Over a brasserie table littered with architects' drawings, Herminia Ibarra is fielding calls on her mobile. While the rest of Paris winds down for the summer, she is juggling wedding preparations with plans for repairing and moving into a new flat.

It will be a break from equally wide-ranging professional roles: research and teaching at Insead, where she is professor of organisational behaviour; conference appearances, including at this year's World Economic Forum; and advising companies on leadership, diversity and talent development.