Anant Agarwal, PhD, CEO of edX, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT

Wed 10/1, 11am – 12pm EST
Forum: Cultivating Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Anant Agarwal is the CEO of edX, an online learning destination founded by Harvard and MIT. Anant taught the first edX course on circuits and electronics from MIT, which drew 155,000 students from 162 countries. He has served as the director of CSAIL, MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. He is a successful serial entrepreneur, having co-founded several companies including Tilera Corporation, which created the Tile multicore processor, and Virtual Machine Works.

Anant won the Maurice Wilkes prize for computer architecture, and MIT’s Smullin and Jamieson prizes for teaching. He holds a Guinness World Record for the largest microphone array, and is an author of the textbook “Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits.”

Scientific American selected his work on organic computing as one of 10 World- Changing Ideas in 2011, and he was named in Forbes’ list of top 15 education innovators in 2012. Anant, a pioneer in computer architecture, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the ACM.

He hacks on WebSim, an online circuits laboratory, in his spare time. Anant holds a Ph.D. from Stanford and a bachelor’s from IIT Madras.

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Maryam Alavi, PhD, Dean, Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair, Professor of Information Technology Management, Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business

Tues 9/30, 9am – 10am EST
Forum: Supporting 21st Century Competencies

Maryam Alavi, PhD, joined Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business as Dean in July 2014. She also holds the Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair.

As an expert in IT innovations and strategic applications, Alavi has authored numerous published papers and has served on the editorial boards of several prestigious academic journals. She is a thought leader on technology-mediated learning and an experienced educator who has extensive experience in developing leadership curriculum for business students.

Alavi is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. She has consulted with organizations including AT&T, KPMG, IBM, Marriott Corporation, Sodexo, the American College of Physicians, the Aspen Institute, the General Accounting Office, International Association for Management Education, and the World Bank. Her international work experience includes teaching graduate and executive development programs in Europe, North Africa, and Asia.

Prior to joining Georgia Tech, she served as interim dean and vice dean of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where she held the John & Lucy Cook Chair in Information Strategy.

Alavi was awarded the distinguished Marvin Bower Faculty Fellowship at Harvard Business School and received the prestigious AIS (Association of Information Systems) Fellows Award. AIS Fellows are elected by a committee of peers and are expected to be role models and an inspiration to colleagues and students within the discipline.

She served two terms as a board member of the Georgia Technology Authority appointed by the Governor of the State of Georgia.

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Andréa Backman, PhD, Senior Vice President & Dean, Jack Welch Management Institute

Wed 10/1, 12pm – 1pm EST
Forum: Increasing the Value of Management Education

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Douglas L. Becker, Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Laureate Education Inc.

Wed 10/1, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Forum: Increasing the Value of Management Education

Douglas L. Becker is chairman and chief executive officer of Laureate Education, Inc., the world’s leading network of higher education institutions. Mr. Becker has led the company since 1991, when it was known as Sylvan Learning Systems. Mr. Becker built Sylvan Learning Systems into the K-12 tutoring leader, with nearly 2,000 learning centers and 200,000 students before branching out into higher education in 1999. The Sylvan tutoring business was sold in 2003 to allow Laureate to focus on higher education.

Today, Laureate Education is a trusted global leader in providing access to high quality, innovative institutions of higher education. The Laureate International Universities network celebrates it’s 15th anniversary this year and has since grown to include over 850,000 students at more than 75 campus-based and online institutions in 29 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. President William J. Clinton, 42nd president of the United States, serves as the Honorary Chancellor of the Laureate International Universities network, a role in which he offers advice on social responsibility, youth leadership and increasing access to higher education.

Mr. Becker is deeply committed to community service. He is the board chair of the International Youth Foundation, which has invested more than $200 million to improve conditions and prospects for young people in close to 80 countries. With Mr. Becker’s guidance, IYF expanded its YouthActionNet® program, which supports young social entrepreneurs around the globe. Mr. Becker also supports many civic groups in Baltimore, Maryland, his hometown.

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Ben M. Bensaou, PhD, Professor of Technology and Operations Management, Professor of Asian Business and Comparative Management, INSEAD

Thurs 10/2, 2pm – 3pm EST
Forum: Cultivating Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Ben M. Bensaou is Professor of Technology Management and Asian Business and Comparative Management at INSEAD. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School in 1998-1999. He holds a PhD in Management from the MIT Sloan Questrom School of Business, USA; an MA in Management Science from Hitotsubashi University, Japan; a Diplôme d’Ingénieur (MSc) in Civil Engineering; and a DEA in Mechanical Engineering from respectively the Ecole Nationale des TPE, Lyon and the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France.

