Photo by Webb Chappell

On January 1, 2021, Srikant Datar became the 11th Dean of Harvard Business School. Datar joined the HBS faculty in 1996 and had served in a range of leadership positions at HBS, most recently as the senior associate dean for University affairs.

Here, he answers questions from alumni about the challenges and opportunities that the School faces—and the priorities that will guide his leadership.

Inequality and racism are among the most serious problems in today's societies. How does Dean Datar plan to address these issues by educating the leaders who make the difference in the world?
—Anna Pouskouri-Reiche (AMP 160, 2001)

Diversity and inclusion are critical for HBS. We know the ways diversity is essential in our classrooms; the case method relies on students' ability to learn from each other and their faculty members by drawing on wide-ranging experiences and perspectives. And, once they graduate, our students will be joining organizations with increasingly diverse workforces. Making the most of these differences will be crucial. Inclusion also is key, because diversity is only the first step. Even as we recruit more diverse students and hire more diverse staff and faculty members, we must also ensure that the School is a place where every individual is able to be the best they can be. Groups like the MBA student-led Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council as well as staff affinity groups are important steps toward this objective.

Nitin’s creation of the Dean's Anti-Racism Task Force and the resulting Racial Equity Plan have been crucial first steps in a community-wide, multi-year effort. Since the plan was announced in September 2020, we have designed the School's first chief diversity and inclusion officer role and will announce that appointment soon. Among our 14 new faculty members hired this year, eight are people of color. We became the first academic partner to the OneTen initiative, which aims to create jobs and career paths with family-sustaining wages for one million Black individuals in the next 10 years. We're deeply excited by the ways we can support this work through longitudinal data collection, research, education, and the dissemination of best practices.

We are also committed to diversifying the protagonists of our case studies so they better reflect our student body. Since launching this effort last June, our Case Research & Writing Group has taken the lead in coordinating and sharing case leads, and we saw remarkable progress this past year in the Required Curriculum of the MBA Program.

COVID-19 has changed the way we operate in both business and social settings. What (if any) are the major permanent changes to the HBS educational offerings?
—Trevor O’Hoy (AMP 157, 1999)

I refer to COVID as the passage to HBS's future. In just a few months, the School made transitions that would ordinarily have taken us years to realize.

The hybrid classroom we developed—with the input and help of students, staff, and faculty members—is truly unique. In the hybrid world, there is an expectation that those who are physically present have an advantage, and those who are remote will not feel as strong a connection. That has not been true for our students, and it is because of the particularly unique design that our team used to stitch together the two experiences.

It makes me very optimistic and enthusiastic about what we can do, because I have great faith in the innovativeness of our faculty and our community. For example, I could imagine that alumni interested in learning new materials might join classes offered in hybrid mode at some point going forward—in effect, learning alongside our students.

We've also continued to optimize our Live Online Classrooms (LOCs), where all participants are remote but the faculty member is in a room where video screens of each participant are arrayed much like in a physical classroom. For our executive education participants, we have seen that online programs offer distinct advantages, particularly for women and international participants for whom leaving home or work is more difficult. Think about a three-day program where individuals have to travel over long distances to be in the classroom. We've seen that LOC programs can be as intense and engaging as in-person ones.

Harvard Business School wants to educate many more leaders than can come to campus. While we currently extend our reach through Harvard Business Publishing and HBS Online, I think we have the opportunity to touch even more learners, and we’re running a number of experiments to try and get to non-linear growth.

Editor's note: Dean Datar's response applies to both of the following questions:

Along with another HBS sectionmate, Steve Sarver, I operate a food manufacturing and restaurant group. Through this pandemic, we have seen firsthand the divide in our nation. The majority of citizens have been able to work from home and prosper. At the same time, millions of individuals (especially those in our industry) have been harder hit by this pandemic and extremely challenged from a health and financial standpoint. What will HBS do in terms of innovation to provide models and learnings where businesses can ensure everyone can be more secure and prosper and allow for significant wealth creation?
—Clayton Chan (MBA 1996)

Given the increasing income inequality, the increased corporate arrogance and greed, and the rising social unrest, what role do you envision HBS having in creating a better future for a sustainable economy?
—Maureen Austin (MBA 1992)

I've always believed that business is a force for good in society. Think of the billions of people who have been lifted out of poverty because of the engines of entrepreneurship and business. This is why we must continue to educate students to become business leaders who innovate, create value, and operate efficiently.

At the same time, there has been great pressure from business groups and large investors to do more for society, and I’ve been heartened to see that many of our alumni are leading these efforts. In my own work, I have observed growing interest from boards of directors in tackling environmental issues as well as the tremendous social challenges of racial equity and economic inequality—and I believe that business can and will be an important part of the solution to these problems.

