Mossavar-Rahmani Center

The Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government says it is:

dedicated to advancing the state of knowledge and policy concerning some of society's most challenging problems at the interface of business and government. The scope of its work ranges from the local to the global levels. Drawing on the unparalleled intellectual resources of the Kennedy School and Harvard University, and bringing together thought leaders from both the public and private sectors, the Center conducts research, facilitates dialogue, and seeks answers that are at once intellectually rigorous and policy relevant.

In 1982, Harvard established the Center for Business and Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government (CBG). The Center’s mission was to bring together public and private sector leaders to discuss business-government issues. The Center marked its launch with the appointment of Director Winthrop Knowlton, former investment banker, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and CEO of Harper & Row Publishers, who was appointed as the Henry R. Luce Professor of Ethics, Business and Public Policy.

In 2005, the Center was renamed the 'Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government' after a generous gift from Kennedy School alumnus Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani and his wife Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani.

The Center's Past Directors

Ira A. Jackson: served as Director of CBG from 2000 to 2002. For 12 years, he was executive vice president of a multinational bank. Previously, he was Commissioner of Revenue in Massachusetts and top aide to two big city mayors; he helped launch and lead a number of innovative non-profit initiatives, including City Year; and he was associate dean of the Kennedy School during its formative developmental years. As director of CBG, Jackson established a Director’s Venture Fund which is used to invest in the development of new intellectual capital, programs, publications and conferences. He strengthened the Regulatory Policy Program, consolidated the School’s Asia Programs within CBG and helped launch the Environmental Economics Program at Harvard University with Professor Robert Stavins. Jackson also shifted the CBG Fellows Program to reflect more participation by leaders from the private sector. Jackson also actively recruited faculty and fellows, including practitioners and academics who focus on global issues, corporate citizenship, information technology and leadership in both the public and private sectors.

Roger Porter: Former economic policy advisor in three Presidential Administrations, was named Director of the Center in the spring of 1996. Porter, the IBM Professor of Business and Government at the Kennedy School and a senior scholar at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, served for more than a decade in the Ford, Reagan, and Bush White Houses. Under Porter’s direction, the Center developed a long-term relationship with the Kansai Keizai Doyukai in Osaka, Japan. The Center also launched a successful faculty seminar on regulation that drew participants from across the university and beyond to consider the current state of regulatory analysis. On the international front, Porter helped organize a conference on the World Trade Organization that brought together nearly 200 participants from a score of countries. In addition, he launched the David T. Kearns Program on Business, Government and Education.

John P. White: Current Lecturer in Public Policy, joined the Center as Director in 1993, following his active involvement in both the Perot and Clinton presidential campaigns in 1992. White also served as Deputy Secretary of Defense; Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Assistant Secretary of Defense, Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics; and as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. White continued to advance the original mission of the Center. He spent the first year devoting much of his time raising the core endowment needed to maintain the Center’s day-to-day operations. White engaged the KSG community with conferences on such topics as electricity regulation, taxation, and retirement policy. White worked hard to meet with various constituents of the Center to help define the shape and direction of the Center over the next five years. Some of the main conferences that he supported include Professor Bill Hogan’s Electricity Forum, the Bretton Woods Conference, and the first Ray Vernon Conference held in Washington, D.C.

• Richard Cavanagh Former executive dean of the Kennedy School, partner at McKinsey and Co., and current president of the Conference Board, joined the Center as Director in 1991. Under his direction, the Center initiated a program of Case Studies in Business and Government intended to reflect private sector contributions to public policy. Over 300 participants convened at the Kennedy School for a Telecommunications Conference co-sponsored by the Center to assess the fast-changing international telecommunications marketplace and discuss how to make Massachusetts an international center for the burgeoning telecommunications industry. Congressman Edward Markey, Governor William Weld, Lt. Governor Paul Cellucci, and CEOs from telecommunications companies were only a few that gathered for this event. The Center also co-sponsored a large conference on Globalization and the New England Economy and Cavanagh extended the growth of the fellows program significantly.
• John Dunlop: The second person appointed as Director to the Center of Business and Government, Dunlop added an extraordinary group of fellows and visiting faculty, who led modules or class sessions with CBG faculty members, advised student groups as career counselors, enhanced relations with the Harvard Business School and other parts of the University, and concentrated on projects of their own. Students came to participate more in the life of the Center. The output of books and other publications was substantial, and a tenure position was filled by F. M. “Mike” Scherer.
• Winthrop Knowlton: Built the Center, adding significant capital resources, research projects and activities, and developed the Center’s space in Weil Hall. Under Knowlton’s direction, the Center drew significant new support for its programs, raising more than one million dollars for conferences, case studies, and general support. The Center set into motion a number of new programs and seminars including an interfaculty seminar on public-private partnerships with colleagues from the Joint Center for Urban Studies of MIT and Harvard; the Harvard Faculty Project on Regulation; and research by a number of School faculty on capital formation and economic competitiveness.

