Rita Gunther McGrath, a professor at Columbia Business School, is a globally recognized expert on strategy in uncertain and volatile environments. Her thinking is highly regarded by readers and by clients that include Pearson, Coca-Cola Enterprises, General Electric, Alliance Boots, and the World Economic Forum. She is a popular instructor, a sought-after speaker, and a consultant to senior leadership teams. She was recognized as one of the top twenty management thinkers by global management award Thinkers50 in 2011. She’s also been recognized as one of the top ten business school professors to follow on Twitter. In 2009, she was inducted as a fellow of the Strategic Management Society, an honor accorded those who have had a significant impact on the field. In 2013 she will serve as dean of the fellows.

McGrath has coauthored three previous books: Discovery-Driven Growth: A Breakthrough Process to Reduce Risk and Seize Opportunity (2009), MarketBusters: 40 Strategic Moves That Drive Exceptional Business Growth (2005), and The Entrepreneurial Mindset (2000), all published by Harvard Business Review Press. MarketBusters has been translated into ten languages and was named one of the best business books of 2005 by strategy+business. It was featured by Bill Gates at the 2005 Microsoft CEO Summit, whose theme, “New Pathways to Growth,” was derived from the book’s main topic.

McGrath has written many Harvard Business Review articles, including the best-selling “Discovery-Driven Planning” (1995), recognized now as an early articulation of today’s “lean” start-up movement. She is also a highly respected researcher whose work has won awards from the most prestigious management journals.

McGrath appears regularly on television and radio and is often cited in the press, having been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, and Inc., among others.

McGrath joined the faculty of Columbia Business School in 1993. Prior to life in academia, she was an information technology director, worked in the political arena, and founded two start-ups. She received her PhD from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and has degrees from Barnard College and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. She is married and is proud to be the mother of two delightful grownups.

For more information on McGrath, visit www.ritamcgrath.com or follow her on Twitter at @rgmcgrath.