Richard J. Grad

Richard Grad is an Adjunct Associate Professor teaching graduate-level organizational change and leadership courses at the Rossier School of Education. His academic research on adaptive change, generative leadership, polarity management, and enhancing nonprofit board effectiveness received the 2020 Rossier Dissertation of Distinction Award. Professor Grad is also a Head Program Instructor for 2U short courses at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and Pritzker Law School, focusing on Business, Law, and Strategy, and Intellectual Property. In addition to his Ed.D in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California, he earned a BA, summa cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles, a JD from Northeastern University School of Law, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. 

Professor Grad is an SVP and Global Head of Litigation for MGA Entertainment, where he manages corporate litigation worldwide and advises senior management on legal, operational, and risk management issues. He previously served as head of litigation worldwide for GE Aerospace. Before joining GE, he was a senior partner at Sidley Austin LLP, co-chairing the firm's financial services/class action litigation group. Professor Grad has a long history of involvement in charitable, arts, cultural, and educational institutions, including serving on the boards at Public Counsel, MOCA Los Angeles, CalArts, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the REDCAT Council, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Monica, and Board Chair of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.