Cynthia Montgomery

Professor Montgomery's research centers on strategy and corporate governance. Of particular interest are the unique roles leaders play in developing and implementing strategy; the means organizations use to create value across multiple lines of business; and issues related to corporate boards of directors. Her work has appeared in nearly a dozen top-tier managerial and academic outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, American Economic Review, Rand Journal of Economics, Strategic Management Journal, The Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, The Journal of Business, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, and others. She is the author of The Strategist: Be the Leader your Business Needs (HarperBusiness, 2012), which has been translated into 14 languages; the co-author of Corporate Strategy: Resources and the Scope of the Firm (with David J. Collis); the editor of Resource-Based and Evolutionary Theories of the Firm; and the co-editor of Strategy: Seeking and Securing Competitive Advantage (with Michael E. Porter).

At Harvard Business School, Professor Montgomery twice received the Greenhill Award for her contributions to the School’s pedagogical mission. Prior to Harvard, Montgomery taught at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Michigan and at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management where she was recognized with its Outstanding Teacher of the Year award. Her dissertation work on corporate level strategy won the General Electric Award for Outstanding Research in Strategic Management.

Montgomery has served on the Board of Directors of two Fortune 500 companies--NewellRubbermaid, Inc. and UnumProvident--and a number of mutual funds managed by BlackRock, Inc. She has also served on several not-for-profit boards, including Harvard Business Publishing and McLean Hospital.