Erika Hayes James is the dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. On July 1, 2020, she will become the dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She will be both the first woman and African-American to lead the business school.

In 1991, James graduated from Pomona College with Bachelor's degree in Psychology. In 1995, she received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan.^[6]

James started her career in 1995 as a consultant at Perkins Williamson Associates and worked there up to 2010.

From 2001-2012, she was a professor at University of Virginia Darden School of Business, where her courses included First Year Leading Organizations; Managing Yourself at Work; Crisis Leadership, and Power and Politics. She also pioneered a new position at Darden - Associate Dean of Diversity, in order to create a more diverse and inclusive environment for faculty and students. In 2012-2014, she worked as a Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education at University of Virginia Darden School of Business and President of Institute for Crisis Management.^[6]

In 2008-2009, she was a visiting associate professor at Harvard Business School and taught the Power and Influence MBA elective and some executive education classes. In 2011-2013, James was a board member of Center for Nonprofit Excellence at Charlottesville, Virginia.^[6]

Since 2014, James has been the dean at Goizueta Business School at Emory University. On July 1, 2020, she will become the dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.^[6]