2026 Best 40-Under-40 Business Professors: Sylvia Grewatsch, Brock University Goodman School of Business

Sylvia Grewatsch
Goodman School of Business
Brock University

Sylvia Grewatsch, 39, is a Professor of Strategy at the Goodman School of Business at Brock University in Canada. She is also affiliated with Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre as an associate faculty member and is the founder and co-leader of the Impact Scholar Community, a virtual network of early-career researchers focused on research impact, with more than 1,100 members and nearly 4,000 LinkedIn followers.

Before joining Brock, Grewatsch conducted research at Ivey Business School and Aarhus University and held a teaching position at the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Grewatsch’s research examines how systems thinking can help organizations understand their role within broader social and ecological systems, and how their decisions contribute to, and carry responsibility for, those interconnected outcomes. Her work has been published in leading journals, including Academy of Management Perspectives, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Business & Society, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Management Studies, Long Range Planning, and Strategic Organization. 

Her research has received several recognitions. She won the EDAMBA Best Dissertation Award in Business Administration in Europe and was a finalist for the Academy of Management ONE Division Best Dissertation Award. Her postdoctoral work received honorable mention at the UN Environment Programme’s International Green Gown Award. She has also received multiple Best Reviewer Awards from the Academy of Management in recent years.

BACKGROUND 

At current institution since what year? 2019 

Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (University of Münster, Germany), Master of Science in Strategy, Organization and Leadership (Aarhus University, Denmark), Ph.D. in Management (Aarhus University, Denmark) 

List of MBA/graduate business courses you currently teach:  MBAB 5P21 Business Strategy 

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR 

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when … I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when I was an undergraduate student and a board member of the student union (Fachschaft WiWi). Through that role, I gained early exposure to the academic environment behind the scenes, particularly through service and committee work, which sparked my interest in an academic career. As my father used to say, “a university has one entrance but many exits”—and I suppose I never felt the need to find one. 

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? I am currently studying how systems thinking can help organizations address complex social and environmental challenges. In practice, this means mapping how decisions in one part of a system, create unintended effects elsewhere. Working with organizations, I often see well-intended interventions fail because they focus on isolated issues rather than interdependencies. A central insight from this work is that researchers and practitioners need to engage more closely with each other. When they do, abstract models become more grounded, and practical solutions become more coherent across the system. 

In a related stream of research, I examine the conceptual foundations of the “research impact” debate. I see a growing generation of scholars who want their work to be more meaningful and practice-oriented, often designing projects with external partners from the outset. At the same time, I observe that different assumptions about what counts as “impact” are frequently combined without careful distinction, sometimes referring to societal change, other times to engagement processes or outreach and dissemination. This can blur the boundaries of the concept and make it harder to build cumulative knowledge. My work aims to clarify these foundations while preserving the motivation to produce research that matters in practice. 

If I weren’t a business school professor… If I weren’t a business school professor, I would likely be a marine scientist and advocate for clean, pollution-free oceans. I am drawn to being in and around water. It makes natural forces tangible and places human activity in perspective. That setting highlights how closely social and ecological systems are intertwined, and how much our choices shape their balance. 

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? What makes me stand out is my focus on connecting academic rigor with practical application. In my teaching, I emphasize both the craft of scholarship (how to think, question, and analyze) and the use of tools that students can apply in real organizational contexts. The goal is to help students develop as thoughtful decision-makers who are prepared to take responsibility and consider the broader social and environmental implications of their actions. 

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor:  Much of the work unfolds through feedback, such as peer review, student evaluations, and ongoing critique. Positive reinforcement is less frequent, so you learn to interpret comments as part of the process rather than as judgments. Over time, this builds resilience and a clearer sense of your own standards and direction. 

