Atalay Atasu
Academic Director, INSEAD Hoffmann Institute · PhD INSEAD, 2007
Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD. Research spanning circular economy, extended producer responsibility, carbon management, and sustainable supply chains.
Atalay Atasu (PhD INSEAD, 2007) is Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD, where he holds the Bianca and James Pitt Endowed Chair in Environmental Sustainability. He currently serves as Academic Director of the INSEAD Hoffmann Institute for Business & Society.
Before returning to INSEAD, he was the Dunn Family Endowed Professor and Full Professor at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business (2007–2021). His research focuses on sustainable operations management — including circular economy design, extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation, carbon management, and sustainable supply chains.
His publications have appeared in Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Journal of Industrial Ecology.
He served as President of the MSOM Society (2020–21) and has held Department Editor and Associate Editor roles at POM, MSOM, and Management Science. He is fluent in Turkish (native), English, French, and has working knowledge of German.
Academic Director, Hoffmann Institute
2026 – present
Professor of Technology & Operations Management
2021 – present · Bianca and James Pitt Endowed Chair (2019–)
Visiting Professor of TOM
2019 – 2021
Full Professor (Dunn Family Endowed Chair)
2018 – 2021
Associate Professor (with tenure)
2013 – 2018
Assistant Professor
2007 – 2013
- PhD, INSEAD · 2003–2007
- MS, INSEAD · 2003–2005
- MS, Boğaziçi University · 1999–2002
- BS, Istanbul Technical University · 1994–1999
POMS Excellence in Industry Engagement Award
Production and Operations Management Society
POM Top-10 Article of 30 Years
"Product Reuse Economics in Closed-Loop Supply-Chain Research" · voted by POMS members
McKinsey Best HBR Article Award
Finalist — "The Circular Business Model"
INSEAD Hoffmann Institute
Academic Director since 2026, overseeing grants, research strategy, and stakeholder engagement at INSEAD's flagship sustainability research institute.
insead.edu →Sustainable Business Initiative
Founder and Academic Director (2023–2026). Translates faculty sustainability research into practitioner-facing insights on the INSEAD Knowledge platform.
INSEAD Knowledge →Business Sustainability Programme
Programme Founder and Co-Director. INSEAD Executive Education open programme equipping senior executives with sustainability strategy tools.
Programme details →
Rethinking Business in a World Transformed by Climate Change
A forthcoming book with Harvard Business Review Press, co-authored with Luk Van Wassenhove. Drawing on decades of research in sustainable operations and circular economy, The Ultimate Disruption offers a rigorous, practice-grounded framework for how businesses can turn the climate imperative into a source of competitive advantage.