The senior fellows

Giancarlo Bruno: The Head of the global banking industry at the World Economic Forum, which the MRC describes as

"an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas."

Bruno's previous assignments include several years in banking – corporate finance, financial planning and engineering, and private banking, in Milan, Vienna, London, Luxembourg and Geneva, as well as a research position at the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and at the European Parliament. His research at MRC focuses on social mobility.

Mark Fagan: His work focuses on the creation of competitive markets. He has published working papers and articles examining the role of small and medium size enterprises in the economic development of China, the impact of electricity restructuring on electricity prices in the United States, the results of rail freight deregulation in the United States on market share in contrast to the European experience, and the institutional innovation required to support technological innovation. Mr. Fagan is founding partner of the management and consulting firm, Norbridge, Inc, and was Vice President at Mercer Management Consulting.

John Foote: From 1995-2005 was the co-founder and Executive Vice-President of Transcore, a transportation engineering company, specializing in "intelligent transportation systems and services," such as electronic toll collection. Previously he was a managing partner for Lewis, Foote and Company in Philadelphia, a private investment partnership. He has also Managing Director of Chase Manhattan, Asia Ltd, in Hong Kong. He will be researching the US Department of Transportation's vehicle-infrastructure-integration (VII) initiative.

David Grayson: Is Chairman of the Small Business Consortium and a Partner at Irwin Grayson Associates; he will be affiliated with the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, researching critical success factors for business-led intermediary organizations in CSR. Grayson is a former Managing-Director of Business in the Community, "a UK-based organization working to improve the impact of business on society with over 750 corporate members employing some 12 million people in over 200 countries worldwide". He remains a part-time director focused on sustainability and small businesses, and chairs the UK's Small Business Consortium, which encourages responsible business practices among small and medium enterprises. The Financial Times has described him as, "one of the UK's most respected voices on business social responsibility." His books include: "Corporate Social Opportunity - Seven Steps to make Corporate Social Responsibility work for your business" and "Everybody's Business" - both with Adrian Hodges. He was co-founder and director of Project North East which has worked on enterprise and small business development in over 40 countries.

Jerome Grossman, M.D.: is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Harvard/Kennedy School Health Care Delivery Policy Program. Grossman is also Chairman Emeritus of New England Medical Center, Inc., where he served as Chairman and CEO from 1979-1995, and is an honorary physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital. As a Senior Fellow at M-RCBG, Grossman authored a report on the state of health care in Massachusetts.

Thomas J. Healey: Is an Advisory Director of Goldman, Sachs & Co. He is currently a Senior Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government. Before joining Goldman Sachs, he was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance under President Reagan. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1964 and Harvard Business School in 1966. Healey speaks and writes frequently on such investment-related topics such as global pension fund management, the growth of defined contribution plans, the application of quality management to the pension industry, real estate, alternative investments, soft dollars and social security.

Mark Kramer is a Senior Fellow working on the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative with John Ruggie and Jane Nelson. Kramer is currently Managing Director and Founder of the Foundation Strategy Group, LLC in Boston, as well as Chairman and Founder of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, Inc. in Cambridge. He has numerous publications, including several with the Harvard Business Review and Chronicle of Philanthropy. Kramer is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and holds a Masters from the Wharton School of Finance.

Jun Kurihara: A Senior Economist at the Fujitsu Research Institute (FRI) in Japan. His research focuses on Japan's industrial rejuvenation from the perspective of venture capital activity. In addition to his work with FRI, he has taught at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, chaired the Working Group on Economic Statistics and served as a Senior Member of the Japan Statistics Council for the Government of Japan. Kurihara earned his Masters degree in 1993 from Kyoto University. While at M-RCBG, he is conducting research on Japan's response to globalization with Dennis Encarnation, Director of the Asia-Pacific Policy Program.

Alan Leifer: His work focuses on energy security and strategies to foster the development of game changing technologies in the field of transportation fuels. In 2006-2007, he is working with John Holdren and Henry Lee on the Energy Technology Innovation Project. Mr. Leifer is a retired voting stockholder of Fidelity Investments where he led global technology and energy research and investment programs as portfolio manager and research director. He holds a B.S. and M.B.A. degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.P.A. degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.

