Ian O. Williamson, Ph.D is the Helen Macpherson Smith Chair of Leadership for Social Impact at the Melbourne Business School.  He is also a Research Fellow of the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia (IPRIA) and an Associated Scholar of the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business (USA) and the Lorange Institute of Business Zurich  (Switzerland). 

His research focuses on the recruitment, development, retention and the creation of value by knowledge workers, with an emphasis on understanding how firms hire and manage top executives, information technology workers, consultants, scientists and lawyers.  More recently his research examines the role of human resource practices in driving firm innovation.   He currently serves as the Director of the Asian Pacific Center for Leadership and Social Impact.