Professor Danica Purg is the President of the IEDC-Bled School of Management, Slovenia, and the President of the Central and East European Management Development Association (CEEMAN), established with the aim to enhance management development in Central and Eastern Europe. She is also leading the European Leadership Centre (ELC), established with the aim of assessing and promoting European leadership through the organization of forums, workshops and research.
Prof. Purg is professor of leadership and effective management at the IEDC-Bled School of Management. Her special field of interest is looking for inspirations for managers from art and other professions. In 2010 prof. Purg received the 2010 Dean of the Year Award by the Academy of International Business (AIB) for her outstanding achievements in international business education.
She authored and co-authored several books and numerous articles on technological and organizational change, comparative HRM practices, team building, economic reforms and management development in Central and Eastern Europe. Her most recent publication Leaders And Teams – The Winning Partnership, was jointly written by well-known professors of leadership: Pierre Casse, Lynn Isabella, Paul Claudel and Arnold Walravens. Currently Prof. Purg is a contributor to the Slovene edition of the book Hidden Champions by Prof. Dr. Hermann Simon. She is a frequent guest speaker at European and American universities and international conferences.
Prof. Purg is Fellow of the International Academy of Management, Doctor Honoris Causa at Moscow State University of Management, Estonian Business School and MESI - Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and IT, and honorary professor at Moscow International Higher Business School (MIRBIS). President of the Republic of Slovenia awarded her with the “Honorary Order of Freedom” for her contribution to management development in Slovenia and CEE.
Prof. Purg is also member of several international advisory boards, member of European Cultural Parliament (ECP), a member of the UN Global Compact Taskforce to develop the principles for Responsible Business Education, and President of UN Global Compact Slovenia.
After graduating from the Faculty of Political Science in Ljubljana, she completed her Ph.D. at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, and extensively studied at Harvard Business School, IMD Lausanne, INSEAD Fontainebleau, Technological University Delft, London University, Sorbonne and at Kalamazoo College, Michigan.