Release Date: November 20, 2025
Speakers: Prof. Sandro Cabral (Insper), Prof. Isabel Fernandez-Mateo (London Business School), Prof. John Joseph (UC Irvine), and Martin Gonzalez, Organizational Design Lead at Google DeepMind
Hosted by the SMS Competitive Strategy Interest Group! This webinar brought together leading scholars and a practitioner voice to spark a conversation about how organizational design can either advance—or hold back—progress on some of today’s most urgent challenges. From inequality to climate change, organizations have faced pressure to adapt their structures in ways that create real societal impact. At the same time, they have navigated growing pushback on social and environmental initiatives, the need to stay resilient in times of uncertainty, and the fast-moving disruption of generative AI.
The panel included Prof. Sandro Cabral (Insper), Prof. Isabel Fernandez-Mateo (London Business School), Prof. John Joseph (UC Irvine), and Martin Gonzalez, Organizational Design Lead at Google DeepMind. Drawing from strategy, organizational theory, and practice, the panel explored how design choices shape firms’ ability to innovate and respond to these pressures. The discussion offered fresh perspectives for scholars, practitioners, and students on where research and practice can make a meaningful impact.
