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About Binna Kandola
Professor Binna Kandola OBE is Co-Founder and Senior Partner at Pearn Kandola, a business psychology consultancy specialising in diversity and inclusion, leadership, and assessment.
A visiting professor at Leeds University Business School, he has spent over 40 years researching bias, organisational culture, and leadership.
He has advised global organisations including Microsoft, NATO, American Express and the World Bank. He was awarded an OBE in 2008 for services to diversity, has featured regularly on the Asian Power List since 2019, and received an Honorary Fellowship from Cardiff University in 2025. Having appeared on HR Magazine’s Influential Thinkers list for five consecutive years, Professor Binna Kandola OBE was named its Most Influential Thinker in 2026.
Books
As well as leading the practice, Binna is a multi-award-winning author of 13 books, including three published in 2025 on the topics of Talent Management, LGBTQ+ Inclusion and Psychological Safety.
His other critically acclaimed books include: The Invention of Difference: The Story of Gender Bias at Work, The Value of Difference: Eliminating Bias in Organisations and Racism at Work: The Danger of Indifference.
Accomplishments
Binna was the first Chair of the Standing Committee for the Promotion of Equal Opportunities of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a member of Sir Robin Butler’s Panel of Enquiry into Equal Opportunities in the Senior Civil Service. He has also been a member of the Board of Trustees of the BPS, and in 2002 was elected as Chair of the Division of Occupational Psychology. Additionally in January 2004, Binna was invited to join the UK Government’s National Employment Panel and appointed Chair of the Minority Ethnic Group.
He is currently a visiting Professor at Leeds University Business School and at Aston University Business School. In 2012 the University of Aston awarded him an Honorary DSc. He is a regular contributor to the media and has appeared on Sky News, BBC Breakfast, Channel 4 News and the Radio 4 Today Show.
Presentations
- Attraction, recruitment, and selection: How we can take unconscious bias out of the recruitment process
- 5 rules for how Learning & Development can reduce bias
Podcasts
Listen to Binna’s podcast series, Racism at Work:
- Episode 1: Micro-incivilities – their impact on individuals and their wellbeing
- Episode 2: Leadership – diversity and the tone at the top
- Episode 3: Education – trusting children with the truth
- Episode 4: Universities – are they still failing BAME staff and students?
- Episode 5: AI – is it bias, and what does that mean for the workplace?
- Episode 6: Racism in sport – does football hold a mirror up to society?
Binna also features in Headspring’s ‘Why We Need Inclusive Leadership’ podcast and is a regular guest on Pearn Kandola’s general psychology podcast ‘What’s going on up there?’.
Latest blogs
View Binna’s latest blog posts, part of our series about Racism at Work: The Danger of Indifference:
- What is modern racism? How and why racism has mutated
- Intersectionality: What is it and how does it affect the workplace?
- What is considered racism at work and how do I make a complaint?
- How micro-incivilities can impact wellbeing
- Why the race pay gap deserves the same attention as the gender pay gap
- How Raheem Sterling is shining a spotlight on modern racism
- What exactly is unconscious bias?
- 4 ways leaders can build an inclusive culture
- Are appointments doomed to bias?
- Does a racial hierarchy exist in your company?