Michael Roberts

Mike Roberts spent 25 years on the HBS faculty, teaching the second-year elective course “Evaluating the Entrepreneurial Opportunity” for students who were actively working to transform an idea into a real business. He also taught the School’s first-year required courses in entrepreneurship and business history. He also served for 16 years as the Executive Director of the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. In this capacity, he directed the School’s non-classroom activities in support of entrepreneurship, including the HBS Business Plan Contest, fellowship programs, Entrepreneur in Residence program, and the California Research Center in Silicon Valley. Dr. Roberts also served as Executive Director, Case Development at the School. In this role, he oversaw many aspects of the School’s case development activities.

Dr. Roberts has worked in a variety of private sector roles. Prior to and during business school, he worked for McKinsey & Co. and Morgan Stanley, respectively. From 1989 to 1991, he served as Director of International Business Development for Cellular Communications, Inc. where he led a successful effort to acquire the second cellular license in Italy. He has also served as Chief Financial Officer of a start-up chain of quick service Italian restaurants, and as Vice President of Business Development for a company in the health care services field.

Dr. Roberts received his BA, cum laude, from Harvard College in economics in 1979. He was awarded his MBA, with high distinction, from Harvard Business School in 1983. He completed his formal studies in 1986 when he received his doctorate, as a Dean's Fellow, in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He is the author of over 150 case studies on starting and managing entrepreneurial companies. He co-authored New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur, a textbook that is used at over 100 graduate business schools. He is also a co-author of The Entrepreneurial Venture and of a legal text, Business Structures, currently in its 6th edition.