Doctor Bernard (Bernie) Banks is a noted expert on the subjects of leadership and organizational change. He also possesses global leadership and management experience in small through large size organizations. Currently, Bernie is the Director of Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders and a Professor in the Practice of Leadership within the university’s Jones Graduate School of Business and Virani Undergraduate School of Business. Prior to joining the Rice community, Doctor Banks served on Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management senior leadership team and taught several highly rated elective courses there from 2016-2023.

Bernie is a proud veteran who served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for almost three decades. He concluded his Army career after successfully having led West Point’s Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership from 2012 to 2016. In recognition of his distinguished service to the nation, the President of the United States permanently advanced Doctor Banks to the rank of Brigadier General at the time of his military retirement.

Bernie is broadly educated and received his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also holds graduate degrees from Northwestern, Columbia, and Harvard Universities. In 2011, Doctor Banks was awarded his Ph.D. in social-organizational psychology from Columbia University.

Bernie has published work in a variety of outlets (e.g., Harvard Business Review, Military Psychology, New York Times). Furthermore, he has collaborated extensively with organizations across all sectors concerning their leader development efforts (e.g., Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, Mercedes Benz, General Electric, IBM, 7-Eleven, Microsoft, AbbVie, AB Inbev). Doctor Banks’ book regarding “The New Science of Momentum: How the Best Coaches and Leaders Build a Fire from a Single Spark” is scheduled to be published by Harper Collins later this year.