The Trajectory of Moss’s Career
Harvard University Director of Athletics Bob Scalise has known Moss for close to 20 years. He’s the one who hired her back at HBS—where he then served as associate dean—initially to lead MBA placement services. “She had energy, tons of ideas, and a desire to make things better,” he recalls. She did such a great job in MBA placement services and showed such potential that he wanted to broaden her experience, so he promoted her to oversee admissions and financial aid. “Placement and admissions go hand in hand—they are both part of a concept of strategic people practices,” he says. “Kirsten learned a lot from working with companies about what they were looking for and why they were hiring students from HBS. It just made so much sense for us that that experience would be terrific in the role of admissions.”
Well before obtaining her PhD, Moss already revealed a well-honed ability to assess leadership potential. “When she worked with us she was really terrific about both who she hired and who she admitted,” Scalise says. “Who you hire is like who you are placing a bet on—and it’s the same in admissions,” he says. “With all of these great candidates with great credentials and great achievements, who do you place your bet on to actually make an impact? Kirsten herself was someone to place a bet on—and I think it gives her a great eye for that type of talent.”
Ultimately, Moss would only lead HBS admissions for two years—until a job opportunity for her husband moved the family to the West Coast. “We were sorry to see her go because we knew that she had so much potential to help run various parts of HBS,” Scalise says. HBS’s loss, it turns out, proved Stanford’s gain.
All told, she has spent almost a decade at the Palo Alto school in different capacities. She joined Stanford as a consultant in 2004, became associate director of evaluation in 2005 and director of MBA admissions in 2009. Over the course of the six years she worked in the admissions office, she managed the evaluation, marketing and operations teams and also developed a new approach to assessing leadership capability. In the years since leaving in 2010, she has continued to serve as a leadership facilitator in the core MBA course “Interpersonal Dynamics.”
This tenure has given her a clear idea about what sets Stanford apart. “For me the differentiator at Stanford—and something I really value—is their approach to management education,” she says. “We ask each student when they come in what they value—having them really look and discover what is motivating them—and then give them the confidence and resources to go out there and really tackle complex challenges.” Of course, there’s also the school’s proximity to Silicon Valley, its renowned faculty, the ability students have to take courses at Stanford’s many other prestigious schools. “It is such a fabulous platform for them to engage their passions,” she says. “That focus on allowing the individual to know what they want to do—what they care about—and then giving them the resources to make it happen is truly unique.”
Warm, Well-Rounded, Hard Working—a Mentor and a Mom
Praise for Moss’s talents for mentoring proved a constant refrain. “She really develops others and accomplishes results that include the effort of other people,” says Scalise. “She works hard herself but she also has the ability to motivate and inspire people to accomplish results that are consistent with the organization’s goals.”
“She is really good at mentoring people,” concurs Rudolph. “She is plugged into Silicon Valley, she has experience on the search side, she is a mom, so she has that perspective as well—she’s just a well-rounded person,” he continues.
“As a fellow mother, I think being a mother helps you be a more empathetic manager and leader—it certainly tests all my managerial skills,” says Horbach with a laugh. “I think it is great that she is a mom, and I think it is wonderful that she is a woman.”
Strategic, organized, incredibly bright, tremendously engaging and warm, very achievement- and results-oriented. These were a few of the other adjectives used to describe her. “She has that rare combination of delivering results but also being very nice and loyal, and it’s a godsend when you find that kind of person,” Scalise says.
Greatest Challenge May Be Forging Her Own Path
Despite possessing a seeming near-perfect combination of attributes, Moss will nonetheless face challenges as she starts the new job in June. Says Rudolph, “The greatest challenge in this role will be continuing the incredible momentum we have. We want to have tremendous impact on the world—and the more diversity and more backgrounds we attract, the more impact we can have.”
Following in Bolton’s footsteps is no small feat either. “Derrick was just an amazing person. His work ethic was legendary,” Rudolph says. “He was so dedicated and involved, he traveled constantly and read every file, knew every student, made every acceptance call,” adds Horbach. “I don’t know how he did it. He was very personally engaged in all aspects of the business school and the admissions process, which was wonderful.”
“He was so well-loved, and it’s always a challenge when you have someone there that long who was so amazing at what he did—but I have every confidence she will be great,” says Rudolph. “If anybody can do it, she can.”
The best approach may well be to blaze her own trail. “My advice would be to not try to exactly replicate Derrick but instead create her own style and approach,” says Horbach. “Everyone is different, and a new person coming in following someone who has been so successful can’t duplicate what their predecessor did—they need to create their own approach.”
“He had his way of doing it and she won’t do it the same way for a lot of reasons,” says Rudolph. “She may be delegating more—relying on other people more—and that would be fine.”
Moss, for her part, views the rise of nationalism in multiple parts of the globe and efforts to limit immigration to the United States as posing very real potential challenges to MBA admissions. “I have concerns for ensuring that we can select the highest quality leaders from around the world no matter what country they come from and provide them the opportunity to attend our program,” she says. “My biggest worry is that we may not be able to enroll the best students or that they may not want to come to the United States to study.”
What Matters Most and Why?
A question on many prospective applicants’ minds no doubt has to do with whether Moss plans to upend Stanford’s tried-and-true essay question, “What matters most to you and why?” “I haven’t even started the job, there is a great team of experienced leaders already there and whatever we do, we’ll do together,” she demurs. But she divulges that she is a big fan of the question—suggesting it may not be going anywhere soon. “Given my decade of experience now assessing and developing leaders, understanding what someone’s values are—what the wind is in their sails—has a big impact on the type of leader they become,” she says.
Holding Out for the Perfect Fit
Though he was not personally involved in the search process, Rudolph is not surprised that the school took its time finding the perfect person for the job. “You never want to be in a hurry with these key hires, even though you obviously want to find someone right away,” he says.
The fact that Stanford this year has both a new dean—Jonathan Levin—and a new senior associate dean of academic affairs—Yossi Feinberg—likely played a role, too. “I have a feeling they were just trying to be a little bit cautious and make sure they were going about hiring the right person,” Rudolph says. Having great people who could fill in in the meantime also helped. Margaret Hayes, assistant dean of the MBA program, has overseen admissions and financial aid on an interim basis since September and has an experienced team working under her. Bolton, too, is just across campus in his new role as inaugural dean of admissions at Stanford’s recently launched Knight-Hennessey Scholars Program.
According to Moss, talking her into the role took no time at all. “I am über excited to have this opportunity, so it was not hard to convince me,” she assures.
