PROFILE

Dr. Hakan Karaosman is a world-renowned and award-winning expert in supply chain sustainability with a particular research interest in fashion and textiles. He is Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano School of Management. Previously, he was an Associate Professor at Cardiff University and Chief Scientist at FReSCH (Fashion’s Responsible Supply Chain Hub, a UN-recognised and EU-awarded action research project hosted by University College Dublin).

In 2025, Hakan, along with Prof. Donna Marshall, won the Financial Times’ Responsible Business Education Award with their action research project, FReSCH. Their paper, ‘For the many, not the few: Introducing Just Transition for Supply Chain Management‘, was one of the most downloaded articles in the International Journal of Production & Operations Management in 2024. Hakan was named in the Vogue Business 100 Innovators: Class of 2023 as a Sustainability Thought Leader. In 2023, Greenpeace Italia named him a Voice for the Climate. He also received the Cardiff University Celebrating Excellence Award for Excellence in Sustainability in 2023. His work has been featured in numerous international media outlets, including the Financial Times, Forbes, Reuters, The Guardian, Vogue Italia, Vogue Business, Business of Fashion, Sourcing Journal, the Irish Times, Women’s Wear Daily, InStyle Turkey, Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica.

Hakan has delivered keynote speeches at multi-stakeholder events, including those organised by the Financial Times, TEDx, Global Fashion Summit, British Fashion Council and Milano Fashion Week. In addition to his published work, which includes highly cited academic papers, book chapters, teaching cases, and industrial reports, he has several collaborations focused on sustainability, supply chain management, and climate change with organisations including the UN, NGOs, fashion companies, and media platforms.

Having lived in eight countries throughout his life, Hakan holds a BSc in Environmental Engineering, an MSc in Management in Engineering of Energy and Environment, and a double degree Ph.D. in Industrial Management.