James Costantini is Affiliate Professor in the Strategy Area at INSEAD. At INSEAD, he has been Programme Director for several custom programmes for companies from diverse industries and geographies, including KPMG, HCL, Colonial First State, NSG, Toshiba, Amdocs, Orkla, Borregaard, Ferrovial, Unilever and Oliver Wyman, and has taught in a range of open enrolment programmes, such as the Asian International Executive Programme and Management Acceleration Programme.
He is Academic Director of the Business Foundations Certificate, an INSEAD-Sorbonne Universités programme. He has been Course Coordinator for the required MBA Strategy Core Course, and has developed MBA electives based on action-learning projects, which has involved a variety of firms, including Amadeus, Air Liquide, Belgacom, BNP, CAF, Carrefour, European Stability Mechanism, Kraft-Heinz, Marsh McLennan, Microsoft, Procter and Gamble, 3Italia, Les Papeteries de Montségur, PhysIOL, RTL and Société Générale. James’s teaching for executives and MBAs includes the foundations of strategy, corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions, strategy and innovation, and several aspects related to professional services.
James received his PhD in Business Economics from Harvard University/Harvard Business School. James’s prior education includes a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where he graduated Baker Scholar, and with a MPhil in Finance and a BA in Mathematics from Cambridge University, U.K. James has over 10 years experience as a consultant. He worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company from 1991 to 2001 (except for two years to complete his MBA), before starting his PhD. While at McKinsey & Company, James served clients across a range of industries, in particular retail, media and financial services, on a range of strategic issues, such as developing new lines of business, M&A and restructuring, and consequent organizational changes, such as post-merger management. James also consulted with ghSmart & Company, a specialist provider of executive assessment for private equity investors.
James’s research interests are on the effects of the broader institutional environment on firm strategy and industrial organization. His main focus is on the effects of institutional arrangements relating to international trade and financial development. James is also an active case-writer related to his research and teaching interests.