Joseph B. Lassiter
Senator John Heinz Professor of Management Practice in Environmental Management, Retired
Senator John Heinz Professor of Management Practice in Environmental Management, Retired
Lassiter argues that the world needs to get nuclear power back into the race against fossil fuels in order to avoid significant levels of CO2 emission-driven climate change. The world’s energy experts forecast that CO2 emissions will increase for the foreseeable future. While the developed world’s efforts in curbing emissions are helpful, it is the developing world’s need for energy to lift their citizens to a modern standard-of-living that is driving world-wide CO2 emissions. These forecasts show that the world—even with all its current zero-carbon energy alternatives and their projected improvements—will lose the race to fossil fuels in all but the richest countries. Lassiter believes that we should not accept those forecasts. Lassiter argues that, rather than hope for a miracle, the world must aggressively pursue *new* nuclear alternatives.
Climate change is one of the most complicated and challenging problems that the world has ever faced. As part of this video collection produced by the Harvard University Center for the Environment, Lassiter talks about *new* nuclear technologies as an urgently needed source of clean, carbon-neutral and potentially—but as yet unproven—low-cost, reliable electric power.
Today’s existing nuclear power alternatives as well as renewables are currently forecast by the EIA and IEA to be losing the race with fossil fuels worldwide and are expected to continue do so for the forecast future. A suite of *new* nuclear power alternatives that is capable of competing economically with fossil fuels (coal in Asia and natural gas in the United States) is on the drawing boards, but time is of the essence if we want to keep cumulative, worldwide CO2 emissions from reaching what could well be threatening levels.
Joe Lassiter, Harvard Business School Professor and Faculty Chair of Harvard's Innovation Lab, discusses how businesses can seize on new opportunities and re-invent themselves quickly and effectively at the Better by Design CEO Summit 2015 in Aukland, New Zealand. He explains why you shouldn’t be afraid of failure; the importance of reverse engineering - there are infinitely fewer paths in reverse than there are going forward; the importance of building a culture around an idea; why entrepreneurship is not genetic or a phenomenon. Rather, it is a relentless pursuit of opportunity beyond the constraints of resources currently controlled.
Joe is the Senator John Heinz Professor of Management Practice in Environmental Management, Retired. He focuses on one of the world’s most pressing problems: developing clean, secure and carbon-neutral supplies of reliable, low-cost energy all around the world. He studies how high-potential ventures attacking this problem are being financed and how their innovations are being brought to market in different parts of the world. For the HBS MBA and Executive Education programs, he writes cases about the lessons learned from these ventures as well as potential improvements in business practices, regulation and government policy. He works on energy and climate change related issues at HBS as well as in supporting University-wide efforts as a Faculty Fellow of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program (HEEP) and a Faculty Associate of the Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE).
After joining HBS in 1996 as a Senior Lecturer, he was appointed a Professor of Management Practice in 1997. He was awarded the MBA Class of 1954 Chair in 2000 and the Senator John Heinz Chair in Environmental Management in 2012. From 2010 until 2015, Joe was Faculty Chair of the University-wide Harvard Innovation Lab (Harvard i-lab). Joe's academic and professional work focused on the creation of high-potential ventures --both as new companies and within existing companies-- and the efforts of their managers to turn these ventures into high-performance businesses. At HBS, he taught courses in Entrepreneurial Finance, Entrepreneurial Marketing, Entrepreneurial Management, Building Green Businesses and Innovation in Business, Energy & Environment. For Harvard University, he taught courses in Innovation & Entrepreneurship to undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from across the University and its affiliated hospitals. Outside Harvard, Joe was active as an investor in and director of a wide range of both new ventures and public companies.
From 1994 to 1996, Joe was President of Wildfire Communications, a telecommunications software venture backed by Matrix Partners and Greylock Partners. From 1977 to 1994, Joe was a Vice President of Teradyne (NYSE/ automatic test equipment) and a member of its Management Committee. Joe joined Teradyne in 1974 as a Product Manager while on sabbatical from MIT.
Joe began his career at MIT's Department of Ocean Engineering as an Instructor in 1970 and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1972. He developed and taught a course on marine mineral resource economics. He lectured in hydrodynamics, marine transportation, and computer simulation modeling. In a joint program with Harvard Law School, he lectured on marine legal / regulatory policy. His research focused on forecasting economic and environmental consequences of offshore oil and gas development. He was appointed to the MIT-led National Academy of Engineering study on the future of engineering education. Joe received his BS, MS, and PhD from MIT and was awarded National Science, Adams and McDermott Fellowships. He was elected to Sigma Xi.
