Speakers and Chairs Bios

Platzhalter Speakers
Rita Gunther McGrath
US

Professor of Management
at Columbia Business School

Biography

Rita Gunther McGrath, a Professor at Columbia Business School, is a globally recognized expert on strategy, innovation, and growth with an emphasis on corporate entrepreneurship. Her work and ideas help CEOs and senior executives chart a pathway to success in today’s rapidly changing and volatile environments. McGrath is highly valued for her rare ability to connect research to business problems.
 
Rita has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Most Influential Business Thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2015 and 2013.

McGrath is one of the most widely published authors in the Harvard Business Review, including the best-selling “Discovery Driven Planning” (1995), which was recognized as an early articulation of today’s “lean” startup philosophy and has been praised by Clayton Christensen as ‘one of the most important ideas in management – ever.’ Her related book, Discovery Driven Growth: A Breakthrough Process to Reduce Risk and Seize Opportunity (2009) is a deep dive into how to put the technique to work. Her next project, tentatively entitled Discovery Driven Advantage examines how companies can build true proficiency in innovation. Rita’s latest book is the best-selling, The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast As Your Business (Harvard Business Review Press)