Stories
Stories
Innovation Outside the Boundaries

Kent Thiry and Denise O’Leary (both MBA 1983)
Noting the accelerated pace of change in society today, venture
capital private investor Denise O’Leary (MBA 1983) calls innovation in the
MBA curriculum “the flywheel that drives continued excellence
and keeps HBS teaching and research relevant across multiple
dimensions.”
O’Leary and her husband, DaVita Kidney Care chairman and
CEO Kent Thiry (MBA 1983), are alumni leaders whose longtime support of the
School includes a recent gift to establish an MBA Program innovation
fund. They particularly value the experiential learning
initiatives introduced as part of the field method, which complements
the School’s case method pedagogy. “As future leaders in a
global business environment,” Thiry says, “MBAs need skills and
insights informed by real-world, hands-on problem solving in a
variety of industries, cultures, and global economies. The organizations
they will work for and the communities they will live in
stand to benefit enormously from that kind of background.”
“When I talk to current HBS students and recent graduates, they
often cite their global immersion trip as one of the most valuable
experiences in the MBA Program,” adds O’Leary, who serves on
multiple corporate and nonprofit boards. “That speaks to the
long-term value of taking risks and trying new ideas in crafting
the MBA curriculum.”
O’Leary and Thiry also appreciate the growing emphasis on
interdisciplinary learning at Harvard. “Boundaries between
disciplines get in the way of solving problems across today’s
interconnected organizations,” observes Thiry. “The knowledge
sharing happening more and more between HBS and other
Harvard schools is extremely important.”
O’Leary calls the new joint MS/MBA degree program at HBS
and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences (SEAS) “one of the most interesting examples
of innovations that encourage students to take advantage of
the breadth of Harvard’s offerings. Whether it’s in collaboration
with SEAS, the Kennedy School, or any other graduate program
at Harvard,” she says, “innovation in the pedagogy of how HBS
teaches leadership is near and dear to both of us.”