- Featured Work
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Synopsis
"We should try to change radiophobia now — if we build new nuclear power plants at the scale required to fulfill global energy needs, there will be occasional failures, just as there are in aviation or construction. However, these need not become massive disasters. Radiation was not a disaster in Fukushima per se — obsolete policies and human reactions brought on much of the difficulties," Lassiter said.
Joseph Lassiter has high hopes for “new nuclear” technology, which he believes can meet the world’s urgent demand for power. But its success requires big, immediate investments from the private sector.Lassiter argues that the world needs to get nuclear power back into the race against fossil fuels in order to avoid significant levels of CO2 emission-driven climate change. The world’s energy experts forecast that CO2 emissions will increase for the foreseeable future. While the developed world’s efforts in curbing emissions are helpful, it is the developing world’s need for energy to lift their citizens to a modern standard-of-living that is driving world-wide CO2 emissions. These forecasts show that the world—even with all its current zero-carbon energy alternatives and their projected improvements—will lose the race to fossil fuels in all but the richest countries. Lassiter believes that we should not accept those forecasts. Lassiter argues that, rather than hope for a miracle, the world must aggressively pursue *new* nuclear alternatives.
*New* Nuclear TechnologiesClimate change is one of the most complicated and challenging problems that the world has ever faced. As part of this video collection produced by the Harvard University Center for the Environment, Lassiter talks about *new* nuclear technologies as an urgently needed source of clean, carbon-neutral and potentially—but as yet unproven—low-cost, reliable electric power.
Today’s existing nuclear power alternatives as well as renewables are currently forecast by the EIA and IEA to be losing the race with fossil fuels worldwide and are expected to continue do so for the forecast future. A suite of *new* nuclear power alternatives that is capable of competing economically with fossil fuels (coal in Asia and natural gas in the United States) is on the drawing boards, but time is of the essence if we want to keep cumulative, worldwide CO2 emissions from reaching what could well be threatening levels.
The Challenges and Opportunities of Cleantech and New TechnologyLassiter acknowledged Scotland’s renewable resources and urged the country to use them wisely in order to further the commitment to the reduction of carbon emissions. Comparing climate change to a ‘spinning roulette wheel’ he covered areas as diverse as nuclear power; subsidisation; shale gas; the imbalance of the world’s emissions outputs; and the politics of climate change.Joe Lassiter, Harvard Business School Professor and Faculty Chair of Harvard's Innovation Lab, discusses how businesses can seize on new opportunities and re-invent themselves quickly and effectively at the Better by Design CEO Summit 2015 in Aukland, New Zealand. He explains why you shouldn’t be afraid of failure; the importance of reverse engineering - there are infinitely fewer paths in reverse than there are going forward; the importance of building a culture around an idea; why entrepreneurship is not genetic or a phenomenon. Rather, it is a relentless pursuit of opportunity beyond the constraints of resources currently controlled.
- Cases and Teaching Materials
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- Weiss, Jurgen, William A. Sahlman, and Joseph B. Lassiter III. "1366 Technologies: Surviving in a Fast Changing World." Harvard Business School Case 721-015, October 2020. View Details
- Roth, Benjamin N., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Natalia Rigol. "Husk Power: Scaling the Venture." Harvard Business School Case 819-069, December 2018. (Revised January 2020.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Ramana Nanda. "1366 Technologies: Scaling the Venture (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 818-116, March 2018. (Revised April 2018.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, William A. Sahlman, and Liz Kind. "UPower Technologies Inc." Harvard Business School Case 816-054, October 2015. (Revised January 2017.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Stephanie Puzio. "Solar Geoengineering." Harvard Business School Case 815-081, February 2015. (Revised June 2016.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Sid Misra, and Stephanie Puzio. "Climate Change: An Unfolding Story." Harvard Business School Background Note 815-079, January 2015. (Revised August 2015.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Entrepreneurial Marketing." Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Class Lecture, 2003. Electronic. (Faculty Lecture: HBSP Product Number 4473C.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Sid Misra. "Husk Power." Harvard Business School Case 815-023, August 2014. (Revised May 2016.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, William A. Sahlman, and Sid Misra. "Strava." Harvard Business School Case 814-055, February 2014. (Revised August 2016.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Sid Misra. "Carbon Engineering." Harvard Business School Case 814-040, October 2013. (Revised November 2016.) View Details
