2025 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Francesco Rosati, Technical University of Denmark

 

Francesco Rosati
Technical University of Denmark

“Professor Francesco Rosati has demonstrated a remarkable ability to combine academic rigor with real-world relevance, delivering content that is not only intellectually stimulating but also highly applicable to the evolving challenges of modern business. Through a carefully structured curriculum, innovative teaching methods, and a deep understanding of sustainable business practices, he has created a learning environment that encourages critical thinking, creativity, and responsible innovation.

What truly sets Professor Rosati apart is his ability to inspire students to see themselves as changemakers. Many students have shared how this course became a turning point in their studies—shaping their career aspirations, expanding their perspectives on sustainable development, and motivating them to embed sustainability into every aspect of their future professional practice.” – Vida Skudiene, Head of Innovation and Technology Management MSc program

Francesco Rosati, 39, is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Technology Entrepreneurship of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Group Leader of the Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research Group at DTU. He is also affiliated to Copenhagen Business School as a Research Fellow and ISM University of Management and Economics as Visiting Professor. 

His research explores the role of business in society, with a focus on how entrepreneurship and innovation drive transformative responses to societal grand challenges.

Rosati is a recipient of a Carlsberg Foundation’s Semper Ardens Accelerate grant, leading a research project focusing on business model innovation for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. 

His work has been published in journals such as Organization & Environment, Business Strategy and the Environment, and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. He serves on the editorial board of Business & Society and Organization & Environment.

His research on business and the Sustainable Development Goals received the Tietgen Award from the Danish Society for Education and Business. 

Rosati teaches Sustainable Business Innovation in the DTU Executive MBA program and DTU Board Education. He serves on the advisory board of the DTU Executive Master in Sustainable Leadership. He also lectures on sustainable entrepreneurship, technology entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial marketing at the MSc and BSc levels. 

He serves as Impact Advisor to several sustainability-oriented startups and organizations, including DTU Earthbound, a climate technology catalyst that accelerates deep tech innovations, transforming them into early-stage startups dedicated to combating climate change. He is particularly passionate about advancing the discourse on the role of business in the regeneration of social and ecological systems. He believes that scholars play a crucial role in supporting the transformation of businesses, from minimizing harm to actively restoring, preserving and regenerating social-ecological systems.

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2014

Education: MSc in Management Engineering, University of Bologna; PhD in Enterprise Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata

List of MBA courses you currently teach: Sustainable Business Innovation at DTU’s Executive MBA program.

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… I realized the impact that professors can have in triggering systems change.

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? I am currently researching the regenerative economy and regenerative business models, and I have realized how much regenerative thinking can help us tackle societal grand challenges.

If I weren’t a business school professor… I would probably be a geographer – or maybe a mycologist.

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? The positive energy I try to bring into the classroom, the dialogues on timely issues and the strong connection to theory.

One word that describes my first time teaching: Eyes.

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: it can be fun!

Professor I most admire and why: Tima Bansal, due to the rigor and relevance of her research and its impact on practice. 

TEACHING MBA STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? The critical business perspectives they bring to the class discussions. I learn a lot from them!

What is most challenging? The critical business perspectives they bring to the class discussions. Sometimes, theory alone is clearly not enough to address them!

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Curious

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Indifferent

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… Fair (enough)

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? Finding mushrooms, playing football, running, playing chess, and reading historical novels. 

How will you spend your summer? Camping in the Dolomites with my wife and our three kids

Favorite place(s) to vacation: Umbria, Dolomites and Mallorca. 

Favorite book(s): In chronological order based on when I read them: Siddharta by Hermann Hesse; La Casa de los Espíritus by Isabelle Allende; Sostiene Pereira by Antonio Tabucchi; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? Una Giornata Particolare by Ettore Scola for its exploration of human relationships in a time of social and political tension.

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? I love Fabrizio De André for the depth of his lyrics and the richness of his sound. I also deeply appreciate Buena Vista Social Club for the warmth, rhythm, and positive energy in their music.

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this… regenerative thinking

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at… setting ambitious long-term goals, engaging their socio-ecological systems in the strategizing and decision-making processes, and adopting regenerative practices that nurture both human and environmental wellbeing and flourishing. 

I’m grateful for… the gift of education, the strength of health, the brilliance of minds all around us.

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE 2025 ROSTER OF THE WORLD’S BEST 40-UNDER-40 MBA PROFESSORS