Mark is an associate professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD. He researches, teaches, and consults on issues of collaboration, organisational design and new ways of working, and leadership. His area of expertise is organisational collaboration, with an emphasis on two increasingly prevalent ways of organisng that do not fit traditional models of team dynamics: globally distributed (virtual) and project-based work.
An expert in global and dynamic collaboration, Mortensen offers new frameworks for companies to strengthen team bonds and build trust across the differences in language, culture and time zones that often tear them apart. He helps leaders separate the substance from the hype surrounding new approaches to work – like Agile, Scrum and Holacracy – and uncovers their hidden costs and risks. As explained in his widely recognized Harvard Business Review article “The Overcommitted Organization” – named an HBR 10 must-read of 2019 and one of the top 20 HBRs on the subject of all time – though multi-teaming has evolved to become commonplace, few managers have developed effective ways to maximize its benefits while minimizing its downsides. He teaches managers how to build solid strategies and creative cultures that make coordination between and amongst teams efficient, productive and sustainable.
Mark has worked with companies such as adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Gen Re, Goldman Sachs, Maersk Oil, Merck KGaA, SAP and Qatar Petroleum, Mortensen helps leaders devise strategies that improve how people work together and propel organizations into the future of work. Prior to joining INSEAD, Mortensen was on the faculty of the MIT Sloan School of Management and the Desautels School of Management at McGill University. He holds a doctorate in management science and engineering from Stanford University, a master’s degree from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree from Colby College, both in computer science.