- Sahlman, William A., Ramana Nanda, Joseph B. Lassiter III, and James McQuade. "TerraPower." Harvard Business School Case 813-108, November 2012. (Revised December 2017.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and James McQuade. "C12 Energy." Harvard Business School Case 813-159, March 2013. (Revised March 2014.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Elizabeth Kind. "Affinity Labs: Valuing Customer Growth." Harvard Business School Case 813-147, January 2013. (Revised April 2015.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Verengo Solar Plus! (TP)." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 813-016, July 2012. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., William A. Sahlman, and James McQuade. "Foro Energy (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 812-163, June 2012. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B. "1366: Scaling the Venture (Abridged) (TP)." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 812-139, June 2012. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Evan W. Richardson. "Airbnb." Harvard Business School Case 812-046, September 2011. (Revised March 2014.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, William A. Sahlman, and James McQuade. "Foro Energy (A)." Harvard Business School Case 812-136, March 2012. (Revised December 2012.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Ramana Nanda, Evan Richardson, and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld. "1366 Technologies: Scaling the Venture (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 812-133, March 2012. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Ramana Nanda, David Kiron, and Evan Richardson. "1366 Technologies: Scaling the Venture." Harvard Business School Case 811-076, March 2011. (Revised April 2018.) View Details
- Sahlman, William A., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Liz Kind. "Verengo Solar Plus!" Harvard Business School Case 812-049, October 2011. (Revised November 2011.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, William A. Sahlman, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld, and Evan Richardson. "Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Gain Liquidity." Harvard Business School Case 812-035, September 2011. (Revised July 2012.) View Details
- Roberts, Michael J., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Ramana Nanda. U.S. Department of Energy & Recovery Act Funding: Bridging the "Valley of Death". Harvard Business School Case 810-144, June 2010. (Revised June 2011.) View Details
- Nanda, Ramana, Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Michael J. Roberts. U.S. Department of Energy & Recovery Act Funding: Bridging the "Valley of Death" (TN). Harvard Business School Teaching Note 811-083, April 2011. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, James Thomas Corcoran, Max Gazor, Dylan Hogarty, and Alexander H. Somers, Jr. "The Fox Islands Wind Project (A)." Harvard Business School Case 810-129, June 2010. (Revised February 2011.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Evan Richardson. "The Fox Islands Wind Project (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 811-051, February 2011. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and David Kiron. "Highland Capital Partners: Investing in Cleantech." Harvard Business School Case 811-009, August 2010. (Revised February 2011.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, William A. Sahlman, and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld. "Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 809-004, September 2008. (Revised July 2012.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and David Kiron. "Re-THINK-ing THINK: The Electric Car Company." Harvard Business School Case 810-105, February 2010. (Revised October 2010.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Thomas J. Steenburgh, and Lauren Barley. "Calera Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 810-030, August 2009. (Revised August 2010.) View Details
- Nanda, Ramana, and Joseph B. Lassiter III. "1366 Technologies." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 811-003, July 2010. (Revised March 2015.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Ramana Nanda, and David Kiron. "1366 Technologies." Harvard Business School Case 810-005, October 2009. (Revised June 2010.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Re-THINK-ing THINK: The Electric Car Company (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 810-133, May 2010. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Firas Alkhatib. "Ashdown Contracting." Harvard Business School Case 808-120, March 2008. (Revised April 2010.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Elizabeth Kind. "Affinity Labs, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 809-019, July 2008. (Revised January 2010.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, William A. Sahlman, and Noam Wasserman. "Nantucket Nectars: The Exit." Harvard Business School Case 810-041, September 2009. (Revised February 2014.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Strategy (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 810-015, July 2009. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "TH!NK: The Norwegian Electric Car Company (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 810-009, July 2009. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and David Kiron. "TH!NK: The Norwegian Electric Car Company." Harvard Business School Case 808-070, October 2007. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Firas Alkhatib. "FREEJ." Harvard Business School Case 808-121, March 2008. (Revised September 2008.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Michael Shih-Ta Chen, and Keith Chi-ho Wong. "From xiaonei to hainei: The Quest for the Social Networking Service Market in China." Harvard Business School Case 808-164, June 2008. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Entrepreneurial Marketing: Learning from High-Potential Ventures." Harvard Business School Background Note 803-036, October 2002. (Revised August 2007.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall. "OfficeTiger." Harvard Business School Case 804-109, April 2004. (Revised July 2007.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Elizabeth Kind. "Tropos Networks." Harvard Business School Case 806-201, May 2006. (Revised July 2007.