Dr. Ines Black | Strategic Human Capital | Best Researcher Award

Ines Black is an Assistant Professor of Strategy at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business 🎓, where she’s been shaping minds since 2018 🏛️. A passionate researcher in labor and organizational economics 💼, she explores how firms and workers connect, grow, and thrive. Known for her dynamic teaching style 🗣️ and award-winning instruction 🎖️, she balances academia with real-world insights from prior consulting roles. Fluent in five languages 🌍, she brings a global perspective to strategic human capital. Her work has appeared in top journals 📚 and at major conferences worldwide 🌐

Profile

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Education 🎓

Ines earned her Ph.D. in Economics 🎓 from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Barcelona School of Economics in 2018 📘, with a thesis on labor and organizational economics. She also holds an M.Res. in Economics from UAB-BSE (2013) 🧠, an M.A. in Economics from Nova SBE, Portugal (2009) 📊, and a B.A. in Economics from Nova SBE (2007) 📖. Her training is international, rigorous, and deeply rooted in analytical research 📈, guided by top scholars like Prof. Caterina Calsamiglia and Prof. Imran Rasul 👩‍🏫👨‍🏫.

Experience 👨‍🏫

Ines has served as Assistant Professor at Fuqua School of Business since 2018 🏫, where she teaches MBA, MMS, and Ph.D. strategy courses 🎓. She has also held visiting research positions at Bank of Portugal (2017–18) 💶 and UCL’s Department of Economics (2016–17) 🇬🇧. Before academia, she worked as a Consultant at Deloitte Portugal (2009–2011) 🧾 and Analyst at PwC (2007–2009) 📉. She’s received the Excellence in Teaching Award (2019–20) 🌟 and balances career with family, taking maternity leaves in 2021 & 2023 👶.

Awards & Recognitions 🏅

Ines received the 2023 SMJ Best Reviewer Award 📝, 2022 SSNI Grant ($20K) 💰, and the 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award 🏆. She was also awarded Duke research grants in 2022 ($45K) and 2020 ($5.2K) 💼. A sought-after panelist and seminar speaker 🧑‍🔬, she’s been invited to top schools like Cornell, UCLA, Columbia, and Bocconi 🎤. She serves on editorial boards and SMS leadership groups 📚, supporting strategy and labor research communities across the globe 🌎.

Research Interests 🔬

Ines’s research explores strategic human capital 🧑‍💼, labor markets, and worker-firm matching dynamics 🧩. She investigates how organizations hire, retain, and optimize talent, often collaborating with leading economists and strategists 🤝. Her published and in-progress work spans topics like network hiring, scientific production, and talent search strategies 📑. With projects under review at AEJ and Organization Science 🧠, she contributes cutting-edge insight into firm performance, aging organizations, and the economics of internal labor markets ⚙️.