Len Schlesinger (Moderator)

President, Babson College

The 12th president of Babson College, Leonard A. Schlesinger brings to the College a blend of leadership experience in academia and industry, particularly in the retail and service sectors.

He came to Babson from Limited Brands, based in Columbus, Ohio, where he served in executive positions from 1999–2007, most recently as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. From 1985–1988, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Au Bon Pain.

His academic career includes twenty years at Harvard Business School where he served as the George Fisher Baker Jr. Professor of Business Administration, leading MBA and executive education programs. Courses he taught include organizational behavior, human resource management, general management, and service management. President Schlesinger is well-known for his pioneering research and publications on the “Service Profit Chain.” He also was architect and chair of Harvard Business School’s MBA Essential Skills and Foundations programs. After his time at Harvard Business School, he served as a Professor of Sociology and Public Policy and Senior Vice President and Counselor to the President at Brown University.

President Schlesinger has lectured and consulted on service quality, customer satisfaction, and organizational change for over 200 major corporations, non-profit organizations, governments and international leadership organizations around the world. He was an active leader in the design and development of the “Work-Out!” initiative at General Electric and the “Reinventing Government” process for the U.S. Department of Labor.

His writings on organizational management have been widely published. He is the author or co-author of ten books, including Action Trumps Everything (Black Ink Press, 2010), The Value Profit Chain (Free Press, 2003),The Service Profit Chain (Free Press, 1997) and The Real Heroes of Business ... and Not a CEO among Them(Doubleday Currency, 1994), and has written over 40 articles for academic audiences as well as for The New York Times, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review. He has served on the editorial boards of four major academic journals and has published numerous case studies on management issues that have sold well over one million copies. He also has completed three video series on service management issues.

President Schlesinger currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUM), a member of the Board of Directors of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a board member of the BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc., a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a member of the Corporation of the Winsor School, serves on the Board of Managers for StriVectin Holdings, LLC, and is a member of the President’s Council of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. He also serves as an advisory council member of The 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative, and is a member of the Council on Competitiveness and the Council on Foreign Relations.

President Schlesinger holds a Doctor of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, an MBA from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in American Civilization from Brown University. His wife, Phyllis, is a management professor specializing in organizational behavior with prior faculty appointments at Babson College and The Ohio State University’s Fisher School of Business. They have three daughters.

Panels & Panelists

Adapting to the Rapidly Changing World of Technology
- Anirudh Dhebar (Moderator)
  
  Anirudh Dhebar (Moderator) Babson Professor Anirudh Dhebar has taught at the Harvard Busin…
- David Troy
  
  David Troy CEO, 410Labs; Founder, Twittervision.com; Founder, Shortmail.com Dave Troy has been a…
- Greg Rublev
  
  Greg Rublev Founder, LeanWagon; Director of Product Management, NetProspex Greg Rublev, a dedic…
- Craig Bloem
  
  Craig Bloem Founder / CEO, FreeLogoService.com Craig Bloem is the Founder and CEO of FreeLogoSer…
Brand Management
- Greg Selkoe
  
  Greg Selkoe CEO and Founder of Karmaloop Karmaloop.com and Karmaloop TV.com…
- Sharlene Sones
  
  Sharlene Sones Founder and Chief Brand Storyteller, Brandstoria …
- Dhruv Grewal, Ph.D. (Moderator)
  
  Dhruv Grewal (Moderator) Marketing Professor, Babson College…
Creating Your Own Entrepreneurial Path in a Corporation
- Anirudh Dhebar (Moderator)
  
  Anirudh Dhebar (Moderator) Babson Professor Anirudh Dhebar has taught at the Harvard Business…
- Sharon John
  
  Sharon John President, Stride Rite Children's Group Sharon John joined Collective Brands, Inc. (…
- Guy Yehiav
  
  Guy Yehiav CEO, Profitect Guy Yehiav brings a strong technological and marketing leadership…
Current Trends in Venture Capital and Private Equity
- Josh Lerner
  
  Josh Lerner Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School…
Customization Gone Wild – Co-creation and Innovation
- Matt Nichols
  
  Matt Nichols CFO & EVP Operations, Gemvara Matt Nichols joined Gemvara in February 2011 as EVP…
- Rob Adler (Moderator)
  
  Rob Adler (Moderator) Babson Adjunct Lecturer Rob is a seasoned, hands-on entrepreneurial le…
- Evan Saks
  
  Evan Saks Create-A-Mattress, LLC.…
- Fan Bi
  
  Fan Bi Founder and Chief Shirt, Blank Label Fan Bi, Founder of Blank Label, an online custo…
- Michelle Pearl
  
  Michele Pearl Chief Product Officer, Custommade.com Michele brings deep experience in both cons…
Emerging Consumer-driven Trends in the Food and Beverage Industry
- Gil MacLean
  
  Gil MacLean Co-founder, Stirrings Food and Beverage Entrepreneur Gil MacLean is best known…
- Larry Gennari (Moderator)
  
  Larry Gennari (Moderator) Co-Founder, Gennari Aronson, LLP Lawrence Gennari co-founded Gennari…
- Laura Kuykendall
  
  Laura Kuykendall Director of Marketing and R&D, Glutino Food Group, a division of Smart Balance…
- Sara Gragnolati
  
  Sara Gragnolati Founder & CEO, Cocomama Foods Sara’s insight into food trends combined with the…
- Eric Spitz
  
  Eric Spitz CFO, Narragansett Brewing Company Eric Spitz has spent his career launching and oper…
Entrepreneurship in Sales
- Bill Starr
  
