Neri Karra Sillaman

Entrepreneur, Bestselling Author of “Pioneers”, Thinkers50 Award-Winning Management Thinker & Founder of Neri Karra

Neri Karra Sillaman’s Biography:

Neri Karra Sillaman is an entrepreneur, academic, bestselling author and internationally recognised expert on entrepreneurship and business longevity. A former refugee who built a global luxury brand from scratch, she now works at the intersection of research and real-world practice, helping leaders and organisations build businesses that last. Neri is the author of Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs, an award-winning and widely acclaimed business book, and serves as an Entrepreneurship Expert at Oxford Saïd Business School. She is also a three-time TEDx speaker and a sought-after keynote speaker on entrepreneurship, resilience and sustainable success.

Neri’s entrepreneurial journey began with the creation of her namesake luxury leather goods brand, Neri Karra, which she built into a multi-million-dollar, B-Corp certified, high-craftsmanship business manufacturing in her own factory and working with leading Italian luxury houses. Drawing on this experience, she has spent more than two decades working with founders and creative leaders, particularly in the fashion and luxury sectors, to help them develop brands that combine commercial performance with purpose and sustainability.

Alongside her entrepreneurial work, Neri has built a distinguished academic career. She holds a PhD in Management Science from the University of Cambridge and has held roles at institutions including the London School of Economics, London College of Fashion, Imperial College London, Regent’s University London, NYU Stern School of Business, Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design and IÉSEG School of Management. At Oxford Saïd Business School, she coaches MBA and EMBA students, supports entrepreneurial ventures and contributes to the development of the Entrepreneurship Centre. She is also the founder of Moda Métiers, a consultancy working with luxury and creative businesses on strategy, sustainability and brand management.

Neri is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and Fast Company, where she writes on entrepreneurship, leadership, resilience, sustainability and the future of work. Her latest book, Pioneers, distils years of research and interviews with immigrant founders behind some of the world’s most successful companies, offering a practical framework for building businesses that endure across generations. Her work is driven by a clear mission: to show how the lessons of immigrant entrepreneurs, creativity and hardship can help leaders everywhere build more resilient, inclusive and impactful organisations.

Why Hire Neri Karra Sillaman?

Neri Karra Sillaman brings an exceptional combination of lived entrepreneurial experience, rigorous academic research and global recognition as a management thinker. In 2025 she won the Thinkers50 Radar Award and her book Pioneers was named a Porchlight Business Bestseller, an Amazon #1 in Business Diversity & Inclusion and Business Entrepreneurship, a Thinkers50 Top 10 Best New Management Book, a Next Big Idea Club “Must Read” and Best Business Book of 2025, as well as the American Book Fest Award for Business: Entrepreneurship & Small Business and the Financial Times readers’ choice as one of the best books of the year.

Praised by leading voices such as Mel Robbins, Adam Grant, Amy Edmondson, Frances Frei and Dorie Clark, Neri translates complex ideas into memorable stories and actionable principles. She speaks with rare authenticity about resilience, immigrant entrepreneurship, sustainable growth and leading creative people. Her keynotes give audiences concrete tools for building long-term, values-driven businesses in uncertain times, making her an outstanding choice for leadership events, corporate off-sites, entrepreneurship summits and creative-industry conferences.

Neri Karra Sillaman’s Career Highlights:

Here are some of the key milestones that define Neri Karra Sillaman’s influential career:

• 2025 – Winner of the Thinkers50 Radar Award, recognising her as one of the most important emerging management thinkers globally.
• 2025 – Published Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs (Wiley), achieving multiple bestseller rankings and major awards and “best book” selections.
• 2024 – Listed on the Thinkers50 Radar as one of the top 30 management thinkers shaping the future of business.
• 2022 – Regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and Fast Company on entrepreneurship, leadership, sustainability and workplace dynamics.
• 2021 – Founded Moda Métiers, a consultancy advising luxury and creative businesses on sustainability, strategy and brand management.
• 2017 – Entrepreneurship Expert at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, coaching and mentoring MBA and EMBA entrepreneurs.
• 2015 – Delivered three TEDx talks on refugee-to-founder journeys, resilience and sustainable fashion and luxury.
• 2016 – Associate Professor then Professor of Practice in Strategy and Entrepreneurship at IÉSEG School of Management, Paris.
• 2000 – Co-founder and Creative Director of the Neri Karra luxury leather goods brand, building a global, high-end, sustainability-focused business.