About

Âriel (Ari) de Fauconberg is a PhD Candidate in the Organisational Theory & Information Systems (OTIS) Group at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, where her research explores the challenges that organizations face as they innovate towards long-term social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Using qualitative, ethnographic, and mixed-methods research, her current work seeks to understand the identity-based barriers that established fossil fuel incumbents, emerging climate tech ventures, and investors face as they pursue net zero-aligned energy innovations. She is fully supported in her research as a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

As a member of the WEF Expert Network, she co-authored a 2021 World Economic Forum white paper on SME resilience and sustainability, and was recently the 2022 winner of the Financial Times and McKinsey & Co. Bracken Bower Prize. Prior to Cambridge, Ari worked as a Research Fellow at Babson College, conducting studies on clean energy entrepreneurship and female-led, high growth, high-potential firms. She has previously taught at the University of Oxford, Harvard Extension School, and Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), as well as worked for the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment and National Geographic.

Ari holds a Master of Philosophy in Innovation, Strategy & Organisation from the University of Cambridge, an MBA (Hons) from Bentley University, a Master of Philosophy in Geography & the Environment (Dist.) from the University of Oxford, and a dual BA (Hons) in Anthropology and Architecture from Smith College.


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