2091.

Aversa, P., Furnari, S., Jenkins M. 2022. The primordial soup: Exploring the emotional micro-foundations of cluster genesis. Organization Science, 33(4) 1340-1371.

Aversa, P., Huyghe, A., Bonadio, G. 2021. First impressions stick: Market entry strategies and category priming in the digital domain. Journal of Management Studies. 58(7): 1721-1760.

Aversa, P., Guillotin, O. 2018. Firm technological responses to regulatory changes: A Longitudinal Study in the Le Mans Prototype Racing, Research Policy. 47(9): 1655-1673.

Aversa, P., Haefliger, S., Reza, D. 2017. Building a winning a business model portfolio. MIT Sloan Management Review. 58(4): 49-54.

Aversa, P., Berinato, S. 2017. Sometimes, less innovation is better. Harvard Business Review. May-June 95(3): 38-39.

Marino, A., Aversa, P., Mesquita, L., Anand, J. 2015. Driving performance via exploration in changing environments. Evidence from Formula One racing. Organization Science. 26(4): 1079-1100.

Aversa P, Furnari S, Haefliger S. 2015. Business model configurations and performance: A qualitative comparative analysis in Formula One racing, 2005–2013. Industrial and Corporate Change. 24(3): 655-676