Prof. Karena Yan
Dean, School of Business and Economics, University of Galway, Ireland

Professor Karena Yan is Dean of the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at the University of Galway, Ireland, and Established Professor of Innovation and Strategic Management. The School holds AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS accreditation, having secured EQUIS at its first application in 2026 under her leadership, and is building flagship transnational education partnerships with Chinese universities. She brings a combination of Chinese intellectual grounding, UK research-intensive experience and Irish institutional leadership to global business education and cross-border partnership. A native of China who built her academic career in the UK, she was previously Professor and Associate Dean at Durham University Business School, where she led the global expansion of its Doctor of Business Administration programmes, with delivery in Mumbai, Casablanca, Paris, London and Singapore, and was President of the Chinese Economic Association (Europe/UK) in 2022-23. Her research on innovation and strategic management, corporate governance and executive incentives, and ESG has been published in Research Policy, the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Organization Studies and the Journal of Business Ethics, among others, with funding from the UK’s EPSRC. She serves on the editorial boards of International Business Review and International Marketing Review, has advised the UK Parliament on the Metaverse and Web 3.0, and is an international accreditation panel member for AMBA and AACSB.

Her research focuses on innovation, strategic management, and technology-driven organisational change, particularly exploring how firms respond to institutional challenges, technological disruption, and sustainability transitions. Her recent studies have addressed issues such as corporate green innovation, institutional dynamics, and organisational resilience, with implications for both academic theory and business practice.

Prior to joining the University of Galway, Karena was Professor at Durham University Business School and served as Associate Dean leading the School’s Doctor of Business Administration portfolio with strategic responsibility for global expansion and academic development.