Brad Owens is a professor of business ethics in the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University. Under the general umbrella of Positive Organizational Scholarship, his research centers on learning, resilience, and thriving, with particular focus on the adaptive benefits of humility in leadership and teams. His work has been highlighted in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Business Insider, and Fast Company.
In 2021, Owens received the Mid-Career Standout Scholar Award from the Academy of Management Network of Leadership Scholars. He is an active member of several other professional organizations, including the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship at the University of Michigan and the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University.
Owens earned both his bachelor’s degree in human development and his MPA from BYU before completing a master’s and PhD in organizational behavior at the University of Washington. He later pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship. His teaching interests include business ethics, organizational behavior, and leadership.
Brad served his mission in Hong Kong and currently serves as elders quorum president in his ward. He has also been an Education Week and EFY instructor for over 10 years. Brad has been married to his wife, Cathy, for 24 years. They currently live in Orem, Utah. As a “girl dad” with three daughters, Brad Owens tells people he works at BYU full-time and unclogs hair from drains part-time. He enjoys exercising, hiking, studying the Gospel, reading books with his kids, and putting salt on everything, including ice cream.
