Ibarra began her career as a professor at the Harvard Business School in 1989. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1994 and to Full Professor with tenure in 1998. In 2002 she joined the INSEAD faculty as Chaired Professor of Organizational Behaviour. At INSEAD she created and directed the executive programs The Leadership Transition and Women Leading Change. In 2017, Ibarra joined the London Business School faculty as the Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behavior.
She is a member of the World Economic Forum Expert Network, a jury member for the Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year Award and has been named by Thinkers 50 as one of the world's most influential businesses thinkers.[2][3] She is also listed as one of the top 40 business case study authors by The Case Centre.
Ibarra is a Governor of the London Business School. Previously, she chaired the Visiting Committee of the Harvard Businesses School and was a member of INSEAD's board.
In July 2019 Ibarra was elected Fellow of the British Academy.[4]