Michael Posner is the Director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern School of Business – the first human rights center at any business school in the world – and the Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics and Finance. Before creating the Center, Mike served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor in the Obama Administration. In that role, he represented the US government on a wide range of human rights issues and helped shape US policy on refugee and asylum law, national security and human rights, internet freedom, and, most relevant here, business and human rights. Before joining the State Department, Mike was the Executive Director and President of Human Rights First, and he currently serves as the Chair of the board for the Fair Labor Association, which he helped create. He received his JD from the University of California, Berkeley Law School.
His current work focuses on the challenges facing businesses working around the world, especially in jurisdictions where human rights violations are commonplace. Under Mike’s leadership, the Center produces research on technology and disinformation, construction and the mistreatment of migrant workers, manufacturing and supply chains, and investment.
