DIRECTORY
KATHLEEN EISENHARDT
1947–
Stanford University professor
Kathleen Eisenhardt is a leading
expert in strategy within high-
velocity markets and industries,
such as Silicon Valley. Originally
trained in mechanical engineering
(studying at Brown University, RI),
Eisenhardt then earned an MSc in
computer science and a PhD in
business at Stanford. Her 1998 book
Competing on the Edge (co-written
with Shona Brown) is a classic text.
See also: Avoiding complacency
194–201 ■ Coping with chaos
220–21
HENRI FAYOL
1841–1925
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1841,
Henri Fayol studied engineering
at the Ecole des Mines de Saint
Etienne in France before becoming
a mining engineer. His innovative
approach to technical problems and
management led him to develop
organizational theories that altered
contemporary thinking. He was
the first person to conceptualize
the organization of an industrial
company, and conducted
groundbreaking work on
operational excellence.
See also: Simplify processes 296–
99 ■ Critical path analysis 328–29
BILL GATES
1955–
William Henry Gates was born in
Seattle, WA, in 1955. His father was
a lawyer and his mother was active
in the civic and corporate world.
Gates began programming
computers at 13 with his friend
Paul Allen, with whom he later co-
founded Microsoft. Gates studied
law at Harvard University for two
years before pulling out to set up
Microsoft with Allen in 1975. As
CEO, Gates built Microsoft into one
of the world’s largest companies. In
1994 he set up the William H. Gates
charitable foundation, with an
initial contribution of $28 billion.
See also: Leading the market 166–
69 ■ The right technology 314–15
PANKAJ GHEMAWAT
1959–
Born in Jodhpur, India, Pankaj
Ghemawat lived in the US for 30
years before moving to Spain. He
demonstrated academic excellence
at any early age; he was accepted
for a PhD at Harvard Business
School at 19, finishing it in just three
years. After working for a short time
at consulting company McKinsey &
Company, he returned to Harvard to
become its youngest-ever professor.
An expert on global strategy, he
controversially questioned the idea
of globalization, claiming that
companies need to find a balance
between “local” and “global.”
See also: Understanding the
market 234–41
SUMANTRA GHOSHAL
1948–2004
Organizational expert Sumantra
Ghoshal was born in Kolkata,
India. He studied physics at Delhi
University and worked as a manager
at Indian Oil before completing
PhDs at MIT and Harvard Business
School in the US. In 1994 he joined
London Business School, where he
became professor of strategic
management. He wrote 12 books,
two of which revolutionized
corporate management: Managing
Across Borders and The
Individualised Corporation.
See also: Organizational Culture
104–09
GARY HAMEL
1954–
Strategist Gary Hamel got his PhD
at the University of Michigan, MI,
before joining the faculty of the
London Business School in 1983.
Ten years later he founded a
consulting business in Silicon
Valley, CA, to gain experience
at the cutting edge of high-tech
companies. Today he also works
as a visiting professor at Harvard
and Oxford universities. In 1995
he co-authored a best-selling
book with C. K. Prahalad called
Competing for the Future, which
introduced the concepts of “core
competence” to the business world.
See also: Protect the core business
170 –71 ■ C. K. Prahalad 338
JOHN H. JOHNSON
1918–2005
Media magnate John Harold
Johnson was born in Arkansas City,
AR. The grandson of slaves, he was
unable to further his education
because local high schools would
not accept black students, but
shone academically after his family
moved to Chicago. After winning
a scholarship to the University of
Chicago, he became the editor of a
corporate magazine. In 1942, using
a loan secured against his mother’s
furniture, he began a black-oriented
magazine that later became known
as Ebony. In 1951 he started Jet
335