School News

Only At Stern: Professor Alison Taylor, a leading Authority on Corporate Ethics, Power, and Accountability

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  • Alison Taylor is a Clinical Professor at NYU Stern, with over two decades of experience consulting for multinational corporations
  • Professor Taylor researches the organizational dimensions of corporate responsibility and business ethics
  • Professor Taylor’s recent book, Higher Ground, earned numerous top industry awards and recognition

Alison Taylor is a Clinical Professor at NYU Stern, and her research focuses on the organizational dimensions of corporate responsibility and business ethics.

What is Professor Taylor’s background and expertise?

She has over two decades of hands-on experience consulting for multinational companies, focusing on:

  • Human rights
  • Culture and behavior
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Political risk

This includes past executive roles at Control Risks and Business for Social Responsibility. Before she arrived at Stern, Professor Taylor was a corruption investigator, working on bribery, fraud, due diligence, and political risk cases across the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas.

Top-tier global publications regularly seek out Professor Taylor as a go-to expert on ethical leadership and corporate responsibility.

What is Professor Taylor’s book, Higher Ground, about?

She is the author of Higher Ground, which offers companies a guide on how to navigate ethical challenges and risks in a volatile global landscape.

Higher Ground earned top industry recognition:

  • Named a Financial Times and The Globe and Mail Best Business Book of 2024
  • Winner of the Porchlight Award for Best Leadership & Strategy Book
  • Shortlisted for the 2025 Thinkers50 Leadership Award

What is Professor Taylor’s impact?

Professor Taylor advises leading global organizations and investment firms, including:

  • World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Good Governance
  • Unilever and KKR Sustainability Advisory Boards
  • BSR, VentureESG, and Pictet Group

At Stern, Professor Taylor brings these perspectives into the classroom with students from many programs. And she extends her insights to global audiences, through her commentary on LinkedIn and regular Substack blog.

Together, her thought leadership, advisory work, and teaching help people and organizations improve their ethics, accountability, and sustainability strategy. 

Learn more in this video and below:

Books by Professor Alison Taylor:

Select recent media highlights featuring Professor Alison Taylor: