Christopher Ancona

Christopher Ancona is an engineer, educator, and author. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA, cum laude, from the University of Iowa. He has managed industrial projects around the world and built products ranging from automotive components to biometrics, VR training, and AI tools.

As director of the CIMBA Neuroleadership Labs, Chris biometrically recorded how thousands of people responded to high-pressure business situations. That work informed the co-authored book on Psychological SAFETY as well as the SAFETY assessment he helped create, now normed on 20,000+ leaders worldwide.

He has taught at the University of Iowa, SKEMA, London Business School, and Oxford, serves on numerous boards, and founded Ugly Professor Publishing.

Raised from age 12 by the grandparents who he credits with saving his life, Chris spent 20+ years searching for how to live powerfully whatever life brings. That search became The Alignment Quotient and the award-winning fable The Hedgehog and the Worm.