“Do I have the right to lead?”
A process model of identity work in a leadership development program.
Andrey Shapenko, Frank Horwitz and Michael Dickmann · Emerald
Read the journal article →International leadership expert · Researcher · Keynote speaker
Andrey Shapenko
I help leaders understand how they lead, make difficult decisions and build teams that can act under uncertainty.
Professor of Practice and Academic Director of leadership development programmes at the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO. I connect leadership research, executive education and experience in international business.
DBA Cranfield University, UKMBA IMD, SwitzerlandSince 2013 at SKOLKOVOEnglish & Russian speaking and teaching
Academic depth · International perspective
From international business to leadership research
My work focuses on leader identity: how people come to see themselves as leaders, claim the right to lead and take responsibility for others. I teach leadership on MBA, Executive MBA and executive development programmes, and design learning experiences around real decisions and challenges.
I hold a Doctor of Business Administration from Cranfield University (2022), an MBA from IMD in Lausanne (2012), and a Candidate of Sciences degree in Economics from Gubkin University (2006). My MBA and doctoral studies were conducted in English.
Before joining SKOLKOVO, I spent more than a decade in energy and chemicals, working with TNK-BP, PPG Industries, Lukoil Overseas and Alliance Oil. My roles covered strategy, business development, mergers and acquisitions, and organisational change in Russia and internationally.
My teaching and speaking experience spans Russia, Central Asia, Armenia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland. I also served for three years as Academic Director of SKOLKOVO’s MBA programme.
SKOLKOVO faculty profile →International competitions & academic awards
EFMD Case Writing CompetitionWinner, 2016
CEEMAN Case Writing CompetitionFinalist, 2017
SKOLKOVO Faculty Leadership Award2024 · Academic Development Award, 2023
International academic publishingEmerald · SAGE · The Case Centre
Research & publications
How people become leaders
My research examines leadership development, identity and the ways cultural and generational contexts shape what leadership means.
“We are not like them”
The generational shift in leadership perceptions in an emerging market.
Andrey Shapenko, Michael Dickmann and Frank Horwitz · SAGE
Read the journal article →Space Leadership
Learning from the International Space Station explores what leadership in space can teach us about working together on Earth. Co-authored with cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy and Professor Pierre Casse; published in English by AuthorHouse in 2020.
Explore the book →Teaching cases
Cases on strategy, change and leadership connect classroom discussion to business practice. Publications include Abrau-Durso: reviving the 140-year-old Russian wine brand, co-authored with Sergey Martynov in Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies (2020).
Read the teaching case →Keynotes · Conferences · Executive workshops
Leadership ideas people can put to work
Talks in English and Russian for conferences, leadership teams and executive programmes. In person or online, with the focus shaped around your audience and the decisions they face.
I have spoken at Russian and international conferences, including TEDx. Keynotes usually run for 45–90 minutes; workshops allow more time for cases, discussion and application.
Why should anyone follow you?
Leader identity, responsibility and the transition from managing tasks to leading people.
Leading through uncertainty
How leaders find their own footing and become a secure base for their teams.
How good people make bad decisions
Ethical judgement, organisational pressure and the small compromises that change outcomes.
Teams when the stakes are high
Trust, conflict, roles and shared responsibility, drawing on cases from spaceflight and expeditions.
A leader’s personal strategy
Career transitions, purpose and the choices that shape the next stage of a leader’s life.
AI for leadership and personal development
A practical workshop on coaching, reflection, feedback, reviewing decisions and rehearsing difficult choices with AI. Real cases and concrete applications.
Work with me
For organisations, educators and leaders
Executive education
Leadership programmes and modules for senior executives, management teams and high-potential talent. Research, cases and structured reflection connected to the organisation’s challenges.
Executive mentoring
Individual work with CEOs and business owners on leadership roles, major decisions, transitions and personal strategy.
Team & strategy sessions
Facilitated conversations that help executive teams work through priorities, responsibilities and difficult trade-offs.
Engagements are subject to conflict-of-interest checks and SKOLKOVO commitments. I do not undertake independent work with the school’s current clients or B2C programmes that compete with its offerings.
Speaking & collaboration enquiries
Let’s discuss your audience and your challenge
Send the event date, location or online format, audience and topic. I usually reply within one business day.
Based in Moscow. English and Russian. In-person arrangements discussed individually.
