Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration | Harvard University Business School
Willy Shih is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration at the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts. He is part of the Technology and Operations Management Unit and he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education Programs. He has brought several MBA classes to China, including a class focused on China’s Belt and Road Initiative that took students to Shenzhen and Hong Kong in China, Myanmar and Sri Lanka in January 2020.
Shih’s expertise is in manufacturing, supply chains, and product development. He has written or co-authored numerous cases and teaching materials in a wide range of industries. His paper, “Restoring American Competitiveness,” co-authored with Gary Pisano, won the 2009 McKinsey Award. His book, “Producing Prosperity – Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance,” co-authored with Gary Pisano, has called attention to the link between manufacturing and innovation. His paper on the challenges of reshoring was featured in the Fall 2014 issue of the Sloan Management Review. He has written extensively for Forbes and the Nikkei Asian Review.
Prior to coming to HBS in 2007, Shih spent 28 years in industry at IBM, Digital Equipment, Silicon Graphics, Eastman Kodak and Thomson SA. He worked in product development and manufacturing in a wide range of areas including computer systems, scientific instruments, semiconductors, digital cameras, optical discs and software systems. Major manufacturing operations from around the world have reported to him as well as global sales and marketing operations.