Neal Ashkanasy

Neal Ashkanasy (born 5 June 1945) is an Australian civil engineer and Professor in Management at the University of Queensland Business School.

Ashkanasy was born to Maurice Ashkanasy, an early leader of the Australian Jewish community, and Heather Helen Ashkanasy. Ashkanasy attended Mt. Scopus College in Melbourne. His father Maurice Ashkanasy was one of the founders of the school, which is now one of the largest private schools in Australia. Following school, he attended Monash University and completed a degree in Civil Engineering and a master's degree in Water Engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Ashkanasy began work in 1968 with the Queensland Irrigation and Water Supply Commission and worked for the Commission (renamed the QWRC: the Queensland Water Resources Commission) for 18 years, rising to the rank of “Executive Engineer, Water Supply Investigations.” During that time, he was actively involved in the Institution of Engineers, Australia, eventually serving as Chair of its “National Committee on Hydrology and Water Resources,” and was a former national president of the Hydrology and Water Resources Institution of Engineers and oversaw the planning and building of the Wivenhoe Dam.

After an 18-year career in professional engineering and management Ashkanasy returned to university in 1970. He completed a PG Diploma in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Arts (major in psychology) with First Class Honours and a University Gold Medal, at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. Ashkanasy's was invited to enrol in a PhD in the School of Psychology, which was completed in 1989.

Commencing his academic career with the School of Psychology, he was later seconded to the Technology and Innovation Management Centre (1989). In 1988 he was appointed a Lecturer (assistant professor) in the School of Commerce, where he attained tenure and promotion in 1994 before moving to the School of Management in 1995. In 2002, the schools of Commerce and Management merged to form the UQ Business School. From 2004–2008, he served as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Law. His present position is professor of management in the UQ Business School.

Ashkanasy has been acknowledged for his contributions to the field of organisational behaviour and in particular the study of emotions in the workplace. He was the first Australian to be elected a Fellow of SIOP, his citation reads:

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