Biography

Richard Berlin received his JD from the University of Georgia School of Law and practiced law before he saw the error of his ways and then earned his MBA from Emory University in 1992.

Before joining the Emory faculty, he held positions at Avanade, Accenture, Points of Light (formerly Hands On Network), Verso Technologies, Kaplan (a unit of The Washington Post), and Siegel & Wittes. While his résumé might suggest a certain restlessness, he prefers to call it "broad cross-sector experience."

Professor Berlin's teaching and research interests focus on linking strategy, organizational change and development, leadership, and team building. His consulting clients have ranged from the Fortune 50 to start-ups, including Best Buy, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Chesapeake Energy, Kaiser Permanente, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, State of Ohio, TJX, and Wells Fargo.

Professor Berlin has made a career out of closing the gap between the brilliant plan and the part where someone actually has to do the work.

Awards: 2024 Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award

Media

  • How to Lead Change in Turbulent Times - Business over Breakfast
  • Adapting Your Leadership Style for a Changing World - Business over Breakfast

Education

  • MBA
    Emory University Goizueta Business School
  • JD
    University of Georgia School of Law
  • BA in Political Science
    University of Georgia

Atlanta instructors on executive education's evolution

Atlanta Business Chronicle
July 13, 2026
Executive education is evolving to emphasize practical, immediately applicable skills and greater fluency with artificial intelligence. This article features insights from Richard Berlin of Emory, Yan Jin of UGA, and Briana Stenard of Mercer on how programs are adapting to leaders’ changing needs.

Learning Leadership by Doing: Inside the Leadership Development Fellows Course

Emory Business
February 22, 2026
In an era when employers increasingly prize self-aware, adaptive leaders, Goizueta’s Leadership Development Fellows (LDF) course offers Full-time MBA students a rare opportunity to practice leadership in real time—by leading, listening, and coaching others.

Layoffs Become a Leadership Test in Executive Education

Executive Courses
February 10, 2026
Business schools say managing job cuts with clarity, fairness and empathy is now a core leadership skill.

Awards Recognize Distinguished Members of Emory and Goizueta Faculty and Staff

Emory Business
July 5, 2024
Richard Berlin, associate professor in the practice of organization and management, was Goizueta Business School’s 2024 recipient of the Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award. Presented annually at commencement, the award recognizes faculty from Emory’s four undergraduate schools who demonstrate exceptional teaching and have a profound impact on students’ academic journeys.

The new CFO: How being chief financial officer can be the launchpad to the head office | Fortune

Fortune
February 13, 2023
It’s a good time to be a chief financial officer with designs on upward mobility. During the first half of 2022, approximately 8.