Stanford University announced that Sarah A. Soule will become the next dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business on June 16, 2025. Soule, the Morgridge Professor of Organizational Behavior, has been a GSB faculty member since 2008 and serves as the Sara Miller McCune Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.
Soule’s appointment marks a historic milestone, as she will be the first woman to lead the GSB. She succeeds Jonathan Levin, who served as dean from 2016 to 2024 before becoming Stanford’s president. Professor Peter DeMarzo is currently serving as interim dean.
Stanford Provost Jenny Martinez highlighted Soule’s “dynamic and people-centered approach to leadership” and her dedication to advancing the GSB’s mission during its centennial year. In the announcement, Soule emphasized the school’s legacy of transforming students into principled leaders and reaffirmed her commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration within the GSB and the broader Stanford community.
A renowned researcher, Soule specializes in organizational theory, social movements, and political sociology. She has authored influential works, including Contention and Corporate Social Responsibility, and published extensively in leading academic journals. At the GSB, she teaches courses on strategy, organizational design, and design thinking, while co-directing the Stanford LEAD Online Business Program.
Known for her authentic and collaborative leadership style, Soule has won numerous teaching awards and contributed to nonprofit boards and advisory committees. She is a member of the Faculty Advisory Board to the Stanford d.school, and is a faculty fellow in the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford. Her tenure as dean is anticipated to build on the GSB’s legacy of excellence and innovation in management education.
“Sarah brings a deep understanding of the GSB as a hub of innovation in both teaching and research as the broader landscape of management education changes,” said Neil Malhotra, the Edith M. Cornell Professor of Political Economy in the GSB, who co-chaired the search committee with Martinez. “She has an exceptional ability to work with diverse groups of people, and she is very rooted in the GSB’s ethos of making positive contributions to the broader society through our academic mission.”