Professor I most admire and why:  It is difficult to name only one. I have learned a great deal from Tima Bansal (Western University), whose work in sustainability consistently reframes familiar problems in new ways and brings a distinct clarity to complex discussions. Joel Gehman (The George Washington University) has shaped how I think about research questions. His analytical precision and depth of knowledge set a high standard in every conversation. From Steve Kennedy (Erasmus University), I have come to appreciate systems thinking not just as a framework but as a way of teaching and engaging others, conveyed with both rigor and energy. Wren Montgomery (Western University) brings a thoughtful and principled voice to questions of justice in academia, showing how scholarship can remain both critical and engaged. I feel fortunate that people I once followed from a distance are now mentors and collaborators. Their influence has been formative in my career, and I remain deeply grateful for their guidance.  

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? What I enjoy most about teaching business students is their curiosity and the constant renewal each semester brings. Every cohort asks different questions and brings a new perspective, so the classroom never feels repetitive. In that sense, while time moves forward, working with students keeps the experience intellectually fresh and energizing. 

What is most challenging? What is most challenging is adapting teaching to the rapid development of AI and its effects on how students learn. Students now approach tasks differently (using AI tools to generate ideas, structure arguments, or check solutions) which changes what it means to demonstrate understanding. In the classroom, this requires rethinking how we design assignments, facilitate discussions, and assess learning so that the focus remains on reasoning and judgment rather than output alone. 

At a broader level, this raises questions about the role of business school education. We are still in an early stage of understanding AI’s capabilities and limitations, and its longer-term consequences for organizations and decision-making remain uncertain. This makes it difficult to define what skills will be most valuable and how to prepare students accordingly. Navigating this uncertainty, while maintaining academic standards and relevance, is one of the most demanding challenges at the moment. 

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as tough but fair. I try to be supportive and mindful that circumstances can affect performance, while still holding students to clear and consistent expectations. The aim is to encourage them to do their best work and take responsibility for their learning. 

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM 

What are your hobbies? My hobbies revolve around spending time with my two sons and staying active. I enjoy swimming, running, and CrossFit, and I also find crocheting a relaxing way to slow down and focus on something tactile. 

How will you spend your summer? I will spend part of the summer in Germany, visiting family and friends and introducing them to our youngest family member, our second son, who was born just a few months ago. 

Favorite place(s) to vacation:  The Baltic Sea. I grew up spending time there, so it holds many personal memories. I also find the landscape and nature distinctive, with a calm atmosphere that feels different from other coastal regions. 

Favorite book(s): “Blue Mind” by Wallace J. Nichols, which explores how being in and around water affects our mental state and well-being. I find it compelling because it connects scientific insight with everyday experience, and it resonates with my own appreciation for water—I enjoy being at, in, on, and under it. 

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? At the moment, I do not have a current favorite. With two young sons, most of my time outside work is focused on family, and I cannot recall the last time I watched a movie or series, apart from Paw Patrol or The Smurfs.  

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? Ólafur Arnalds from Iceland is a favorite. His work stands out for its clarity and restraint, combining classical and electronic elements in a distinctive way. I find that his music creates space to disconnect and reset, with a calm, immersive quality that is difficult to replicate. 

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS 

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this… stronger interdisciplinary integration in both teaching and research. Many schools still organize work within disciplinary boundaries, which limits how ideas travel across areas. Expanding joint courses, shared research centers, and cross-field collaboration would allow topics to be addressed from multiple perspectives and better reflect the complexity of real-world problems. 

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at… In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at engaging with research and academic work. In many projects, I see similar questions being explored in parallel (firms testing solutions in practice while researchers study related problems in isolation) with few structured opportunities to connect the two. As a result, useful insights often remain unused, and practical lessons rarely feed back into theory. More regular collaboration, through joint projects, shared data, or ongoing dialogue, would allow both sides to build on each other’s work and respond more effectively to complex challenges. 

I’m grateful for… mentors who have opened doors for me and continued to offer their support, and for co-authors who have become friends and partners in exploring new ideas. Especially, my PhD supervisor Ingo Kleindienst, who recognized and nurtured my interest in academia early on. Above all, I’m grateful for my two young sons, my husband, and my parents for their steady, unconditional support. 

 

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE 2026 ROSTER OF THE WORLD’S BEST 40-UNDER-40 GRADUATE BUSINESS PROFESSORS 

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