Alumni Achievement Awards, 2026

Since 1968, Harvard Business School has recognized a number of outstanding women and men by conferring on them its highest honor, the Alumni Achievement Award. Throughout their careers, these distinguished graduates have contributed significantly to their companies and communities while upholding the highest standards and values in everything they do. Exemplary role models, they inspire all those who aspire to have an impact on both business and society.

H. Lawrence Culp Jr. (MBA 1990)

Chairman and CEO, GE Aerospace ; Former Chairman & CEO, General Electric Company; Former President & CEO, Danaher Corporation 

Larry Culp joined GE’s Board of Directors in April 2018 and was named Chairman and CEO later that year. Heralded as one of the top business leaders in the world, Culp led GE’s storied turnaround by reducing the company debt by more than $100 billion and orienting the company on lean management principles, focusing on safety, quality, delivery, and cost to better serve customers. These efforts built a strong foundation that resulted in the creation of three independent, industry-leading public companies: GE Aerospace, GE HealthCare, and GE Vernova. Today, these companies are worth more than $600 billion combined, reflecting an elevenfold increase in market capitalization in less than 10 years.

Culp has served as CEO of GE Aerospace since June 2022, adding the role of chairman when it launched as a public company in April 2024. Prior to joining GE, he spent 25 years at Danaher Corporation, serving as president and CEO from 2001 to 2014. In addition, he has served as a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School in the MBA and Executive Education programs. The father of three adult children, Culp grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, working in his family’s welding and machine shop business. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington College, where he is a member and past chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors, in addition to serving on Wake Forest University’s Board of Trustees.

Paul J. Finnegan (MBA 1982)

Cofounder and Chairman, Madison Dearborn Partners 

Paul Finnegan grew up in Scituate, Massachusetts, attending Harvard College as an undergraduate and working in magazine publishing in Hong Kong before enrolling at HBS. After receiving his MBA, he worked at First Chicago Venture Capital for 10 years before cofounding Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP), a private equity firm investing in middle market companies in the financial services, healthcare, and technology and government sectors. Since its launch in 1992, MDP has raised aggregate capital of $36 billion and completed more than 160 investments, including PayPal, CDW Corporation, NFP, and TransUnion.

Finnegan has served the University in a number of leadership roles, including Harvard Corporation member, University treasurer, Harvard Overseer, chair of the Harvard Management Company, president of the Harvard Alumni Association, and executive committee cochair of The Harvard Campaign, in addition to serving in multiple capacities at HBS, the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Graduate School of Education, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. A longtime supporter of Teach for America (TFA), Finnegan is past chairman and current board member of TFA in Chicago and served as treasurer of TFA’s national board. The father of three adult children and recent grandfather, he lives with his wife, Mary, in Evanston, Illinois.

Jennifer Eplett Reilly (MBA 1990)

Civic Partner and Former Chair, Baton Rouge Area Foundation; Cofounder, Echoing Green Fellowship ; Cofounder, City Year, Inc.  

With more than 35 years of experience as a civic partner, community builder, and social entrepreneur, Jennifer Eplett Reilly has bridged the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to catalyze broad, positive change in education and community development—locally and globally. In 1988, she cofounded City Year, an organization that advances educational outcomes by partnering with schools to support student success while developing the next generation of diverse civic leaders through national service. Today, City Year serves students in communities across the United States and internationally, helping ensure more students have the support they need to stay in school and thrive.

Eplett Reilly served as an advisor to Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitchell Landrieu and led the launch of City Year Louisiana to serve in recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina; in addition, she is founding chair of New Schools for Baton Rouge and cofounder of the Echoing Green Fellowship for emerging social entrepreneurs. A 2024 Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow, Eplett Reilly recently chaired the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, launching a new direction for the $1.1 billion organization’s service and impact strategy. A graduate of Wellesley College, she serves on its Board of Trustees, as well as the boards of City Year, Ripples of Hope, REV Broadband, Louisiana’s Center for Planning Excellence, and the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children. She and her husband, Sean, have three adult children and live in Baton Rouge.

The Honorable W. Mitt Romney (MBA 1974/JD 1975)

US Senator from Utah, 2019–2025; Governor of Massachusetts, 2003–2007 ; Cofounder, Bain Capital

Born in Michigan, Mitt Romney’s career has spanned multiple leadership roles in the private and public sectors. He joined Bain & Company in 1977 and was promoted to vice president just one year later; in 1984 he cofounded Bain Capital, a private equity firm that today has 23 offices worldwide and more than $200 billion in assets under management. Romney served as CEO and managing partner of Bain Capital until 1998, when he left to lead the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics, restoring the event’s financial stability and delivering a successful event with a $100 million surplus.

During his term as Governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed universal healthcare into law in 2006. After two bids for the US presidency in 2008 and 2012, he served as US Senator from Utah, working across the aisle to negotiate passage of bipartisan legislation including the $908 billion COVID relief package and the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. A graduate of Brigham Young University, Romney has focused on encouraging the next generation of leaders since leaving office in 2025; a father to five sons and many grandchildren, he lives with his wife, Ann, in Utah.