Nancy Koehn

Nancy F. Koehn
Born	1959 (age 64–65) United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	business historian, professor
Board member of	Tempur Sealy International, Fashion To Figure (clothing retailer)
Spouse(s)	N/A
Website	NancyKoehn.com

Nancy F. Koehn (born 1959) is a historian of business at the Harvard Business School in Allston, Massachusetts, where she is James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration and was a Visiting Scholar from 2011–2013. She is also a member of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, in the Economics Department. She describes herself as "an avid equestrian" and on her personal website as a "Teacher, Rider, Poet, Pilgrim" and often cites her love of horses and of riding horses and her caring for three horses.

Education

• B.A., History (Phi Beta Kappa), Stanford University
• Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.), Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• MA, Harvard University (European History)
• PhD, Harvard University (European History)

Professional career

Nancy F. Koehn is a business historian at Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences and has been a business historian at Harvard Business School, since 2011 (some online sources say 1991). She began as a Visiting Scholar (2011–2013) and was offered the James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, which she has held since 2013. Her predecessor in that endowed Chair was James Cash, Jr..

Nancy Koehn is widely quoted on radio and television and is a regular featured contributor to Boston's WGBH, an NPR radio station which is also in Allston, Massachusetts, near Harvard Business School. She speaks frequently at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival, and the World Business Forum. She has appeared on American Experience, Good Morning America, Bloomberg Television, CNBC's Moneywheel, The NewsHour, A&E's Biography, CNN's Money Line, and many other television programs. She writes regularly for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, and the Harvard Business Review Online, and is a regular commentator on National Public Radio and the BBC. Numerous corporations consult with her for strategic guidance.

She is also a director of both Fashion To Figure, a clothing retailer, and Tempur Sealy International.

Personal life

Dr. Koehn is single and is a breast cancer survivor. She is an avid equestrian, fond of horses and of riding horses, and houses three horses. She has devoted significant interest to women in leadership, has written two books about Oprah Winfrey and had a role in Harvard's offering her an honorary doctorate, and serves on the board of Fashion To Figure.

Academic appointments

• 2004-2011, Lecturer, History and Literature concentration, Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
• 2011-2013, Visiting Scholar, Harvard Business School, Allston, Massachusetts
• 2013–present, James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, Allston, Massachusetts

Bibliography

Books:

• Ernest Shackleton: Exploring Leadership, (2012)
• Oprah (Brand) Renew (2011)
• Oprah: Leading with Heart (2011)
• The Story of American Business: From the Pages of the New York Times (2009)
• Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers' Trust from Wedgwood to Dell (2001)
• The Power of Commerce: Economy and Governance in the First British Empire (1994)

Contributing Author:

• Creative Capitalism: A Conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and other Economic Leaders (2008)
• Remember Who You Are: Life Stories That Inspire the Heart and Mind (2004)
• Beauty and Business (2000)
• The Intellectual Venture Capitalist: John H. McArthur and the Work of the Harvard Business School, 1980-1995 (1999)
• Creating Modern Capitalism: How Entrepreneurs, Companies, and Countries Triumphed in Three Industrial Revolutions (1997)
• Management Past and Present: A Casebook on American Business History(1995)

Journal articles:

• Koehn, Nancy F. "Great Men, Great Pay? Why CEO Compensation Is Sky High." Opinions. Washington Post (June 12, 2014). View Details
• Koehn, Nancy F. "Calling All Leaders: Feed and Water Yourself." Huffington Post, The Blog (March 25, 2014). View Details

Harvard Business School Case Studies:

Nancy Koehn has written and supervised Harvard Business School business cases, including

• Starbucks Coffee Company
• Bono and U2
• Celeste Walker
• Dell Computer
• Ernest Shackleton
• Estée Lauder
• Henry Heinz
• Marshall Field
• Milton Hershey
• Oprah Winfrey
• Stonyfield Yogurt
• Whole Foods
• Wedgwood

See also

• Harvard Business School
• Business history
• Economic history

External sources

• Nancy Koehn's faculty profile, Harvard Business School
• Nancy F. Koehn's personal website
• Nancy Koehn's Twitter account - @nancykoehn
• Harvard Business School Working Knowledge (case studies; HBS pioneered the case study method in business education
• The James and Anne Robinson Foundation, Armonk, NY