Biography

Aristotelis Alexopoulos PhD student at Durham University Business School Biography A seasoned professional in transition from management to academia, Aristotelis is studying for his PhD at Durham Business School. After 20 years of management career in project management and human resources management he is now studying how growth/ fixed mindsets affect the development of leader identity. Aristotelis holds post-graduate degrees from ALBA Graduate Business School (MBA & MSc in Strategic Human Resource Management), Cardiff Business School (MSc in International Economics, Banking and Finance), and Deree – The American College of Greece (Graduate Certificate in Psychology). He has long applied experience from multicultural working environments in positions like Human Resources Director and Director of Applied Research & Innovation. Aristotelis is the Coordinator of evaluation for the Best Workplaces competition in Greece. His articles regularly appear in printed and electronic news outlets in Greece. Aristotelis research focuses primarily on leadership. He is interested in different aspects of leader identity, with a focus on the process of leader identity emergence and construction. Mindsets theory and the role of mindsets in the leader identity development process is the main area of his PhD research. He also studies emerging forms of leadership in current organizational environments, like agile management settings. Apart from applying and studying leadership daily (with a preference to the latter), Aristotelis is also trying to balance between work, studies, family, running and reading (and some traveling – but not on a daily basis).

Favourite Leader: Bill Russell

Favourite quote: "I've failed over and over again in my life, that is why I succeed", Michael Jordan

Paper/Book/Author that inspired your work: DeRue, D. S., & Ashford, S. J. (2010). Who will lead and who will follow? A social process of leadership identity construction in organizations. The Academy of Management Review, 35(4), 627–647.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House Publishing Group.

What research area are you most excited about for the future? How beliefs affect leading and emergent forms of leadership for an unforeseeable future.