Didier Cossin (born September 19, 1964) is a Swiss-French investor, author, and professor. He is serving as the professor of governance and director at IMD Global Board Center^[1] and author of High Performance Boards: A Practical Guide to Improving and Energizing Your Governance.^[2][3][4] He also holds the UBS Chair in Banking and Finance.^[5]

Cossin received Master's in Social Sciences from ENS Paris and a Master's in Economics from the Sorbonne University.^[6] He earned an MPhil in Mathematical Economics from EHESS-ENSAE and a PhD in Business Economics from Harvard University.^[7]

Cossin has served as an advisor and executive educator to various organizations, including the United Nations, European Central Bank, World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the International Olympic Committee.^[5][6] He has also worked with sovereign wealth funds and state investors such as the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding (ADQ), and Temasek in Singapore.^[5][6]

Cossin provides governance advisory services to the Red Cross and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).^[5][6] He currently holds the position of Senior Advisor in Governance to UNICEF and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).^[5][6]

Before his tenure at IMD, Cossin worked for Goldman Sachs (London, UK) and pharmaceutical company Roussel-Uclaf (Tokyo, Japan). He has taught at Harvard University, where he obtained two Derek Bok Awards for excellence in teaching.^[6][7] In the late 1990s, Cossin chaired Harvard University’s Department of Management and became the director of its Institute of Banking & Financial Management and PhD in Management.^[6]

Cossin received Derek Bok awards for excellence in teaching from Harvard University in 1988 and 1989.^[6]

High Performance Boards: Improving and Energizing your Governance. ISBN 978-1119615651

Advanced Credit Risk Analysis. ISBN 978-0471987239

Optimal Control of Credit Risk (Advances in Computational Management Science, 3). ISBN 978-0792379386

(2023). Wrongdoing in Publicly Listed Family- and Nonfamily-Owned Firms: A Behavioral Perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 47. 104225872211422. 10.1177/10422587221142230.

(2021). The High Cost of Cheap Talk: How Disingenuous Ethical Language Can Reflect Agency Costs.. Academy of Management Proceedings. 2021. 10437. 10.5465/AMBPP.2021.10437abstract.

(2020). Stewardship Focus, Monitoring, Executive Pay, and Their Effects on CSR: A Content Analysis Approach. Academy of Management Proceedings. 2020. 12166. 10.5465/AMBPP.2020.12166abstract.

(2020). Governance Challenges around the World. 20-27. 10.1002/9781119615705.ch2.