Publications

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November 2006
Case

The Pine Street Initiative at Goldman Sachs

By: Boris Groysberg, Scott A. Snook and David Lane

Almost five years had passed since Goldman Sachs launched its innovative leadership development initiative called Pine Street. Focused primarily on developing Goldman's most senior managers, Pine Street had evolved significantly since its inception in November of 1999.... View Details

Keywords: Executive Education; Personal Development and Career; Leadership Development; Business Education; Financial Services Industry

14 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Few Women on Boards: Is There a Fix?

Nobody questions that there's whopping gender imbalance in today's boardrooms, despite ample evidence that it makes financial sense to put women on the board. Companies with female board representation routinely outperform those with no... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Clayton S. Rose

Clayton Rose is Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice. He currently teaches the course Accountability in the Advanced Management Program. His research is focused on the how leaders can manage the challenges created by the intense, varied and often... View Details

Keywords: financial services

17 Jun 2011
HBS Case

KFC’s Explosive Growth in China

different, not by being the same. In the Harvard Business School case "Yum! China," professor David E. Bell and Agribusiness Program director and senior researcher Mary Shelman examine how Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Food & Beverage

October 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Drilling Safety at BP: The Deepwater Horizon Accident

By: Stephen P. Kaufman and Laura Winig

Following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico explosion and oil spill on the Deepwater Horizon, public attention focused on BP's safety record, practices, and management culture as the primary cause of the disaster. Drawing on public sources this case traces the circumstances... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Practice; Safety; Energy Industry; Mexico, Gulf of

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Sherman's research has long focused on financial reporting, performance measurement/management, and financial literacy issues facing corporate management and Boards of Directors in global businesses. He also actively studies methods to improve productivity in... View Details

20 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Misgovernance at the World Bank

Getting a seat at the table often makes all the difference in the world. New research from Harvard Business School suggests that this idea holds true literally at the World Bank, where the 24 countries serving on the Board of Executive... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Debora L. Spar

Debora Spar is the Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Senior Associate Dean for Business and Global Society. Her current research focuses on issues of gender and technology, and the interplay between... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; broadcasting; communications; entertainment; federal government; health care; information; internet; music; pharmaceuticals

September 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Forecasting Climate Risks: Aviva’s Climate Calculus

By: Mark Egan and Peter Tufano

In late 2021, Ben Carr, Director of Analytics and Capital Modeling at Aviva Plc (Aviva)—a leading insurer with core operations in the UK, Ireland and Canada,—was preparing for an upcoming presentation before the company's board which included its CEO, Amanda Blanc,... View Details

Keywords: Climate Risk; Climate Finance; Forecasting; Insurance; Risk Measurement; Climate Change; Risk Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance Industry; United States

January 2018
Case

Blue Harbour's Activism at Babcock & Wilcox

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

The case describes Blue Harbour Group's investment in Babcock & Wilcox and its transformation into BWX Technologies. In 2004, activist hedge fund Blue Harbour Group invested in Babcock & Wilcox, an energy and construction company. Blue Harbour developed an investment... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Investment Activism; Leading Change; Energy Industry; Construction Industry; United States

KRISHNA G. PALEPU is the Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration, and has served previously as Senior Advisor to the President of Harvard University, and Senior Associate Dean at the... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; banking; financial services; information technology industry; pharmaceuticals; retailing

Career Coach

Megan Gardner

Megan (HBS ’06) is an executive coach, board member and tactical advisor for CEOs and senior executives. As a founder and CEO of a technology business, she knows first-hand the value of strong coaching in a rapidly growing business. In... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financial Services (All); Hospitality

December 1986 (Revised August 1988)
Case

LifeSpan Inc.: Abbott Northwestern Hospital

Raises the powerful issues of measuring marketing performance in a not-for-profit services setting. Also raises several interesting ethical issues. LifeSpan Inc., a Minneapolis based not-for-profit organization is the parent holding company of three hospitals and... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Health Care and Treatment; Service Industry; Health Industry; Minneapolis

Professor Stuart Gilson is the Steven R. Fenster Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and former chairman of the Finance Unit. His research, teaching, and consulting focuses on the financial, business, and legal strategies that companies... View Details

Keywords: investment banking industry; legal services

11 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ’The Future of Boards’

"Boardroom Challenges," The Future of Boards Why so many directors were reflecting on the board's role is difficult to pinpoint. A partial answer undoubtedly rests in the fact that regulations and laws offer... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Lorsch

2013
Chapter

The Most Successful CEOs Come from Within

By: Joseph L. Bower

The financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession caused a crisis of public confidence in business and American-style capitalism, with its focus on maximizing shareholder value. Corporate leaders understood that reform was needed and that they needed to commit... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession; Business and Community Relations; Management Teams