Denisa Mindruta

Denisa Mindruta is Associate Professor of Strategy at HEC Paris. Her research helps organizations create and capture more value by improving how they compete for partners.

In strategy, we often talk about competition for customers and gaining market share. But what about the competition for partners? Whether choosing a CEO, forming a board, or launching a scientific alliance, organizations must navigate a less visible—but equally critical—battle: becoming the partner of choice. Denisa Mindruta’s research reveals how organizations—whether firms, directors, or scientists—can position themselves to become more attractive and harder to replace. This has direct implications for executive hiring, team-based innovation, and strategic alliances.

Her projects span contexts—from biotech alliances to startup boards to team innovation—and consistently ask what makes a good match, and who benefits most from it. Drawing from economics and matching theory, her research shows that value creation in partnerships stems from complementarities—distinct strengths that fit together. But value capture depends on uniqueness: who else could do what you do? This distinction helps leaders design better partnership strategies, whether in M&A, board recruitment, or R&D.

Denisa’s research has appeared in Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, and other leading outlets. Her research is also published in Forbes and The Conversation. 

Her work has received multiple awards and was awarded and funded by the HEC Foundation. 

She has held leadership roles within major international academic associations, including the Strategic Management Society and the Academy of Management, and she serves on editorial boards of top journals.