WHO IS SUNITA SAH?
Professor Sunita Sah investigates what makes us comply. She is an award-winning, tenured professor and organizational psychologist at Cornell University who has conducted groundbreaking research on defiance, advice, and influence.
A trained physician, she practiced medicine in the United Kingdom and worked as a management consultant for the pharmaceutical industry. She currently teaches executives, leaders, and students in healthcare and business. Dr. Sah is a sought-after international speaker and consultant, advisor to government agencies, and former Commissioner of the National Commission on Forensic Science. Her multidisciplinary research and analyses have been widely published in leading academic journals and media entities including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Harvard Business Review, and Scientific American.
“Sunita Sah is leading the charge on the science of compliance and defiance. A must-read for all.”
— Dr. Rober Cialdini, Author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
“A powerful, even transformative, read for anyone who’s ever felt the tension between doing what’s expected and doing what’s right.”
– Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Regret, Drive, and When
“A culture shifting manifesto!”
— Dr. Jonah Berger, New York Times bestselling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On
MORE ABOUT SUNITA
Sunita is a professor, author, speaker, and consultant who helps executives and leaders make key decisions, think critically, negotiate, and transform their organizations.
Speaker
Sunita engages audiences across business, healthcare, and academia with her inspiring and insightful talks and workshops on various topics, such as decision-making, critical thinking, leadership, defiance, and negotiation skills.
- Morgan Stanley’s Women in Leadership Summit
- The International Behavioural Public Policy Conference
- The London School of Economics Graduation Event
- The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Annual Forum
- The Association of American Medical Colleges
- The National Academies of Sciences
- US Securities and Exchange Commission
- Cambridge University Disinformation Summit
- Weill Cornell Medicine
- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Australia
- Harvard Kennedy School
- Wharton School of Management
- RAND Behavioral Finance Forum
Consultant
Sunita uses her expertise to inform and advise organizations, businesses, and governments on managing conflicts of interest and improving decision-making and negotiating skills with critical thinking and better leadership.
- Advising the UK Government Open Innovation Team and Policy Profession Unit
- Serving as a Commissioner on the National Commission on Forensic Science for the US Department of Justice
- Expert for the Ohio Public Defender’s office in a death row case on the validity, reliability, and biases of Forensic Science
- Expert for the US Department of Justice on national healthcare fraud case on industry gifts to physicians that resulted in one of the largest healthcare fraud settlements in US history at $2.2 billion
- Advising the US Securities and Exchange Commission
- Advising the Australian Government’s Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation, and Financial Services Industry on pervasive conflicts of interest
Author
Sunita helps people reclaim their agency and defy the forces that keep us silent and compliant. Her new book is DEFY: The Power of No In A World That Demands Yes published by Penguin Random House.
- New York Times and Los Angeles Times op-eds on Speaking Up, Disclosure, and Resisting Bad Advice
- Harvard Business Review articles on Returning To The Office and How Consumers Treat Missing Information
- Scientific American articles on Conflicts of Interest and COVID and on Forensic Science
- Fortune and The New Republic pieces on Prosecutor Bias and Blinding Policies In The Justice System
- Plus many more in outlets including Forbes, Psychology Today, and The Conversation
Researcher
Sunita is an interdisciplinary scholar who studies defiance, advice, and influence with the aim of improving outcomes and mitigating inequalities in healthcare and society.
- Director of Cornell University’s Academic Leadership Institute
- Professor at Cornell University’s SC Johnson Graduate School of Management
- Honorary Fellow at University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School
- Ph.D. and M.S. in Organizational Behavior from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper Business School
- Executive MBA with Distinction from London Business School
- MBChB (M.D.) in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Edinburgh
- BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh
- UK HM Government Letter of Recognition from the Open Innovation Team (2023)
- Mid-Career Achievement Award, Health Care Management, Academy of Management (2022)
- Diversity and Inclusion Initiative Award, Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management (2021)
- Russell Sage Foundation Scholar and Researcher Fellowships (2019-2021)
- Cornell research fellowship awards that include the Institute of Social Sciences (2018–2019), Balen Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellowship (2015-2020), and the Half-Century Club Faculty Research Fellowship (2017-2019)
- US Department of Justice Certificate of Recognition for Service on the National Commission of Forensic Science (2017)
- Multiple Best Paper Awards from the Academy of Management, and the International Academy of Management and Business
