Karim Lakhani
About Karim Lakhani
Karim Lakhani is the Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University, where he also serves as Chair and Co-Founder of the Digital, Data, & Design Institute. He has extensive experience in technology management and innovation, advising AI-based startups and contributing to various research initiatives.
Work at Harvard Business School
Karim Lakhani serves as the Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School since 2006. In this role, he focuses on the intersection of technology and business, contributing to the academic community through teaching and research. He is also the co-director of the Harvard Business Analytics Program, an online executive education initiative designed to cultivate leaders in digital and analytics fields. Additionally, he co-founded the Harvard Business School Digital Initiative, which examines the effects of digital technology on business practices.
Current Roles and Affiliations
Lakhani holds multiple positions that leverage his expertise in technology and innovation. He is the Chair and Co-Founder of the Digital, Data, & Design Institute at Harvard, a role he has maintained since 2022. He has been a member of the Board of Directors at Mozilla since 2016, contributing to the organization's strategic direction. Furthermore, he serves as an Academic Partner at Flagship Pioneering since 2021, where he collaborates with startups in the technology sector.
Education and Expertise
Karim Lakhani's educational background includes a PhD in Innovation and Technology Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management, completed between 2001 and 2006. He also holds a Master of Science in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earned from 1997 to 1999. His undergraduate studies were completed at McMaster University, where he received a Bachelor of Engineering in Management. His academic training underpins his expertise in technology management and innovation.
Research Contributions
Lakhani has made significant contributions to research in various domains, particularly in digital transformation and innovation. He is the Principal Investigator of the NASA Tournament Lab at the Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Science, focusing on crowdsourcing innovative solutions. His research includes exploring the impact of generative AI on CEO communication and investigating the dynamics of hierarchical structures and performance evaluation systems. He has co-authored several working papers and case studies that address these themes.
Professional Experience
Prior to his current roles, Lakhani gained extensive experience in various sectors. He worked at GE Medical Systems in sales and marketing from 1993 to 1997. He then served as a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group from 1999 to 2006. He also held a lecturer position at the MIT Sloan School of Management for nearly a year in 2005-2006. These experiences have informed his academic and research pursuits in technology and management.