Federica De Stefano Named One of the 40 Best Under-40 MBA Professors in the World in 2024

Federica De Stefano has been an Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resources at HEC Paris since 2020. Among other courses, she teaches “People Analytics: Data for People Management” to MBA students. She has received several research grants and was just nominated by Poets & Quants as one of the 40 best MBA professors under 40.

"We are in the business of changing lives, and Federica is a great example of someone who connects with students, challenges their assumptions, and then helps them build a better version of themselves." – Brad Harris, Associate Dean of MBA Programs and a Professor of Management and Human Resources at HEC Paris.

Federica De Stefano's research focuses on how people management decisions impact organizational and individual outcomes, with two interrelated streams: employee mobility and occupational health and safety. She explores how organizations use employee mobility for flexibility, including the financial consequences of temporary worker turnover. Using longitudinal data from a retail chain, her research reveals significant financial costs associated with high turnover of temporary workers, challenging the assumption that such workers are disposable and that their dismissal to manage demand fluctuations incurs minimal costs.

In her teaching, Federica enjoys applying business research to real-world cases and getting novel perspectives on those applications. "In my opinion, the business school of the future would have much more training in evidence-based management, and companies and organizations today need to apply more evidence-based business practices."

Investigating ways to balance health and work: a life-changing research

Federica is a model for balancing health and work. Diagnosed with cancer for the first time in her early 20s, she had to find ways to balance her treatments and career aspirations. In the Poets & Quants interview, Federica explains that reading research on work, careers, and human resources impacted her ability to navigate her work life, leading her to pursue research in that field to support others like her. She is also deeply thankful for the support from her colleagues, mentors, co-authors, other survivors, and especially her family and partner, which allowed me to navigate her first four years as an Assistant Professor while battling cancer.

How do Poets & Quants select MBA professors?

Poets & Quants selects the most talented young MBA professors globally for their annual recognition. This year's list includes professors from 34 business schools, 16 outside the United States. The selection process involved over 1,000 nominations evaluated on teaching (70% weight) and research (30% weight). Teaching evaluation considered the quality and quantity of nominations and any teaching-related awards. Research evaluation focused on scholarly work impact, Google Scholar citations, media attention, and research awards. The Top 60 were reviewed before finalizing the Top 40, celebrating professors' promising contributions to educating future professionals.

Learn more, read Federica De Stefano's interview on Poets & Quants here.