Lynn Sharp Paine is a Baker Foundation Professor and John G. McLean Professor, Emerita, at Harvard Business School, where she is a member and former chair of the General Management unit. She has written widely on leadership and corporate governance, focusing on how companies can meld high ethical standards with outstanding financial results. Her latest book is Capitalism at Risk: How Business Can Lead (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020). Other recent publications include “What Does ‘Stakeholder Capitalism’ Mean to You? A guide to the four main types,” “A Guide to the Big Ideas and Debates in Corporate Governance,” and "The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership" (all in Harvard Business Review). Ms. Paine co-founded the School’s required MBA course on Leadership and Corporate Accountability, and has served in various leadership roles, most recently as Senior Associate Dean for International Development. She currently co-chairs the School’s executive programs on corporate governance, including Making Corporate Boards More Effective, Preparing to Be a Corporate Director, Women on Boards, and Advanced Corporate Director Seminar.

Ms. Paine is a recipient of the Faculty Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award from The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education for her innovative course development, and the Rendanheyi Badge Lifetime Achievement Award (China) for her research and contributions to management theory and practice. She has served on numerous panels and advisory boards including The Conference Board’s Blue‐Ribbon Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise after Enron’s collapse, and The Conference Board's Task Force on Executive Compensation after the financial crisis. She was a director of RiskMetrics Group from 2008 until it became part of MSCI in 2010, and served two terms as a member of the Governing Board of the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ). She also served as a director of Atos SE, an international digital services company. Ms. Paine is currently a member of the International Advisory Council for the Brazilian business school Fundação Dom Cambral (FDC), and a Faculty Associate of Harvard University’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics.

A graduate of Smith College, Ms. Paine holds a doctorate in moral philosophy from Oxford University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.