Biography—

Sharon Alvarez is the Thomas W. Olofson Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies and associate dean for faculty affairs at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz’s Graduate School of Business. She also is a professor in organizations and entrepreneurship. 

As associate dean for faculty affairs, Alvarez manages faculty development and management at the Pitt School of Business. She leads the promotion and tenure processes and oversees faculty hiring, onboarding, contract renewals and annual evaluations. Her work also includes implementing collective bargaining agreements and other institutional policies.

Alvarez is a fellow of the Strategic Management Society and has been recognized for her contributions to the field. Elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Management in 2020, Alvarez was the 2023 AOM president. She previously held several AOM service roles, including chair of the Academy’s entrepreneurship division and associate editor of the Academy of Management Review. 

Alvarez’s work, which explores the possibility that opportunities are created and exploited by those seeking to generate economic profits, has been published in several management and entrepreneurship journals and outlets, including Journal of Management, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Business Venturing and Academy of Management Perspectives. She has won multiple related best paper awards.