Michael Porter
Born 1947 · Age 78
American economist, author, and professor at Harvard Business School; pioneer of modern strategy (Porter's Five Forces, value chain, cluster theory). Founder of Monitor Company (Monitor Group), FSG, ICIC, CEP, ICHOM; leader of the Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Michael Eugene Porter born; father was a civil engineer and army officer.
Earned All-America honors in golf
Received All-America honors for intercollegiate golf while at Princeton.
B.S.E. in aerospace & mechanical engineering, Princeton
Graduated with high honors, first in class; elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi.
MBA (high distinction), Harvard Business School
Earned MBA with high distinction; was a George F. Baker Scholar.
Ph.D. in Business Economics, Harvard University
Completed Ph.D. in business economics (Harvard) and joined Harvard Business School faculty the same year.
Joined Harvard Business School faculty
Began HBS academic career; started advising and teaching soon after joining faculty.
First ‘Industry and Competitive Analysis’ course taught
Taught the first iteration of the course that would evolve into core strategy offerings at HBS.
Published 'How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy' (HBR)
Introduced the Five Forces framework in Harvard Business Review (March/April 1979).
Published Competitive Strategy (book)
Released Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (considered foundational in strategy).
Granted tenure at Harvard Business School
Received tenure at HBS, consolidating academic standing.
Co-founded Monitor Company (Monitor Group)
Co-founded the strategy consulting firm Monitor Company (later Monitor Group).
Published Competitive Advantage (book)
Published Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance; introduced value chain analysis and competitive advantage concepts.
Appointed to President Reagan’s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness
Named to the Commission, initiating his study of national competitiveness.
Competition and Strategy course becomes HBS core MBA requirement
The course Michael Porter developed became part of the HBS core MBA curriculum.
Published The Competitive Advantage of Nations
Published the seminal book introducing the 'diamond' framework on national competitiveness.
Led Massachusetts economic strategy effort (Gov. Weld’s council)
Chaired Gov. William Weld’s Council on Economic Growth and Technology and began implementing new economic strategy for the Commonwealth.
Founded Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)
Founded ICIC to promote economic development in distressed urban communities; he still served as chair.
Published 'What is Strategy' (HBR)
Authored a widely-cited Harvard Business Review piece clarifying the nature of strategy (Nov/Dec 1996).
Published On Competition (book)
Published On Competition, a compendium of Porter’s work and perspectives on competition.
Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness created at Harvard
Harvard Business School and Harvard University established the Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness to provide a home for Porter’s research.
Co-founded Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP)
Co-founded CEP to create rigorous tools for measuring foundation effectiveness.
Co-founded FSG (social impact consultancy)
Co-founded FSG with Mark Kramer to advise NGOs, foundations, and corporations on social impact and creating shared value.
Named University Professor (Bishop William Lawrence Univ. Professorship)
Appointed to Harvard's highest faculty rank (University Professor / Bishop William Lawrence University Professor).
Co-chair / leadership role on Global Competitiveness Report
Served as co-chair of the Global Competitiveness Report (with Jeffrey Sachs in leadership roles historically) and engaged in global competitiveness initiatives.
Launched Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) Affiliate Network
Started the MOC Affiliate Network to extend teaching and research on competitiveness internationally.
Published Redefining Health Care (with Elizabeth Teisberg)
Published Redefining Health Care, proposing a value-based framework to transform health care delivery.
Redefining Health Care named Book of the Year (ACHE)
The American College of Health Care Executives awarded Redefining Health Care the James A. Hamilton award for book of the year.
Received Lifetime Achievement Award in Economic Development (U.S. Dept. of Commerce)
Awarded the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award in Economic Development by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Published 'A Strategy for Health Care Reform' (NEJM)
Authored a New England Journal of Medicine article laying out a value-based health reform strategy (July 2009).
Understanding Michael Porter published (Joan Magretta)
Joan Magretta published the first concise summary of Porter's research and frameworks (book about Porter).
Published The German Healthcare System (with Clemens Guth)
Published The German Healthcare System: A Value-Based Competition Perspective.
Co-founded International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM)
Co-founded ICHOM with Stefan Larsson and Martin Ingvar to create global outcome standards for health conditions.
Launched Social Progress Index (SPI)
Launched the Social Progress Index to measure countries' social progress across many dimensions (first release covered 133 countries in 2014).
Monitor Company files for bankruptcy / assets acquired by Deloitte
Monitor Group (co-founded by Porter in 1983) filed Chapter 11 and its assets were acquired by Deloitte (structured bankruptcy/asset sale).
Published 'How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition' (HBR)
Co-authored the first of three HBR articles on smart connected products with James Heppelmann (Nov 2014).
Published 'How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Companies' (HBR)
Follow-up HBR article with James Heppelmann (Oct 2015).
Awarded the Sheth Medal (marketing scholarship)
Received the Sheth Medal for enduring and transformational contributions to marketing scholarship and practice (2016).
Published 'Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America' (report)
Co-authored a Harvard Business School report with Katherine Gehl analyzing the U.S. political system as a political 'industry' (Sept 2017).
Published 'Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy' (HBR)
Co-authored HBR article with Heppelmann on augmented reality strategy (Nov 2017).
Published 'Measuring Healthcare Outcomes to Deliver Value and Lower Costs'
Co-authored with R.S. Kaplan an article on outcome measurement in health care (HealthManagement.org, Nov 2019).
Published The Politics Industry (book, with Katherine M. Gehl)
Published The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy (book expanding the 2017 report).
Continued leadership of Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness (ISC)
Continues to lead the ISC at Harvard Business School, guiding research on competitiveness, clusters, health care, and social progress.
Recognized as one of the world's most influential management thinkers
Widely regarded as father of modern strategy; many of his frameworks are core to business education and practice.
Wikipedia article and public record note continued academic influence
Public sources continue to list multiple honors, board roles, honorary degrees, and ongoing influence; media coverage notes neutrality disputes in some entries.
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