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Lauren Barley. "Pine Ridge Winery, LLC (A)." Harvard Business School Case 806-060, November 2005. (Revised July 2007.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Clark Gilbert, and Victoria Winston. "Massive Incorporated (A)." Harvard Business School Case 806-126, March 2006. (Revised February 2007.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Clark Gilbert, and Victoria Winston. "Massive Incorporated (B)." Harvard Business School Case 806-127, March 2006. (Revised February 2007.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Lauren Barley. "Pine Ridge Winery, LLC Global Environment (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 806-061, November 2005. (Revised November 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Diana S. Gardner. "MarketSoft." Harvard Business School Case 800-069, September 1999. (Revised October 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and John T. Gourville. "Wildfire Communications, Inc. (A) and (B) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-141, September 2000. (Revised October 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Icebreaker: The China Entry Decision (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 807-037, October 2006. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Icebreaker: The US Entry Decision (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 807-038, October 2006. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "OfficeTiger (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 807-039, September 2006. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Sharon Lee Fox, and Cynthia Rushmore Kuechle. "Juice Guys (A)." Harvard Business School Case 800-122, September 1999. (Revised July 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Dan Heath. "Icebreaker: The US Entry Decision." Harvard Business School Case 806-006, July 2005. (Revised July 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Dan Heath. "Icebreaker: The China Entry Decision." Harvard Business School Case 806-195, May 2006. (Revised June 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and David Kiron. "Codon Devices." Harvard Business School Case 806-198, May 2006. (Revised June 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall. "Millennial Net." Harvard Business School Case 804-173, June 2004. (Revised May 2006.) View Details
- Roberts, Michael J., and Joseph B. Lassiter III. "Business Plan for Room For Dessert (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 806-191, April 2006. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Dan Heath. "Idea Village (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 806-009, July 2005. (Revised April 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Dan Heath. "Idea Village (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 806-008, July 2005. (Revised April 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Dan Heath. "Idea Village (A)." Harvard Business School Case 806-005, July 2005. (Revised April 2006.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Michael J. Roberts. "Business Plan for Room For Dessert: Adding Unique Ingredients to Life's Balancing Act." Harvard Business School Case 899-008, August 1998. (Revised June 2013.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Michael J. Roberts, and Kim Slack. "Surface Logix." Harvard Business School Case 802-050, August 2001. (Revised April 2005.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Matthew C. Lieb, and Tom Clay. "Z Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 801-210, October 2000. (Revised April 2005.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Elizabeth Kind. "RelayHealth." Harvard Business School Case 805-021, July 2004. (Revised December 2004.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Todd H Thedinga. "StorageNetworks: Restarting a Public Company (A)." Harvard Business School Case 803-198, June 2003. (Revised October 2004.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Sameer Ahuja, and Jason Tepperman. "Entropia (A)." Harvard Business School Case 802-227, June 2002. (Revised October 2004.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and John T. Gourville. "Seeing What's on Red Auerbach's Mind." Harvard Business School Background Note 804-160, March 2004. (Revised April 2004.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and John T. Gourville. "Red Auerbach on Management TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-142, September 2000. (Revised April 2004.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Sharon Lee Fox, and Cynthia Rushmore Kuechle. "Juice Guys (B)." Harvard Business School Case 800-123, September 1999. (Revised February 2004.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "WebSpective Software, Inc. (A) and (B) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 804-154, February 2004. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Juice Guys (A) & (B) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 804-155, February 2004. View Details
- Roberts, Michael J., Joseph B. Lassiter III, John T. Gourville, and Sun Ming Wong. "WebSpective Software, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 800-136, September 1999. (Revised February 2004.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall. "WebSpective Software, Inc. (B)." Harvard Business School Case 804-147, February 2004. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Todd H Thedinga. "Orange Imagineering." Harvard Business School Case 804-048, October 2003. (Revised December 2003.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall. "StorageNetworks: Restarting a Public Company (B)." Harvard Business School Case 804-040, August 2003. View Details
