Skip to main content
About HEC About HEC
Summer School Summer School
Faculty & Research Faculty & Research
Master’s programs Master’s programs
Bachelor Programs Bachelor Programs
MBA Programs MBA Programs
PhD Program PhD Program
Executive Education Executive Education
HEC Online HEC Online
About HEC
Overview Overview
Who
We Are
Who
We Are
Egalité des chances Egalité des chances
HEC Talents HEC Talents
International International
Sustainability Sustainability
Diversity
& Inclusion
Diversity
& Inclusion
The HEC
Foundation
The HEC
Foundation
Campus life Campus life
Activity Reports Activity Reports
Summer School
Youth Programs Youth Programs
Summer programs Summer programs
Online Programs Online Programs
Faculty & Research
Overview Overview
Faculty Directory Faculty Directory
Departments Departments
Centers Centers
Chairs Chairs
Grants Grants
Knowledge@HEC Knowledge@HEC
Master’s programs
Master in
Management
Master in
Management
Master's
Programs
Master's
Programs
Double Degree
Programs
Double Degree
Programs
Bachelor
Programs
Bachelor
Programs
Summer
Programs
Summer
Programs
Exchange
students
Exchange
students
Student
Life
Student
Life
Our
Difference
Our
Difference
Bachelor Programs
Overview Overview
Course content Course content
Admissions Admissions
Fees and Financing Fees and Financing
MBA Programs
MBA MBA
Executive MBA Executive MBA
TRIUM EMBA TRIUM EMBA
PhD Program
Overview Overview
HEC Difference HEC Difference
Program details Program details
Research areas Research areas
HEC Community HEC Community
Placement Placement
Job Market Job Market
Admissions Admissions
Financing Financing
FAQ FAQ
Executive Education
Home Home
About us About us
Management topics Management topics
Open Programs Open Programs
Custom Programs Custom Programs
Events/News Events/News
Contacts Contacts
HEC Online
Overview Overview
Executive programs Executive programs
MOOCs MOOCs
Summer Programs Summer Programs
Youth programs Youth programs
About

Alberto Alemanno named Social Innovator of the Year by the Schwab Foundation in Davos

Alberto Alemanno, Professor of Law at HEC Paris Business School and Founder of The Good Lobby, has been awarded as Social Innovation Thought Leader of the Year at the World Economic Forum #DavosAgenda. He is the only academic rewarded in this category this year.

This a prestigious recognition from both the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the leading global platform that accelerates models of social innovation to scale solutions and supports people in need, and the World Economic Forum.

With this honor, Alemanno joins an esteemed group of thought leaders in a world-class three-year program, during which his work on social and political innovation will be showcased globally. Past recipients include Julia Battilana (Harvard Kennedy School), Roberto Unger (Harvard Law School) and Peter Senge (MIT).

As an internationally recognized legal scholar and public interest advocate, Alemanno works to democratize access to power by strengthening the advocacy capacity of civil society making while making corporate political influence more accountable and sustainable. His nonprofit organization, The Good Lobby, kickstarted a movement for ethical, responsible, and sustainable lobbying, which has been embraced by a wide variety of change-maker communities, such as that of social entrepreneurs (Ashoka, B Lab), philanthropists, and is now influencing the legislative sustainability agenda in Europe and beyond. By translating Alberto’s scholarship into practice, The Good Lobby continues to lead this movement by combining research, strategic advocacy advice, and training to a variety of system change actors.

Alberto has been at the forefront of action research for over a decade of pioneering new forms of forward-looking research, teaching and real-time multi-stakeholder engagement”, said Eloic Peyrache, Dean of HEC Paris. “Today, he plays an integral role in HEC Paris’s mission to positively impact business and society through cutting-edge research, education and action”.

In 2017, Professor Alemanno authored Lobbying for Change: Find Your Voice to Create a Better Society, an influential book aimed at demystifying and democratizing lobbying as a legitimate form of democratic participation, which is now under translation into other languages. As succinctly put it by TED, “Alemanno succeeded in showing that lobbying doesn’t have to be a dirty word”, provided it is used more responsibly by the few (corporations) and more often by the many, such as nonprofits, social entrepreneurs as well as citizens to promote their missions and solutions. Alberto is also the author of several related articles and books, such as “Nudge and the Law”, edited by Bloomsbury, and trained over 200,000 individuals who took his MOOC, Understanding Europe: Why it Matters and What it Can Offer You.

Alemanno believes that “amid growing public scrutiny, if a company intends to remain a legitimate participant of the political process, it must become not only more transparent in its lobbying and political activities, but also more accountable and responsible in exercising its political power to influence government”. Thus, his current work focuses on crafting a global framework for sustainable lobbying enabling consumers and investors to distinguish companies and organisations whose political conduct aligns with their proclaimed values from those that directly contradict the very same values. His work spans government, progressive business, nonprofit and philanthropy, and embodies the idea that common principles and practices for sustainable conduct can enable systemic change in diverse domains.

The Award is being announced live as part of the Davos Agenda 2022, which is the virtual version of the World Economic Forum held each January.  An in-person Davos, which Professor Alemanno will attend, is anticipated to be held in June 2022.