Alumni and Friends Directory

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Biography

Richard Hamermesh is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Business School where he was formerly the MBA Class of 1961 Professor of Management Practice. Richard created and teaches the second-year MBA elective, Building Life Science Businesses. Previously, he was the Course Head for the required first-year course, The Entrepreneurial Manager. In addition, Richard participates in several HBS Executive Education programs.

Richard was the founding Faculty Chair of the HBS Healthcare Initiative and has been instrumental in expanding the role of healthcare in MBA education and faculty research. Today, over 10% of students enrolled at Harvard Business School are pursuing careers in healthcare. Currently, Richard is the faculty co-chair of the HBS/Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator.

From 1987 to 2001, Richard was a co-founder and a Managing Partner of The Center for Executive Development, an executive education and development consulting firm. Prior to this, from 1976 to 1987, he was a member of the faculty of the Harvard Business School.

Richard is also an active investor and entrepreneur, having participated as a principal, director, and investor in the founding and early stages of over 20 organizations. These have included start-ups, leveraged buy-outs, industry roll-ups, and non-profit foundations. He was the founding president of the Newton (MA) Schools Foundation and served on the editorial board of the Harvard Business Review. Richard has served on numerous Boards of Directors and has chaired the Audit Committees of two public companies. He is currently on the Boards of two public and two private corporations. From 1991 to 1996, he was the founding Chairman of Synthes Spine, Inc.

Richard is the author or co-author of five books, including New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur. His best-known book, Fad-Free Management, was published in 1996. He has published numerous articles and more than 100 case studies. His most recent article, "Realizing the Promise of Personalized Medicine," appeared in the Harvard Business Review (October 2007). Richard received his AB from the University of California, and his MBA and DBA from HBS. He is married, has two children, and four grandchildren. His hobbies include tennis, skiing, and yoga.