- Gourville, John T., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Taslim Pirmohamed. "Myteam.com." Harvard Business School Case 503-026, August 2002. (Revised February 2003.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Sameer Ahuja, and Jason Tepperman. "Entropia (B)." Harvard Business School Case 802-228, June 2002. (Revised September 2002.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and David Kiron. "Bluefin Robotics." Harvard Business School Case 802-005, October 2001. (Revised March 2002.) View Details
- Cyr, Linda A., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Michael J. Roberts. "Boston Beer Company: Light Beer Decision." Harvard Business School Case 899-058, October 1998. (Revised November 2001.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Daniel J. Green. "Sycamore Networks." Harvard Business School Case 801-076, July 2000. (Revised July 2001.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Michael J. Roberts, and Matthew C. Lieb. "Finale." Harvard Business School Case 899-100, January 1999. (Revised December 2000.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, William A. Sahlman, and Jon Biotti. "Nantucket Nectars." Harvard Business School Case 898-171, February 1998. (Revised December 2000.) View Details
- Roberts, Michael J., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Nicole Tempest. "Siebel Systems (A)." Harvard Business School Case 898-210, March 1998. (Revised December 2000.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and John T. Gourville. "Boston Beer Company: Light Beer Decision TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-144, September 2000. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and John T. Gourville. "MarketSoft TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-143, September 2000. View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, John T. Gourville, and Nicole Tempest. "Roadside Attractions LLC." Harvard Business School Case 800-015, September 1999. (Revised August 2000.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III, Michael J. Roberts, and Jon Biotti. "InPart." Harvard Business School Case 898-213, March 1998. (Revised July 2000.) View Details
- Gourville, John T., and Joseph B. Lassiter III. "Steinway & Sons: Buying a Legend (A)." Harvard Business School Case 500-028, October 1999. (Revised February 2000.) View Details
- Gourville, John T., and Joseph B. Lassiter III. "ZEFER: Building a Business at Hyperspeed." Harvard Business School Case 500-032, October 1999. View Details
- Roberts, Michael J., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Christina L. Darwall. "DigitalThink: Building a Sales Force." Harvard Business School Case 898-193, March 1998. (Revised June 1999.) View Details
- Roberts, Michael J., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Nicole Tempest. "Siebel Systems (B)." Harvard Business School Case 898-211, March 1998. (Revised October 1998.) View Details
- Lassiter, Joseph B., III. "Teradyne, Inc.: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained." Harvard Business School Case 898-190, February 1998. (Revised August 1998.) View Details
- Reports
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- "The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World: An Interdisciplinary MIT Study." "Future of" Series, MIT Energy Initiative, Cambridge, MA, 2018. View Details
- "U.S. Nuclear Energy Leadership: Innovation and the Strategic Global Challenge." Report, Atlantic Council, 2019. View Details
- Research Summary
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My work at HBS has always focused on high-potential ventures. Most recently, these have been professionally financed start-ups and buyouts in newly emerging energy and cleantech businesses. These ventures tend to be based on innovative insights into technology and consumer/buyer behavior coupled with a deep understanding of the relevant regulatory and political environments. I look at the financing of these ventures as well as bringing their innovations to market in different parts of the world.
For the purposes of my research, a high-potential venture is defined as one having the objective of building at least $50 million per year of new product/service sales in five or fewer years. These can be either new ventures or efforts within existing companies. I study these ventures in the high-potential setting because business problems and opportunities tend to stand out clearly under the stresses of such an environment. These problems and opportunities are highlighted in the conflicts between the expectations of employees and investors, as management confronts the constraints of time, cash flow, and financing. I concentrate on start-ups and buyouts because these tend to have relatively short, intense lifecycles, allowing the results obtained and the methods used by the managers to be observed before the evidence is either lost or forgotten. I have found that the insights gained from studying this population can be successfully applied to the challenges facing investors and managers in both new ventures and established firms.
- Awards & Honors
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Received the 2009 HBS Student Association Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Required Curriculum.Received the 2009 Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching at HBS for work on the Elective Curriculum course, “Building Green Businesses,” with Forest Reinhardt and Lee Fleming.Received the 2014 Robert F. Greenhill Award for work on the University-wide Harvard Innovation Lab (Harvard i-lab).
- Areas of Interest
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- entrepreneurial finance
- competitive strategy
- green technology
- partnerships
- venture capital
- energy
- green technology
- high technology
- internet
- oil & gas
- private equity (LBO funds)
- software
- utilities
- Australia
- Brazil
- China
- Europe
- India
- Iran
- Japan
- New Zealand
- North America
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- Taiwan
- United Arab Emirates
- United States
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