Pramodita (Dita) Sharma has been drawn to the dynamics of family businesses from an early age. As the Schlesinger-Grossman Chair of Family Business at the UVM Grossman School of Business, she has made quite an impression in her chosen field.

Adding to her accolades, she has once again been named one of the Top 100 Family Business Influencers by Family Capital, a London-based publication dedicated to the global family enterprise sector. Sharma is 1 of only 16 academics, and only 4 from the U.S., who made the list.

“Learning from resourceful families and teaching about their enterprises is my life’s work,” Sharma says. “As family enterprises dominate many economies around the world, I’m constantly learning something new. Innovative family businesses are everywhere if we are open to listen to them with an open mind and heart."

Her research has focused on succession, governance, innovation, next generation commitment, and entrepreneurial leadership in family firms. More recently, she has been interested in understanding the role of spirituality, philanthropy, and sustainability on the strategic decisions of family business leaders.

This body of research has been published in over 50 scholarly articles or chapters and 10 books, with her latest book, (co-authored with Sanjay Sharma) “Pioneering Family Firms’ Sustainable Development Strategies” released in 2021. The book describes the sustainable development journey of 15 business families committed to using their enterprises as a force of societal good.

Sharma received her Ph.D. from the University of Calgary and has received honorary doctorates from the Jönköping University in Sweden, and the University of Witten/Herdecke in Germany. She is active in leadership and advisory roles in a number of professional associations. From 2008-2017 she served as the Editor of Family Business Review, and she co-founded the Family Enterprise Research Conference in 2005.

In 2012, she established the UVM Family Business Awards, and in 2013 launched the Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition both hosted annually at UVM.  She received the prestigious Barbara Hollander award at the 25th anniversary conference of the Family Firm Institute.