His research and teaching focuses on (1) a Process View of Value Innovation and Blue Ocean Strategy deployment initiatives, (2) new forms of organizations, in particular networked corporations, (3) the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on organizations and Value Innovation. Professor Bensaou addresses these issues from an international comparative perspective, with a special focus on Japanese organizations. His research on supplier relations in the U.S. and Japanese auto industries won the best doctoral dissertation in the field of information systems and a finalist award for the Free Press Award for outstanding dissertation research in business policy and strategy. His case on the Circus Industry and the Cirque du Soleil won the 2006 ECCH Best Case Award (in Strategy – with Kim and Mauborgne). His publications include papers inManagement Science, Information Systems Research, Organization Sciencer, Strategic Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, , book chapters and conference proceedings. He has been a member of the Editorial Board of Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly, and MISQ Executive. He has been listed in the Who’s Who in the World since 1998.

Professor Bensaou has been consulting for Asian, European and US corporations. He teaches courses on Corporate Strategy, Value Innovation/Blue Ocean Strategy, Information Technology and Comparative Management (in English and French). He has been a Visiting Professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo and has taught (in Japanese) in Executive Programs at Keio Business School, Tokyo, Japan.

Professor Bensaou grew up in France. He has also lived and was educated in Japan. He and his wife Masako live in Fontainebleau, with their two younger sons Alexis and Lennon. Their elder son Sophian is pursuing his college education in Philadelphia, USA.

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Neil S. Braun, JD, Dean, Lubin School of Business, Pace University

Tues 9/30, 10:30am – 11am EST
Forum: Evaluating Policy & Rankings

Neil S. Braun is the Dean of Pace University’s Lubin School of Business in New York since July 2010.  His first initiatives there included the creation of the Center for Global Governance, Reporting and Regulation and a professional certification program for financial institution compliance executives. He has previously been President of the NBC Television Network, Chairman and CEO of Viacom Entertainment, an internet and environmental entrepreneur, a film producer and corporate attorney. Braun serves on the board of directors and the audit and governance committees of IMAX Corporation(NYSE),  He is the Chairman of the Audit Committee for national anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength and is President of the Board of the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. He is an active member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and was chosen by that organization in 2012 as “one to watch.” Braun currently serves on the AACSB’s Business Practices Council and the Committee on Accreditation Policy.

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Robert A. Brown, PhD, President, Boston University

Wed 10/1, 2pm – 3pm EST
Forum: Producing Research with Impact

Dr. Robert A. Brown, a distinguished chemical engineer, has served as president of Boston University since 2005. During his tenure, Boston University produced and has begun executing its first strategic plan, Choosing to be Great, which focuses on strengthening the quality of undergraduate and graduate programs, attracting world-class faculty members, and facilitating their research and scholarship. Significant progress has been made toward these goals, as evidenced by enhanced quality of the incoming undergraduate class, increased ranking of the University and, in 2012, the University being invited to join the Association of American Universities, which includes the 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. Also in 2012, the University launched its first comprehensive fundraising campaign to raise $1 billion by 2017; to date, the University has raised over $700 million. The campaign already has led to important new academic initiatives including the Kilachand Honors College, a unique discovery-based approach to fulfilling the general education requirement for our most talented undergraduate students, and the Pardee School for Global Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences.

He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Brown also is a director of the DuPont Company, a trustee of the Universities Research Association, a director of the American Council on Education, and has served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology for President George W. Bush. He also serves as chairman of the Academic Research Council of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Singapore, is a member of Singapore’s Research Innovation and Enterprise Council, and is a trustee of The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC).

Before coming to Boston University, Dr. Brown held a number of leadership positions at MIT, including provost, dean of the School of Engineering, and head of the Department of Chemical Engineering. He has published more than 250 papers in areas related to mathematical modeling of transport phenomena in materials, and he served as executive editor of the Journal of Chemical Engineering Science from 1991 to 2004. He was named an honorary citizen of the Republic of Singapore in 2005 and in 2008, was honored as one of the top 100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He and his wife Beverly have two grown sons.

See other Boston University VIPs: Ken Freeman, James Post, Michael Salinger, N. Venkatraman

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Jacob Chacko, PhD, Dean of the College of Business Administration at Abu Dhabi University

Wednesday 10/1, 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST
Forum: Increasing the Value of Management Education

Dr. Jacob M. Chacko is the Dean of the College of Business Administration at Abu Dhabi University. Prior to joining ADU, he was the Dean of the School of Business at Clayton State University, in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Chacko has also held administrative positions as Associate Dean and Department Head at two universities in the US.