Michael L. Michael: is currently Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of IXIS Asset Management Global Associates, Inc., a Boston-based and ultimately French-owned firm engaged in asset management activities outside of the United States. Previously, Michael was Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer and Ethics Officer at Fidelity Investments. In addition to his twenty years as a lawyer and executive at financial services firms, Michael has been an industry leader and consultant on regulatory matters involving the financial services sector. As a Senior Fellow at M-RCBG, Michael has focused on corporate governance issues, including specifically the relationship between regulation and ethical decision-making. His article – “Business Ethics: The Law of Rules” – was recently published in Business Ethics Quarterly (October 2006).

Jane Nelson: Director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. She serves as a Director at the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) and is a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution. During 2001 she worked in the office of the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, preparing a report for the United Nations General Assembly on cooperation between the UN and the private sector, which supported the first UN resolution on such cooperation. Prior to joining the IBLF, Jane was a Vice President at Citibank responsible for marketing for the bank's Worldwide Securities Services business in Asia Pacific. She has been a lecturer in agricultural economics at the University of Natal in South Africa, and has worked for the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Africa preparing a report for the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and for FUNDES (Fundación para desarrollo sostenible) in Latin America undertaking research on small enterprise development.Nelson has authored a variety of books and publications on public-private partnerships and the changing role of business in society, especially in emerging markets, and co-authored four of the World Economic Forum's Global Corporate Citizenship reports. She serves on the advisory councils or boards of the ImagineNations Group, the International Council of Toy Industries CARE process, the 21st Century Trust, the U.K. Environment Foundation, Instituto Ethos, the Business Women's Initiative Against HIV/AIDS, the International Council of Mining and Metals Resource Endowment Initiative, AIESEC (The International Association of Students in Economics and Commerce), and on the faculty for Harvard Business School’s ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ executive program and Cambridge University’s ‘Business and Poverty’ leadership program. She has a BSc. Agricultural Economics and MA Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and has been a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, a Rotary International student, a fellow of the 21st Century Trust, an Aspen Institute scholar, and recipient of the Keystone Center's 2005 ‘Leadership in Education’ Award.

James Rosenfield: His research focus is on the changing dynamics of National Oil Companies, their relationship with International Oil Companies, and the implications for human rights policy. Mr. Rosenfield is co-founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), a leading international energy research and advisory firm. In addition to being the driving force behind CERA's growth, Mr. Rosenfield created and directs CERAWeek, which has been recognized as the world's most influential annual gathering of top energy industry executives and government ministers; and has edited or co-edited numerous studies. He was Production Executive for "The Commanding Heights," a 5-part national television series on the emergence of the global economy. Mr. Rosenfield is Chairman of Acumentrics Corporation and Azima, Inc; and is a partner in Source2 LLC. He is a Corporation Member of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He holds an MBA from Boston University and studied Social Studies at Harvard College.

William Symonds: Is researching the role of business in improving America's schools, and is funded by the Sandler Fellowship in Education. From 1997-2006, Bill was Boston Bureau Chief for Business Week Magazine, as well as the magazine's chief education correspondent. In this role, he pioneered Business Week's coverage of business initiatives to shape education policy and accelerate the pace of reform. Prior to arriving in Boston, Bill headed Business Week bureaus in Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Rome, Italy. During his career at Business Week, Bill authored several dozen cover stories and special reports on subjects ranging from Harvard to the economics of the Catholic Church and Evangelical America to profiles of Kodak, Tyco, Corning and many other corporations. He has received numerous awards for his work. Bill is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and has a Masters from Oxford University in England.

Alan M. Trager, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, is a Senior Fellow at the Center. He previously served as Senior Advisor to the Dean for Executive Education. He focuses on the role of nongovernmental sources in solutions to complex public policy problems. His involvement in public-private partnerships in New York City includes service as director of the Riverside Park Fund and as an advisory director of the National Sports Museum. His private sector experience includes founding and chairing AMT Capital Management, a private investment firm, and creating and managing ventures for Morgan Stanley, where he was a managing director. As a Senior Fellow at M-RCBG, he focuses on collaborative governance. His research includes a case study of parks and partnership in New York City. Trager is a graduate (MPA1972) of the Kennedy School. Early in his career, he was a VISTA Volunteer and worked for mayors in New York City, New Haven, and Boston.

Resources

For the faculty members of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center, see: Faculty