  Bill Starr CEO, Collaborative MarketPlaces, Inc. Bill Starr has nearly 20 years of interna…
- Andrew Quinn
  
  Andrew Quinn Director of Sales Training, HubSpot Andrew Quinn, otherwise know as "The Sales Doc…
- Mike McClurg
  
  Mike McClurg Vice President, Global Mid Market Sales - IBM Michael McClurg leads IBM's Global…
- Michael Brooks
  
  Michael Brooks Regional Sales Manager for New England & Ontario, Violin Memory Michael Brooks i…
Family Enterprising: Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Family Business
- Matthew Allen (Moderator)
  
  Matthew Allen (Moderator) Babson Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship; Director of Research STEP…
- Matthew Boyd
  
  Matthew Boyd VP Business Development, Boyd Technologies Matthew Boyd is a managing partner and…
- Bodo Liesenfeld
  
  Bodo Liesenfeld Founder/ Managing Partner, Liesenfeld International GmbH; Chamber of Commerce, Ham…
Funding Your Startup
- Richard T. Bliss (Moderator)
  
  Richard T. Bliss Associate Professor, Babson College …
- Avak Kahvejian
  
  Avak Kahvejian Vice President, Development Partner - Venture Labs, Flagship Ventures Avak Kahv…
- Peter Aransky
  
  Peter Aransky President/Partner, Business Capital Resources NA Peter Aransky is a seasoned busine…
- Dan Allred
  
  Dan Allred Senior Relationship Manager, Silicon Valley Bank Dan Allred is a Senior Relationship…
- Lucinda Linde
  
  Lucinda Linde Partner, Walnut Ventures Lucinda invests in and consult to early stage informatio…
Growing an International Company
- Nand Chaudhary
  
  Nand Chaudhary Founder, Jaipur Rugs (India) 32 years ago, Mr Chaudhary started the carpet busi…
Hot Young Companies
- Bob Caspe (Moderator)
  
  Bob Caspe Babson Part-Time Lecturer Bob Caspe has been teaching at Babson College's MBA program…
- John Goscha
  
  John Goscha Founder, Idea Paint John Goscha holds a B.S. in Economics and Entrepreneurship from…
- Jeremy Andrus
  
  Jeremy Andrus President & CEO, Skull Candy Jeremy Andrus joined Skull Candy in March 2005 and c…
How to Construct an Advisory Board
- Susan Hammond
  
  Susan Hammond Founder/ Principal, scHammond Advisors…
How to Make the Internet Squeal like a Pig, 5 Secrets to Bringin' Home the Bacon
- Hugh MacLeod
  
  Hugh MacLeod Head Creative gapingvoid ltd.; Cartoonist; Author Hugh MacLeod, best selling autho…
- Jason Korman
  
  Jason Korman CEO, gapingvoid ltd. Jason Korman is a serial entrepreneur, having founded his…
- Len Schlesinger (Moderator)
  
  Len Schlesinger (Moderator) President, Babson College The 12th president of Babson College, Le…
International Start-ups – Business in China, Africa, and Across the Globe
- Vuyo Dunjwa
  
  Vuyo Dunjwa Executive Chairman of the Board of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chamber of Commerce Mr. D…
- Robert Eng (Moderator)
  
  Robert Eng (Moderator) Babson Associate Professor Dr. Eng has been with Babson College since…
- Elizabeth Perelstein
  
  Elizabeth Perelstein President, School Choice International Elizabeth Perelstein, President…
- Cherry Wu
  
  Cherry Wu Founder and General Manager, Dalian LongSheng Fashion Co, LTD (China) With the love f…
Lessons Learned by Serial Entrepreneurs
- Rob Adler (Moderator)
  
  Rob Adler (Moderator) Babson Adjunct Lecturer Rob is a seasoned, hands-on entrepreneurial lea…
- Elizabeth Perelstein
  
  Elizabeth Perelstein President, School Choice International Elizabeth Perelstein, President of…
- Chris Jacobs
  
  Chris Jacobs Chief Cardgiver, Honest Discounts While most kids were playing hide-n-go seek, Ch…
- Bill Keefe
  
  Bill Keefe President, Julianna Rae Mr. Keefe has over 15 years of business and marketing leader…
Preparing the Next Generation to Become the Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leaders of Tomorrow.
- Ron Guerriero (Moderator)
  
  Ron Guerriero (Moderator) Ron has extensive experience as a CEO and senior executive in softwar…
- Susan Musinsky
  
  Susan Musinsky Director, Root Cause's Social Innovation Forum Susan has dedicated her career to…
- Joshua Biber
  
  Joshua Biber Executive Director, Teach For America of Greater Boston Josh Biber is the founding…
- Jennifer Green
  
  Jennifer Green Executive Director, NFTE New England Jennifer is the Executive Director for the…
Product Design and Development
- Juli Lee
  
  Juli Lee Chief Merchandising Officer, Julianna Rae…
- Mallory Musante
  
  Mallory Musante CEO and Founder, Mallory Musante Shoes …
- Scott Stropkay
  
  Scott Stropkay Founding Partner, Essential Design…
- Ken Thornby
  
  Ken Thornby Business Unit Director of Tennis & Training Footwear, New Balance NewBalance.com…
- Paulo Gomes (Moderator)
  
  Paulo Gomes (Moderator) Lecturer, Babson College…
Sales Training
- Dale Carnegie Training
  
  Dale Carnegie Training http://www.dalecarnegie.com/…