27 September 2023 - Helsinki, Finland

Rebecca Henderson

Professor, Author, Economist

Rebecca is a professor at Harvard University, where she teaches an award-winning MBA class “Reimagining Capitalism”, which is also the name of the book she authored in 2020.

She has been a leading authority in organizational and strategic change for over 30 years. Today her research and teaching focus on purpose-driven capitalism, and the role of business leaders at every level can play in changing the current system.

In her book Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire, she explains what is wrong with capitalism today, and offers guidelines for how we to reimagine and rebuild a better system. She describes her book as a “guide for saving capitalism from itself.”

Rebecca believes business enterprise is one of the most powerful forces on the planet when it comes to effecting positive change – but that it must move quickly if we are to successfully address the problems the world faces. One of the most articulate and insightful academic scholars on the influential role business can play in ensuring a more sustainable future, her research explores the strategic and organizational forces that lead to sustainable business.

More About Rebecca Henderson

Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire

A keynote by Rebecca Henderson

Rebecca’s talk offers both a new intellectual framing and a plausible path forward for a capitalism that has lost its commitment to freedom and prosperity in the single-minded pursuit of maximizing shareholder value.

How to develop a pragmatic roadmap for systemic change
How some companies succeed in making the first steps toward reimagining capitalism
How to create a pragmatic foundation for thriving in a world of immense challenges and extraordinary possibilities

Why Should You Listen to Her?

Professor at Harvard

The John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, Professor Henderson has a joint appointment at the Harvard Business School (HBS) in the General Management and Strategy units and is the Co-Chair of the Business and Environment Initiative.

Previously, she was a professor at the Sloan School of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she ran the strategy group and taught courses in technology, strategy, and sustainability.

Academic Researcher

Rebecca is a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her most recent research explores the ways in which firms can successfully respond to the next great challenge of building a sustainable economy.

Her work has been featured in a range of scholarly journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, The American Economic Review, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Strategic Management Journal.

A Prominent Economist

Rebecca has been a leading authority in organizational and strategic innovation for more than thirty years.

She is an advisor to some of the world’s leading companies in the sustainability space and was a board member of both Amgen and IDEXX Laboratories for many years. She speaks frequently to companies and in public forums around the world.

See Rebecca Henderson at NBF 2023