In spring 2021, the joint chairs of the Critical Management Studies (CMS) division at the Academy of Management (AOM), Amon Barros and Fernanda Sauerbronn, selected Martyna Śliwa to deliver the division’s Plenary Address at the forthcoming AOM Annual Meeting. Rather than delivering a traditional Plenary Address, Martyna expressed to Amon and Fernanda her desire to deliver the Plenary Address through a dialogue. At that point, Ajnesh was approached to chair the Plenary Address and contribute to the dialogue. Over the summer months leading up to the AOM Annual Meeting—which for a second consecutive year was scheduled virtually as a result of the ongoing pandemic—Martyna and Ajnesh spoke on several occasions to discuss pressing issues encountering CMS as a scholarly field as well as a community-of-practice—and signs and opportunities for hope. As both Martyna (Jeanes et al., 2019; Johansson & Śliwa, 2014; Śliwa & Johansson, 2014a; 2014b) and Ajnesh (Fernando & Prasad, 2019; Prasad, 2013; 2015; Prasad et al., 2019) had been publishing on the experiences of (CMS) researchers in academia—including a recent joint editorial (Prasad & Śliwa, 2022)—the conversation was certainly an engaging one. The conversation between Martyna and Ajnesh—entitled Critical Management Studies and Moving Towards Hope—took place virtually on July 30^th, 2021. The conversation was audio- and video-recorded and, subsequently, transcribed into verbatim text. In what follows, select excerpts from the conversation are offered. In response to the question: “how did I get here?” there are three things which I think explain best how I’ve got to the place where I am in my professional life. And these three things are first naivety, especially early in my career, which verged on ignorance. Second, a combination of the privileges I have had, including the support I have received from others, which I hope to talk about more throughout the session, as well as, of course, certain disadvantages that I have experienced. And third, the persistence in doing things, and maybe even stubbornness in doing things, my own way. I’m really delighted to be able to talk about these things, and I’m chuffed that you are willing to listen, because it’s a very special time for me to reflect on my professional experience, my experience in academia, because I’m exactly in my 20th year of academic employment. And, I can see that the CMS community faces a lot of challenges today. But, I also believe that the CMS project is more relevant now than ever. And that’s why I believe that there is hope for critical scholarship and for all the aspects of work and activism of CMS academics and I see my professional trajectory as part of this hope. I would like to speak from the perspective of someone who has been able to be a successful CMS academic, whilst also being a woman, a foreigner, a Central European, in fact, a Polish person in the UK. I came to the UK in 1999 as an exchange student and my own personal project of studying and experiencing the culture of a different country was very much connected to the European Union’s project of student mobility, people’s mobility, workforce mobility. When I completed my masters in 2000, I wanted to do a PhD in the UK, but I didn’t have funding. So, I decided to do my PhD part-time. At that time, the University of Northumbria, where I was doing my PhD, wanted to increase the number of staff who are qualified at the doctoral level. Meanwhile, business management education was growing, with more and more people wanting to study in business schools. And this meant …