Lorenz Graf-Vlachy studied Information Systems at FAU, Indiana University, and at Tongji University. He also obtained his doctoral degree in Strategic Management from FAU. Before his academic career, he was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Munich, working on strategy and organization projects, and was seconded to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva. He obtained his habilitation from the University of Passau and held visiting positions at various institutions, for instance Harvard University, UC Berkeley, and Columbia Business School. He then became Professor and Chair of Strategy at ESCP Business School and later Professor for Strategic Management and Leadership at TU Dortmund University. He is a Senior Research Fellow at ESCP Business School, as well as an International Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation.
His research focuses primarily on three fields: Strategic leadership and the psychology of top executives and entrepreneurs, the sustainable management of discontinuous innovation and digital technologies, and managerial and corporate communication and social evaluations.