The Gentz Lecture 2026
New insights on the morality of greed
September 10, 2026, 5:00 – 6:15 p.m. CEST
ESMT Berlin, Schlossplatz 1, 10178 Berlin
and via livestream
This event will take place on campus and online. To attend, please register using the form below.
We warmly invite you to the 2026 Gentz Lecture, the annual flagship event of the Ingrid and Manfred Gentz Chair in Business and Society. Held during ESMT’s master’s student inauguration, the lecture marks the beginning of their academic journey while opening that conversation to the wider community. Each year, it explores an aspect of the ethical and societal challenges shaping the future of business.
This year’s keynote speaker is Professor Marcel Zeelenberg of Tilburg University, internationally recognized for his groundbreaking research on emotions, judgment, and decision making. In his lecture, “New insights on the morality of greed,” he will explore how greed shapes ethical decision making and moral behavior, offering insights into why some people are more willing to cross ethical boundaries than others.
Following the keynote, Marcel Zeelenberg will join Gianluca Carnabuci, holder of the Ingrid and Manfred Gentz Chair in Business and Society at ESMT, and Julia Langdon, assistant professor of organizational behavior at ESMT, for an interactive discussion on ethics and leadership in practice.
The lecture will conclude with an audience Q&A and networking reception.
About the speakers
Marcel Zeelenberg is professor of economic psychology at Tilburg University. He studied cognitive psychology at Leiden University, earned his doctorate in social psychology at the University of Amsterdam, completed postdoctoral studies at Eindhoven University and Sussex University, and joined Tilburg University in 1998. As an economic psychologist, Zeelenberg focuses on the mechanisms and emotional and motivational factors of decision making. His published research addresses regret, disappointment, envy, shame, guilt, anger, pride and hope, and the psychology of greed. His more applied work examines financial decision making within insurance, taxation, poverty, and behavioral interventions.
Gianluca Carnabuci is professor of organizational behavior at ESMT Berlin, where he holds the Ingrid and Manfred Gentz Chair in Business and Society and serves as director of research. His research focuses on how informal networks shape the flow of information and knowledge within organizations, influencing innovation and leadership effectiveness. Prior to joining ESMT in 2016, he held academic positions at the University of Lugano and Bocconi University. He earned his doctorate in social and behavioral sciences from the University of Amsterdam. At ESMT, he teaches courses on organizational behavior, leadership, and network dynamics. Carnabuci is also a senior editor at Organization Science, contributing to the advancement of research in organizational studies.
Julia Langdon is assistant professor of organizational behavior at ESMT Berlin. She earned her doctorate in management from London Business School. Her research focuses on preventing unethical behavior in organizations by examining the psychological justifications people use, as well as stakeholder responses to ethical scandals. She also studies how moral beliefs influence behavior and explores interventions to promote ethics and inclusion, particularly for disabled professionals, using experimental and field methods.
Thank you to the Krupp-Stiftung for their generous support of this event series.
