Before moving to Manchester he was Distinguished Professor at
Lancaster University. Cooper was Head of the Manchester School of Management (within
UMIST) from the early 1980s. In 1995 he became Pro-Vice-Chancellor and then Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UMIST until 2002. From 1979 to 1980 he was chairman of the Management Education and Development Division of the
Academy of Management and was elected as Founding President of the
British Academy of Management.[1] In June 2005 he was appointed head of the
Sunningdale Institute, which, managed by the United Kingdom
National School of Government, brings international academics and industry figures together to advise on issues facing UK public sector organisations.[2] In 2008, Cooper was appointed lead scientist for the UK government's Foresight programme and Report on Mental Capital and Wellbeing. He was chair of the
Academy of Social Sciences,[3] a body representing over 88,000 social scientists and 46 learned societies in the social sciences (including the
Royal Geographical Society,
British Psychological Society, the
Political Studies Association, and the
Royal Statistical Society). In 2010 he was chair of the Chronic Diseases and Mental Health Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum. He is immediate past president of
Relate,[4] Clinical Advisor to
Anxiety UK,[5] President of the Institute of Welfare,[6] Past President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2016–2021, Chair of the National Forum for Health & Wellbeing at Work (2016-) and past president of the
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.[7] Cooper was a director of well-being specialists and business psychologists at Robertson Cooper Limited, a university spin off company which he set up in 1999 with Ivan Robertson.[8] He was the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Organizational Behavior,founding co-editor of the International Journal of Management Reviews, Editor-in-Chief of the Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management (12 volumes & now in 3rd Edition), and past editor of the journal Stress and Health.
Cooper's parents were Jews from Romania and Ukraine who settled in
West Hollywood.[9][10] He became a British citizen in 1993.
Education
Cooper went to Fairfax High School and then obtained a BSc (UCLA), an M.B.A. (UCLA), and a PhD (
Leeds University, UK).
Recognition
Cooper has received the following awards from professional and academic organizations:
2017 Awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Chester
2018 Awarded the WFPMA Petitpas Award for Distinguished Service to the Global HR Profession by the World Federation of People Management Associations, Chicago.
2019 Awarded the Chris Arygris Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Management, Boston.
2019 Awarded an Honorary Doctor of Education by the University of Bolton
2020 Winner of the New York City Big Book Award for the Book of the Year in Marketing & PR for The Apology Impulse
2020 Winner of the American Book Fest Award for the Book of the Year in Communications/PR for the Apology Impulse
2021 Awarded Companion of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
2021 Awarded ISMA Federation International Medal for lifetime achievement, India
2021 Bank of England Flagship Lecture ‘Mental Capital & Wellbeing’
2022 Endowed Chair and Lecture Theatre named after Sir Cary Cooper at Woxsen University, India
2022 Patron, International Stress Management Association
2023 Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the IOBC in Israel on January 3,2023.
2024 Ranked the 4th Best Business & Management Scientist in the World by Research.com, April 19, 2024
Cooper has been described as the media's first choice for comment on workplace issues,[3] and is often interviewed by the UK press (including
BBC and
ITV) for both news and current affairs.[14][15][16][17][18][19]
"Navigating the Return to Work Experience for New Parents" (with Maria Karanika-Murray, Routledge, 2020)
"Work & Stress: A Research Overview" (with Philip Dewe,Routledge,2020)
"The Apology Impulse" (with Sean O'Meara, Kogan Page, 2019)
"Current Issues in Work & Organizational Psychology (Routledge, 2019)
"Handbook of Research on the Psychological Contract at Work" (with Yannick Griep, Edward Elgar Publ, 2019)
"Wellbeing at Work" (with Ian Hesketh, Kogan Page, 2019)
"Presenteeism" (with Luo Lu, Cambridge University Press, 2018)
"The Myths of Management" (with Stefan Stern, Kogan Page, 2018)
"21st Century Workforces and Workplaces" (with Bevan, Brinkley & Bajorek, Bloomsbury, 2018)
"Boards that Dare" (with Marc Stigter, Bloomsbury, 2018)
"Managing Health and Wellbeing in the Public Sector" (with Ian Hesketh, Routledge, 2017).
"The Spartan Worker" (with Kostas Perrotis, Routledge, 2017).
"Handbook of Stress and Health" (with James Quick, Wiley Blackwell, 2017).
"The Outstanding Middle Manager" (with Gordon Tinline, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)
"Stress in the Construction Industry" (with Leung and Chan, Wiley Blackwell, 2015).
"Solving the Strategy Delusion" (with Marc Stigter, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).
Stress in the Spotlight: Managing and Coping with Stress in the Workplace (with Brian Claridge, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).
"Wellbeing: The Complete Reference Guide (6 volumes), Wiley Blackwell, 2014.
"Building Resilience for Success. (with Jill Flint-Taylor and Michael Pearn), Palgrave-Macmillan, 2013.
"High Engagement Work Culture: Balancing WE and ME. (with David Bowles), Palgrave-Macmillan, 2012.
"Wellbeing: Productivity and Happiness at Work. (with Ivan Robertson), Palgrave-Macmillan, 2011.
"The Science of Occupational Health". (with Ulf Lundberg), Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
Employee Morale: Driving Performance in Challenging Times (with David Bowles), Palgrave-Macmillan October 2009
Mental Capital and Wellbeing (with Field, Goswami, Jenkins & Sahakian), Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
Open Source Leadership (with Leslie Gadman), Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
"Managing Executive Health" (with Quick, Gavin and Quick), Cambridge University Press, 2008.
"Happy Performing Managers" (with P. Hosie), Edward Elgar Publ, 2006.
"Business and the Beautiful Game" (with T. Theobald), Kogan Page 2005
Leadership and Management in the 21st Century: Business Challenges of the Future, Oxford University Press 2004
The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Management (Editor, with Associate Editors C Argyris and W H Starbuck), Blackwell 2004
Stress: A Brief History (with P Dewe), Blackwell 2004
International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Vols.1–19 (with I T Robertson), John Wiley and Sons, 1986–2004.
"Managing the Emotions in Mergers and Acquisitions" (with Dr. V. Kusstascher), Edward Elgar Publ., 2005.
Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace (with I T Robertson, J Silvester, B Burnes, F Patterson and J Arnold), Financial Times Prentice Hall 2004
Managing the Safety Risk of Workplace Stress (with S Clarke), Routledge 2003
"Destressing Doctors" (with Dr. V. Sutherland), Butterworth Heinemann, 2003.