Chris Labash
Associate Professor of Communication and Innovation
Chris Labash is an Associate Professor of Communication and Innovation in Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College. He is Managing Director of ConsultingLab, a course and research lab that works on consulting engagements with a wide array of organizations including FedEx, the US Army, the State of Pennsylvania and many nonprofits. He's also on the faculty of CMU's Center for Informed Democracy and Social-cybersecurity (IDeaS) where he and his colleagues study disinformation, hate speech, and extremism online. His research focuses on the mitigation of misinformation and disinformation.
Chris teaches graduate-level courses in communications, consulting, strategy, innovation, and data visualization in Heinz College's Academic and Executive Education Programs, mostly on the Pittsburgh campus, as well on CMU's Doha, Qatar campus. He's also taught in Canada, the UK, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, and online.
His teaching maps course content to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and engages students in the discovery of all the evidence (and non-evidence) that surrounds an issue. He then guides them in the use of frameworks and tools for evaluation and subsequent recommendations for action.
His research focuses on how applying principles of Nudge Theory, Behavioral Design, and other techniques of communication, influence, persuasion, advertising and design might help audiences better trust accurate information as it is communicated, and marginalize or dispel misinformation and disinformation.
He also regularly consults with CMU’s Software Engineering Institute, as well as other organizations and businesses.
Prior to joining the Carnegie Mellon Faculty in 2003, Chris had a robust business career that spanned the areas of communication, marketing, branding, and advertising for such Fortune 100 technology, financial services, packaged goods, and retail companies as Cisco, Digital Equipment Corporation, Hanes Hosiery, Heinz, BNY Mellon, Nabisco, Nationwide Insurance, PNC Bank, Rockwell International, Victoria’s Secret, Westinghouse, and many others.
He’s been Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director at Ketchum Advertising, Vice President of Global Marketing at Development Dimensions International, a management consultant, a serial entrepreneur, and an admitted startup junkie, working with such venture capital firms as Adams Capital, Draper Triangle Ventures, and Meakem Becker Venture Capital.
His current research looks at how AI conversations can help people talk themselves and their social groups out of false information and conspiracy theories.
Personal Website: chrislabash.com
Courses Taught
- 94-803 - Consulting Lab
- 95-718 - Professional Speaking