The Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) have announced a partnership to help build a pipeline of Black executives.
The collaboration will focus on providing access to HBS educational opportunities to ELC members. It will also provide enhanced programming opportunities for ELC scholarship recipients and executive education opportunities for the most senior Black executives in corporate America. According to the ELC, its mission – to open channels of opportunity for Black executives to positively impact business and communities – aligns well with the goals of the recently announced HBS Action Plan for Racial Equity; a plan to advance racial equity both within and beyond the School.
“HBS must do more to create opportunities for Black talent to succeed and take up leadership roles,” stated HBS Dean Nitin Nohria. “The Executive Leadership Council has demonstrated the ability to create these opportunities and harness the power of Black talent. Together, we can create a tremendous and unique opportunity for ELC scholarship recipients, ELC members, and the HBS community.”
HARNESSING THE POWER OF BLACK TALENT
“The ELC looks forward to launching this unique collaboration with HBS. It is an advantage to be able to provide another development opportunity for our ELC Scholars,” added Crystal E Ashby, ELC Interim President and CEO. “Adding this component will enrich their overall experience, providing financial support, networking and education as benefits for the Scholars. We are energised to offer executive education opportunities for our members, and to do so with one of the most highly-regarded academic institutions around the world.”
PARTNERSHIP FOCUS AREAS
The collaboration will focus on three main areas: support for ELC Scholars, Executive Education, and MBA programming and case development. The mission of The ELC’s Scholars programme is to build a pipeline of Black corporate talent by supporting the academic achievement and development of Black undergraduate and graduate students. HBS will provide financial support to the student scholarship programme and assist in identifying potential internship opportunities for ELC Scholars at HBS, partner companies and alumni-led organisations.
The programme also aims to cultivate high-potential executive leaders. Leveraging the School’s existing Executive Education platform, the two organisations will work together to create a course customised for ELC members, while also providing them with access to existing HBS Executive Education courses and programmes, which offer fully immersive and transformational living-learning experiences, networking opportunities with executives from around the world, and the opportunity to engage in programmes led by HBS faculty.
INFUSING DIVERSITY INTO MBAS
The partnership will also help to infuse diversity into the MBA curriculum. During the autumn, HBS hosted a speaker series featuring diverse thought leaders covering a range of inclusion topics. Going forwards, HBS will tap into the vast ELC network, many of whom are HBS alumni, as well as potential speakers, giving MBA students access to different and unique perspectives, and providing the speakers with greater exposure. In addition to speaking opportunities, HBS and ELC will work on developing community events that allow for deeper interactions between ELC and HBS community members.
A key component of the HBS Racial Equity plan is the development of additional cases featuring Black protagonists. HBS and ELC will work together to identify potential topics and individuals to feature in cases from the more than 800 current and former Black CEOs, senior executives and board directors at Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies, and entrepreneurs at top-tier firms comprising ELC’s membership.
“ELC’s commitment to professional growth of Blacks in the corporate sector and to leadership in the Black community in general is uplifting and powerful,” stated Ron Chandler, HBS Chief Information Officer and Co-Chair of the School’s Anti-Racism Taskforce who played a key role in bringing the groups together. “A strategic partnership between the Executive Leadership Council and Harvard Business School would not only cultivate immediate greatness but can have phenomenal second- and third-order impacts for years and decades to come.”
Earlier this year, the UK launched the Black Leaders Network to combat inequality and improve the Black leadership pipeline. Click here to read more.
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