Harvard Business School (HBS) has named a 2010 alumnus to direct its Social Enterprise Initiative (SEI), which seeks through an array of programs and activities to advance understanding of the management and leadership challenges organizations face as they work to create social value.
Matthew Segneri (MBA 2010) was named director of HBS’s SEI, which since its launch in 1993 has helped establish and promote the concept of social enterprise. He succeeds Laura Moon, who has become managing director of HBS’s wide array of Initiatives, which focus on research and course development in specific topics such as leadership, health care and digital technology.
“This is an incredible opportunity to give back to the school and inspire, educate and support leaders committed to solving our most intractable social and economic problems,” Segneri said in a statement, noting how much of a role both HBS and SEI played in both his personal and professional life.
Segneri was actively involved with social enterprise while at HBS, serving as the co-president of the Social Enterprise Club in his second year and as a team leader for the New Orleans Service and Leadership Immersion Program, which brought HBS students to New Orleans to work on various projects after the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. Awarded a Social Enterprise Summer Fellowship, he also interned during the summer of 2009 at the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters, working along with other MBA students to help the organization redesign the promotion process for its Special Agents.
After graduating from HBS, Segneri served as an advisor to then-mayor of the City of Boston, Thomas Menino. First as an HBS Leadership Fellow and later as Menino’s chief advisor on service and social enterprise, he led policy development and implementation efforts and provided management counsel to the mayor and his cabinet.
Most recently he developed and led initiatives for Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York City, the foundation founded by former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to promote public and social sector innovation and share successful ideas among cities.
“We are very pleased to welcome back Matt to direct the Social Enterprise Initiative as it enters its third decade at a time when HBS students are more eager than ever to play a significant role in social enterprises of all kinds,” said Professor V. Kasturi “Kash” Rangan, one of SEI’s faculty co-chairs, in a statement. “From his days as a Harvard MBA student to his work at the highest levels of big city governments, he has made a lasting impact through his vision, strategic and operational skills, and energy and hard work.”
Segneri will work closely with Professors Rangan and Herman B. “Dutch” Leonard, the Initiative’s other faculty co-chair, to oversee SEI’s strategic objectives and operational goals. He will also manage its programming and other activities, including educational programs within the MBA and Executive Education curricula, MBA field-based learning and career support programs and alumni outreach and engagement.
“With his commitment to effecting social change and driving innovation in the social sector, Matt is ready and able to lead the Social Enterprise Initiative to new heights at this important juncture in its history,” Leonard said in a statement.
Learn more about Segneri’s appointment to director of HBS’s Social Enterprise Initiative.
