--- id: "pisquared:interview/Pirson-Michael" type: "Pi-Squared interview" title: "Anita McGahan in conversation with Michael Pirson" url: "https://pisquared.theburnescenter.org/interviews/pirson-michael" date: "2026-05-08" people: ["Anita McGahan","Michael Pirson"] summary: "Michael Pirson is Professor and the Felix E. Larkin Chair for Humanistic Management at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Management. He is a scholar of..." recording: "https://vimeo.com/1190934155" source: "Pi-Squared (pisquared.theburnescenter.org), The Burnes Center for Social Change" licence: "none stated" --- # Anita McGahan in conversation with Michael Pirson Michael Pirson, Professor and the Felix E. Larkin Chair for Humanistic Management, Fordham University · 8 May 2026 ## About the guest Michael Pirson is Professor and the Felix E. Larkin Chair for Humanistic Management at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Management. He is a scholar of humanistic management, which holds that business and commerce ought to protect human dignity and promote societal well-being. He is the co-founder of the Humanistic Management Network and the International Humanistic Management Association, global organizations bringing academics from various disciplines together with practitioners, policy makers and media representatives to accelerate the transition towards a life-conducive economic system. Michael is also actively facilitating the transformation of business education to promote positive change making and social innovation, leading Fordham University’s efforts as ASHOKA Changemaker Campus. He is co-leading efforts to humanize business education with global partners such as UN PRME, and IAJBS. He has won numerous awards for his work, including from the Academy of Management, the Association of Jesuit Universities. He is a Full Member of the Club of Rome. ## Reflections from the interview Anita talked with Michael Pirson, Professor and Felix E. Larkin Chair for Humanistic Management at Fordham University's Gabelli School of Management, about humanistic management and its applications in business education. Michael explained how humanistic management seeks to honor intrinsic value beyond market pricing by creating life-conducive economic systems that promote human dignity and social well-being. They discussed examples of successful organizations operating under humanistic principles, including cooperatives and regenerative agriculture projects, and explored how business scholars can better study and share stories of organizational success. The conversation also touched on challenges in major cities like New York, the role of AI in business, and Michael's optimism about creating meaningful human connections and authentic spaces for purpose-driven management at scale. **Humanistic Management ** Michael began his scholarly journey at studying at St. Gallen University in Switzerland, where he received a classical business education.  Anita asked Michael about how this journey progressed from that inception to humanistic management at Fordham University.  Michael explained that he was initially exposed to ideas of humanistic management at St. Gallen, and then sought to develop them as he investigated how to honor intrinsic value beyond market pricing by focusing on creating systems that support human dignity and social well-being while being life-conducive.  One of the long-standing approaches that Michael learned at St. Gallen that has continued to permeate his thinking is in connecting academic scholars with practitioners, policymakers, and cultural leaders. **Academic Storytelling ** Michael and Anita discussed the need to improve storytelling in academia to better communicate the ways in which business can transform and elevate lives. Michael emphasized the importance of studying and highlighting successful organizations that demonstrate human and planetary flourishing, suggesting collaboration with filmmakers and journalists to create more engaging content. He provided examples of such organizations, including Mondragon and Sekem in Egypt, while noting the challenge of publishing qualitative research on positive examples in academic journals.  Michael also described principles of biodynamic and regenerative agriculture as humanistic and practical. He highlighted how smaller, mid-sized companies and family businesses often succeed by respecting people and avoiding exploitation in contrast with business models of limited liability and profit maximization. **Affordable Housing and AI Solutions** Michael and Anita discussed challenges in creating affordable and livable cities, with Michael suggesting a resurgence in cooperative housing as a solution. They also explored the role of AI in education and society. Michael called for the need to use technology productively while maintaining human connection and meaningful work. The conversation concluded with Michael expressing optimism about humanity's potential for creating authentic and purposeful connections at scale. ## Related resources - [Michael’s Fordham website](https://www.fordham.edu/gabelli-school-of-business/faculty/full-time-faculty/michael-pirson/) - [The Human Flourishing Program at Fordham](https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/people/michael-pirson) - [Humanistic Management Association](https://humanisticmanagement.network/) - [Google Scholar on Michael](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XcRMbIwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) - [Michael’s new paper on the performative aspects of humanistic practices](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joms.13244) ## Recording Video: https://vimeo.com/1190934155 ## Category [Where Do We Go From Here?](https://pisquared.theburnescenter.org/category/where-next) * * * Original page: https://pisquared.theburnescenter.org/interviews/pirson-michael · Licence: none stated