Profile
Latha Poonamallee is Professor of Management & Social Innovation in the School of Design Strategies at Parsons School of Design, The New School, and founding director of the Management & Social Justice Collective, an interdisciplinary research lab advancing justice-centered approaches to management, technology, and organizational design. She also directs the undergradute degree program in Management, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship in the School of Design Strategies.
Her scholarship and practice focus on algorithmic management, socio-tech innovation and entrepreneurship, and the governance of artificial intelligence. Drawing on critical management studies, science and technology studies, postcolonial theory, and contemplative traditions, her research examines how digital technologies reconfigure power, authority, and accountability in organizations and public systems. She is particularly known for developing governance-oriented frameworks that foreground ethics, judgment, and responsibility in AI-enabled organizations, especially in regulated and high-stakes contexts such as healthcare, public welfare, and social infrastructure.
In parallel with her social science scholarship, Professor Poonamallee maintains an active record of technical and translational research in applied artifiical intelligence, including peer-reviewed publications in medical imaging and clinical AI and holds international patents. Her technical work focuses on neuro-imaging, population-specific reference models, and AI-enabled decision support, contributing to the development of clinically validated and regulatory-grade AI systems. This dual engagement with technical development and organizational analysis enables her to bridge AI design, deployment, and governance in both research and practice.
A serial entrepreneur and founder-CEO of AI-driven health technology ventures, she leads the development and commercialization of clinical imaging and decision-support systems deployed across global markets. Her startup work centers on translating research into practice, navigating regulatory and institutional environments, and designing AI systems that are clinically sound, socially responsible, accountable to public values and builds inclusive models in precision health.
Her leadership and impact have been widely recognized. She is the recipient of the Biospectrum India Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award and was named among the Top 20 Indian Women Redefining Leadership by Outlook magazine.
Professor Poonamallee is a prolific author and editor, with multiple books and edited volumes on algorithmic management, socio-technical entrepreneurship, and technology and social justice published or forthcoming with leading academic presses. Her work appears across management, organization studies, ethics, and applied AI venues, and she is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences.
At Parsons, she leads innovative curricula in management, design, and socio-tech innovation, and is deeply committed to experiential, justice-oriented, and contemplative pedagogy.
Recent and forthcoming books include:
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Algorithmic Management (textbook; Routledge)
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Technology and Social Justice (edited volume; Springer)
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Research Handbook on Socio-Tech Entrepreneurship (Edward Elgar)
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Socio-Tech Innovation (edited volume, Springer)
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Expansive Leadership (leadership and contemplative practice, Routledge)
Degrees Held
Dr. Poonamallee received her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University, M.B.A. from Pondicherry University, and B.A. and M.A. from University of Madras.
Professional Affiliation
Academy of Management
Recent Publications
Scillitoe, J., Zell, D., Poonamallee, L., & Turner, K. (2025). AI as Co-Creator: Fostering Social Equity Towards Social Sustainability in Entrepreneurial Development for Women and Minority Entrepreneurs. Sustainability, 17(21), 9613. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219613
Poonamallee, L. (2025). Countering Climate Fear with Mindfulness: A Framework for Sustainable Behavioral Change. Sustainability, 17(14), 6472. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146472
Agrawal, D., Joshi, Sharawari, & Poonamallee, L. (2024). Automated Midline Shift Detection and Quantification in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comprehensive Review. Indian Journal of Neurotrauma. https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/pdf/10.1055/s-0043-1777676.pdf
Agrawal, D., Poonamallee, L, Joshi, S. (2024). 3D CNN-based Automated Detection of Midline Shift in Traumatic Brain Injury Cases from Head CT scans. Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice.doi:10.25259/JNRP_490_2023
Poonamallee, L. (2024). Social Mindfulness Adoption and Functional Use in a Classroom Context: A Qualitative Developmental Model. SAM Advanced Management Journal.
Agrawal, D., Poonamallee, L., & Joshi, S. (2023). Automated Detection of Intercranial Hemorrhage from Head CT Scans applying Deep Learning Techniques in Traumatic Brain Injuries: A Comparative Review. Indian Journal of Neurotrauma, 20(02): 081-088. DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1770770
Agrwal, D., Poonamallee, L., Joshi, S. & Bahel, V. (2023). Automated Intracranial Hemorrhage Detection in Traumatic Brain Injury Using 3D CNN. Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice. 14(4): 615-621. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10696364/
Poonamallee, L. & Joy, S. (2023). Intra-Stakeholder Heterogeneity Strategy to Prevent Mission Drift in Social Enterprise: Story of a Social Venture in Kenya. SAM Advanced Management Journal, Vol 88 Ed (1): 61-75. https://journal.samnational.org/archive/vol88ed01/vol88ed01r05/
Poonamallee, L., & Joy, S. (2022). Rousing Collective Compassion at Societal Level: Lessons from Newspaper Reports on Asian Tsunami in India. IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review. Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/22779752211010554
Joy, S., Poonamallee, L., & Scillitoe, J. (2021) What to be (or Not to be): Understanding legal structure choices of social enterprises from a resource dependence perspective. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420676.2021.1995030
Awards And Honors
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Biospectrum India Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2024 (juried selection and awarded by the Minister of Science and Technology).
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Top 20 Indian Women Redefining Leadership, Outlook Magazine. India, March 2022
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The New School TED-C Faculty Grant, Spring 2021
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The New School Immersive Learning Initiative Participant, Spring 2021-Fall 2022
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Fulbright Specialist, Botswana Network of AIDS Service Organization, Developing CSOs for Social Enterprise Sustainability, 2019-20.