Jerry Porras

Jerry Porras Speaker Biography

Co-Author of Built To Last & Stanford University Professor

Jerry Porras is the Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior and Change Emeritus at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He has taught courses in leadership, interpersonal dynamics, and organizational development and change in the MBA and executive programs.

A student of organizational change, Porras has helped numerous clients in the U.S., Mexico, and Argentina improve their organizational performance. As a lecturer on visionary companies he has delivered presentations to over 175 senior management audiences worldwide.

Debunking the myths about what makes visionary companies successful, Porras helps audiences build an organization that can stand the test of time, management changes, economics and other influences. His groundbreaking theories of successful organization are vital for every business.

Porras directed the Stanford’s Executive Program on Leading and Managing Change for 16 years. During the period 1988 to 2001 he served as the University’s Faculty Athletic Representative to the Pacific-10 Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association and on two occasions was President of the Pacific-10 Conference Council. From 1991 to 1994 he was an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the GSB.

Winner of numerous awards, Porras’ honors include the Brillante Award presented by the National Society of Hispanic MBAs; the Silver Apple Award presented by the Stanford Business School Alumni Association; the Kantor Medal awarded by the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology; and the Robert T. Davis Award from the Stanford Business School.

Porras has served on the editorial boards of many academic publications, including the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Business Review and the Journal of Organizational Change Management.

In addition to over 40 articles or reviews for leading publications, Porras has published two books on organizational success. In 1987, he wrote Stream Analysis: A Powerful New Way to Diagnose and Manage Organizational Change, which has since been converted into an exciting software tool used for diagnosing, planning and managing change within an organization. Working with Jim Collins, Porras co-authored the international best seller, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. The book is based on the results of an exhaustive six-year research project aimed at discovering the approaches and behaviors of the most visionary companies of the past two centuries. Translated into 18 languages, it has sold more than one million copies worldwide.

Porras currently serves on the board of directors of the State Farm Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Life Insurance Company, State Farm General Insurance Company, Quaker Fabrics and ReloAction.