Our plan for a new research center focused on the mid-US is an example of how we are expanding our ability to address a range of social issues. In this country, as in many countries around the world, the geographic divide between the coasts and the heartland is significant. We're excited to do more—to better understand the issues and opportunities in these regions. And, next year’s FIELD immersions will be domestically focused, taking students, faculty members, and staff to cities from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

As alumni have told me, the reason for us to be engaged with business and society is not just because it's a moral issue or a social issue (though it is both), but also because neglecting to address it will affect economic growth and well-being. This has become a first-order economic issue.

How can alumni play an active role in helping you to successfully implement your vision for the School?
—LaToya Marc (MBA 2017)

Alumni are the greatest strength of the School. I always appreciate the advice, insights, and counsel alumni provide, especially as we address new challenges and opportunities. For example, input from our alumni community—in particular, members of the African American Alumni Association—was critical in helping us develop the Racial Equity Plan and will continue to be essential as we implement it.

Additionally, countless alumni stepped up during the pandemic by lending their expertise in case discussions in our hybrid classrooms, by meeting virtually with prospective students to answer their questions about HBS, and by assisting current students in finding internships and jobs.

I’m so deeply grateful to the alumni community for your support, from the sharing of your time and talent to the funding you provide for key initiatives. We were able to move quickly and effectively in response to the pandemic because of the generosity of alumni whose gifts to the HBS Fund enabled the considerable investment in technology that made remote learning possible.

As our ongoing priorities for the School take shape, alumni generosity—through both the HBS Fund and catalytic investment in key initiatives—will be instrumental in advancing our ambitious agenda. For example: an exploration of how digital transformation efforts can enhance the value of what HBS offers, create opportunities aligned with our mission, and improve existing processes and outcomes. Addressing this and other important issues, such as climate change and the role of business as a force for good in society, are areas where alumni can engage more deeply with the School—and I look forward to the impact we can make with your continued support.

Given the University’s growth and expansion in Allston, what do you see as the future opportunities for the School, as well as the University?
—Walter Haas (MBA 2014)

We are especially fortunate to be part of a great University and to sit at the center of a growing research and innovation district in Allston. The Harvard i-lab is an example of the kind of success we hope to build on: in its first decade, the i-lab has supported more than 3,200 founders, representing all 13 Harvard schools, who have collectively raised $2.6 billion in funding. In 2020, we saw the first two i-lab alumni unicorns, WHOOP and CarePort Health.

The opportunities continue to expand, especially with the landmark Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) building now complete and open and construction on the initial phase of the Enterprise Research Campus ready to begin, just across Western Avenue from our campus.

As we think about Allston as a growing hub for innovation and the expanding opportunities for partnership across many disciplines with the University, I’m also mindful that whenever we talk about technology and entrepreneurship, we also want to think about people. We want to create important opportunities for our students to deepen connections with the humanities and connect it to topics like business and society and climate. These developments—and the partnerships across disciplines—are the engines that we need to meet our aspirations.

What do you hope will be the contribution of the School in reimagining capitalism under your leadership?
—Ravi Venkatesan (MBA 1992)

When I think about stakeholder capitalism, I think about supporting customers, suppliers, employees, and communities. Doing so is consistent with long-term shareholder value creation—it is good for business and good for society. When I think about companies that lead on the environment, they help their societies, of course, but they also become more innovative. They inspire their employees and gain loyalty from their customers—and, oftentimes, from their investors.

Increasingly, we are also seeing the expansion of the purview of business to issues that typically fall to government and policymakers as a way to improve outcomes for society and the planet overall.

For example, let us suppose that a country is considering a carbon tax to limit carbon emissions. There will be a tax to long-term shareholder value, but the trade-off is that it might elevate our societies. In India, for instance, the Companies Act requires Indian companies to spend 2 percent of their profits on corporate social responsibility initiatives, which could also be seen as a tradeoff of sorts.

There are no easy answers, but these are the kinds of questions that several of my faculty colleagues are engaged in. I believe the outcomes of their research will make important contributions to business and society.

Artificial intelligence has had a transformative impact on businesses in every field. How do you think it could shape the future of the School?
—Sangu Delle (MBA 2016)

Digital transformation will be critical to the future of the School, and AI, machine learning, and blockchain will all have roles in defining that future.

First and foremost, digital transformation will help us continue to redefine our program delivery as well as scale and deliver our content. But it will also impact how we build a research infrastructure.

We have a fabulous physical infrastructure at the School and, as an alumnus, you know the magic of what happens in the classroom. Our ambition now is to have a digital research infrastructure that is similarly heralded for its excellence.

There are many opportunities to digitize the MBA program as well. Can we create a platform with students on one side and recruiters on the other to enable better matches? I think this is going to be a very important driver of many of the ambitions and aspirations that we have.

On the alumni and executive education side, digital transformation can help us personalize our offerings. How can we personalize the School’s content to your particular circumstance? When an executive education participant describes their goals, can we quickly personalize their journey with the different courses they should take among the huge variety of programs we offer?

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