Dean's Innovative Leader Series

Learning best practice from the best practitioners

MIT Sloan invites more than 400 of the world’s finest leaders to campus every year. The most anticipated of these visits are the talks given as part of the Dean’s Innovative Leader Series, which features the most dynamic movers and shakers of our day.

At a school that places enormous value on having both feet planted in the real world, the Dean’s Innovative Leader Series is a powerful learning tool. Students have the rare privilege of engaging in frank and meaningful discussions with the leaders who are shaping the present and future marketplace.

2011-2012 Speaker Highlights

Eric E. Schmidt

Executive Chairman, Google
November 15, 2011
Wong Auditorium, 12 noon

Co-sponsored by the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence in honor of the Center’s 5th anniversary

Since joining Google in 2001, Eric Schmidt has helped grow the company from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. As executive chairman, he is responsible for the external matters of Google: building partnerships and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership, as well as advising the CEO and senior leadership on business and policy issues.

From 2001-2011, Eric served as Google’s chief executive officer, overseeing the company’s technical and business strategy alongside founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Under his leadership, Google dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offerings while maintaining a strong culture of innovation.

Prior to joining Google, Eric was the chairman and CEO of Novell and chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems, Inc. Previously, he served on the research staff at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), Bell Laboratories and Zilog. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Eric is a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council in the U.K. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006 and inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as a fellow in 2007. He also chairs the board of the New America Foundation, and since 2008 has been a trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

Marjorie Yang, SB ’74

Chairman, Esquel Group
November 29, 2011
Wong Auditorium, 12 noon

Marjorie Yang is Chairman of Esquel Group, a leading textile and apparel manufacturer with operations throughout the world.

Marjorie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pure mathematics from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She was appointed Chairman of the Esquel Group in 1995. Ms. Yang is one of the world’s most successful businesswomen, named in the FORTUNE top 50 Most Powerful Women in Business 2009.

Under Marjorie’s leadership, Esquel has grown to become vertically integrated, with operations spanning cotton farming, yarn spinning, fabric, apparel and accessories production, research and development as well as design and merchandising services. Esquel’s 54,000 employees across the world produce 95 million shirts every year for leading brands like Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Next, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, providing a one-stop cotton shirt solution.

Full biography >> (PDF)