Mojtaba Salem is a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Humanitarian Logistics and Regional Development (CHORD). Mojtaba was previously a post-doctoral researcher in the Chair of Research and Science Management at Technical University of Munich. He completed his PhD studies at Kühne Logistics University under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Maria Besiou and Prof. Dr. Niels Van Quaquebeke with summa cum laude. His PhD dissertation on “Leadership in Humanitarian Operations” earned the 2021 Honorary Mention Award from the Board of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Research Institute at Hanken School of Economics. Mojtaba received his Master of Science in Management from Kühne Logistics University for which he earned the KLU Best Student Achievement Award (Class of 2015). In 2012, he received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Afghanistan with summa cum laude.

Mojtaba’s research is interdisciplinary using organizational behavior theories to understand and improve critical outcomes in the context of humanitarian operations. He presented his research findings at various scientific and practitioners conferences in Europe, United States, and Africa. In 2020, his paper on authoritarian leadership has won Best Paper Award in POMS College of Humanitarian Operations and Crisis Management (HOCM). Mojtaba has published papers in Journal of Organizational Behavior, Organizational Psychology Review, and Production and Operations Management. His publication on intergroup leadership in Production and Operations Management has been recognized as one of the most downloaded papers in 2020. As a post-doctoral researcher at CHORD, Mojtaba focuses on designing, developing, and implementing the flagship bi-annual survey of the state and trends in supply chains in the humanitarian sector. Moreover, he is engaged in impact assessment research projects for training and humanitarian response operations.