Josh Bersin is an analyst, author, educator, and thought leader focusing on the global talent market and the challenges and trends impacting business workforces around the world. He studies the world of work, HR and leadership practices, and the broad talent technology market. He is often cited as one of the leading HR and workplace industry analysts in the world.
He founded Bersin & Associates in 2001 to provide research and advisory services focused on corporate learning. Over the next ten years, he expanded the company’s coverage to encompass HR, talent management, talent acquisition, and leadership and became a recognized expert in the talent market. He sold the company to Deloitte in 2012, when it became known as Bersin™ by Deloitte. He currently sits on the board of UC Berkeley Executive Education.
Most recently, Bersin launched the Josh Bersin Academy, the world’s first global development academy for HR and talent professionals at all levels and across all industries. Serving as the Academy’s dean, Bersin guides its program offerings, interacts with members, and shares relevant research and insights to help HR and talent professionals stay current on the trends and practices needed to drive success in the modern world of work.
Bersin is frequently featured in talent and business publications such as Forbes, Harvard Business Review, HR Executive, FastCompany, The Wall Street Journal, and CLO Magazine. He is a regular keynote speaker at industry events and a popular blogger with more than 800,000 followers on LinkedIn.
Prior to founding Bersin & Associates, Josh spent 25 years in product development, product management, marketing, and sales of database, e-learning and other enterprise technologies. His education includes a BS in engineering from Cornell University, an MS in engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of two books, The Blended Learning Handbook and The Training Measurement Book, along with dozens of studies on corporate HR, learning, and talent technologies. He currently has a third book under contract with Harvard Business Publishing.
Josh’s eminence as an analyst and thought leader has been globally recognized. During his time at Deloitte, Josh was the principal author and architect of the Deloitte Human Capital Trends, the world’s largest global study of HR, talent, and workplace trends. This report, which covers all major HR issues around the world, became one of Deloitte’s most widely read research studies and formed the basis for Deloitte’s global human capital consulting. His model for employee engagement, “Simply Irresistible,” was the most widely read research in the Deloitte Insights website.
His research on employee engagement, new models of performance management, and the ever-changing nature of HR and workplace technology is widely respected. He is often credited with the concepts of “high-impact corporate training,” “learning in the flow of work,” and hundreds of articles on the evolution of people analytics and the use of AI in the workplace.
Throughout his career in HR and HR technology, Josh has continued to focus on the needs of HR executives, HR teams, and the careers of HR professionals. He believes in the “craft” of human resources and is one of the profession’s most vocal advocates for the importance of HR in the ever-changing world of work.