At his prior institutions, Dean Chacko successfully led the AACSB accreditation and reaffirmation process. As the Dean of the School of Business at Clayton State University, Jacob led the initiative to develop an academic niche in Supply Chain Management. Under his leadership, the first BBA and an MBA in Supply Chain Management and Logistics in Atlanta were developed. He was also instrumental in developing the Center of Supply Chain Management to connect faculty and students with practitioners and companies for consulting, training, internships, and placement purposes.

Dean Chacko received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from India, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in marketing from Nairobi, Kenya, and Doctorate in of Business Administration in marketing and international business from Marshall Goldsmith Questrom School of Business in San Diego. He is a graduate of the Management Development Program from Harvard University, and was a Fulbright-Hays scholar to Singapore and Malaysia.

Dr. Chacko teaching interests are in international marketing, international business, marketing management, personal marketing, and strategic market planning at the MBA level. He has had his research publications appear in three books, in over 30 national and international academic conference proceedings and in 20 academic journals in marketing and international business. His research interests are the emerging economies of Asia and Central Europe, niche marketing, and ethics in international business. Dean Chacko chairs the AACSB’s Small School Network  and he has been an invited speaker at AACSB and SBAA conferences on faculty development, online course management, and assessment of student learning. He has lived in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States.

 

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Sangeet Chowfla, President & CEO, Graduate Management Admission Council

Forum: Engaging New-Generation Students & Employees

*Forum Hosts engage throughout the 60 hours at unscheduled times.

Sangeet Chowfla is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Graduate Management Admission Council®, the nonprofit education organization of leading graduate business schools and owner of the Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT®). He became President of the worldwide association in September 2013 and Chief Executive Officer in January 2014.

Sangeet has more than 32 years’ experience in P&L Management, General Management, Product Management, International Business Development and Venture Capital investment, gained in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, India and the Middle East. His particular area of expertise is the management of high-growth enterprises, the creation of high-performance teams, and the internationalization of businesses.

Most recently, Sangeet was EVP-Global Markets and Chief Strategy Officer at Comviva Technologies where he managed the company’s customer-facing Market Units (SAARC, Africa, MENA, LATAM, Europe/Americas). Previously, Sangeet managed the company’s Mobile Solutions unit, comprising all the product businesses, and was responsible for establishing Comviva’s operations in Africa and Latin America. During his tenure, Comviva’s overall revenues quadrupled to approximately $100 million, while international business grew 12-fold with a customer base of 110 mobile operators in 85 countries. As CSO, he advised the board on long-term strategy and direction.

Previous to his work at Comviva, Sangeet was a partner with Timeline Ventures in San Diego (2001-2006), participating in the acquisition and turnaround of Del Mar Datatrac (mortgage software). Sangeet was the lead investor and Executive Chairman of Technocom, leading the company’s Series A round of financing.

Earlier in his career, Sangeet held various management positions at the Hewlett-Packard Company over an 18-year period including sales and marketing management positions in Athens, Germany and Singapore. In 1995, Sangeet moved to San Diego, California, where he was Vice President and General Manager of HP’s Inkjet Media Division, which he grew from a startup to $300 million in revenues.

Sangeet took his BA in Economics from St. Stephen’s College at Delhi University and his MBA, with focus on marketing and finance, from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University.

A global citizen, Sangeet has worked and lived in India, Dubai, Greece, Germany, Singapore and the United States.

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Clayton Christensen, DBA, Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Thurs 10/2, 9am – 10am EST
Forum: Cultivating Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Professor Christensen holds a BA from Brigham Young University and an MPhil in applied econometrics from Oxford University where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He received an MBA and a DBA from the Harvard Business School, where he is currently the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration. He is regarded as one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth.

Christensen founded a number of successful companies and organizations which use and apply this theories in various ways: Innosight, a consulting firm helping companies create new growth businesses; Rose Park Advisors, a firm that identifies and invests in disruptive companies; and Innosight Institute, a non-profit think tank whose mission is to apply his theories to vexing societal problems such as healthcare and education.

Professor Christensen is the best-selling author of nine books and more than a hundred articles, including the New York Times best-selling, How Will You Measure Your Life? He received the Global Business Book Award for The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Economist named it as one of the six most important books about business ever written. In 2011 and again in 2013, thousands of executives, consultants and business school professors were polled and named Christensen as the most influential business thinker in the world

Professor Christensen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He worked as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Republic of Korea from 1971 to 1973 and continues to serve in his church in as many ways as he can. He and his wife Christine live in Belmont, MA. They are the parents of five children and grandparents to five grandchildren.

See other VIP guest from Harvard Business School: David Gavin

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