Clayton M Christensen

Entrepreneur and Professor at Harvard Business School

Clayton M. Christensen currently serves as a professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.  He also works with the technology & Operations Management and General Management faculty groups.  His research and specialty area is managing innovation and creating new growth markets.

Christensen was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a 19-year-old, he served as a full-time missionary for Mormon Church in Korea.  During his two-year call as a missionary, he taught Mormon doctrine and Mormon beliefs to the people of Korea.   During his time as a Mormon missionary, he acquired Korean language skills which would later help him in business.

Christensen attended Brigham Young University, studying economics, and graduating with highest honors.  He received an M.Phil. in applied econometrics and the economics of less-developed countries from Oxford University.  During his time at Oxford, he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.  Soon after, he earned his Masters in business with high distinction from Harvard Business School.  He graduated as a George F. Baker Scholar. He was awarded his DBA from the Harvard Business School in 1992.

His excellent education would prepare him for his extensive work in the business world.  Christensen took on the role of entrepreneur, when he founded three successful companies.  His first would be CPS Corporation.  This business specializes in advanced materials manufacturing.  He founded the company in 1984, with several other MIT professors.  In 2000, he launched Innosight, which focuses business consulting in areas such as strategy, innovation, and growth in companies.  Christensen then launched Innosight Capital in 2005.  In 1982 Professor Christensen was named a White House Fellow.  He served as assistant to U.S. Transportation Secretaries Drew Lewis and Elizabeth Dole.  His talents have been recognized nationwide.

Despite having so many projects going on at once, Christensen became a faculty member at the Harvard Business School in 1992.  He is a seasoned author, penning five books.  The Innovator’s Dilemma, which was published in 1997, received the Global Business Book Award for the best business book published in 1997.  His other books have populated the New York Times best seller list.  The list of Christensen’s awards is long.  Currently, he is finishing up two books that focus on the problems of the American healthcare system and public education.  He proposes solutions to the problems in both areas.  Christensen was a member and chairman of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Affiliate of the American Diabetes Association for almost a decade.  He is extremely active at a local level, serving as an elected member of the Town Meeting Council in Belmont, Massachusetts.  He has served in a variety of positions in his local government.

Despite his commitment to his professional life, he has not neglected his church callings and membership. He wrote a book entitled Why I believe.  He explains why he is a member of the Mormon Church, through which he has helped to strengthen the faith of many Mormons.   For 25 years, he has served as scoutmaster, cubmaster, and den leader for the Boy Scouts of America.  His dedication to youth helps him stay grounded.  He lives with his wife, Christine, and has settled his family in Belmont, Massachusetts where they are both extremely active in church service.  He has served in the church in many different capacities.  He is the proud father of five children.

In 2010, Christensen wrote an article for the Harvard Review called, “How will you Measure Your Life,” which went viral in a very short amount of time.  To read it, click here.