Martha Crawford

Martha J. Crawford joined the faculty of Harvard Business School in 2016, after an accomplished career as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director, managing global R&D operations for multi-nationals in the energy and chemicals sectors. As CTO, Crawford led large, dispersed teams located in R&D centers on several continents, and thus experienced first-hand the complexities of change management and leadership in an international corporate setting.

A dual - American and French - national, Crawford holds a PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering (Harvard SEAS) and an MBA (College des Ingenieurs, Paris). She brings to the HBS faculty a practical understanding of the issues large incumbents face, in needing to transform their technologies, operations and business models to face external threats, while leveraging capital-intensive assets.

Since 2013, Crawford has served as Independent Director for two French multi-national (mid-cap, Euronext-listed) companies. From 2007 to 2014, Crawford also served on the Boards of subsidiaries of companies for whom she was an executive. Through her Board mandates, Crawford has been a member/chair of Committees on Strategy, Compensation and Nominations, and Audit.

Crawford was knighted to the French National Order of Merit, in 2012, in recognition of her work in helping the French state to reform its universities and national labs. She continues to serve as Vice President of a high-level committee (IDEX) reporting directly to the Prime Minister’s office, which is advising the government on university reform. Crawford was a member of the Board to both the French National Energy Labs (CEA) and the French National Scientific Labs (CNRS), in the 2000s.

In the 1990s, Crawford worked for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as Principal Administrator of the Environmental Performance and Information Division. In this capacity, she led a series of peer reviews of OECD countries, examining in detail the effectiveness and costs of environmental policies and regulations.

Since returning to Harvard in 2016, Crawford has taught the core curriculum course Leadership and Corporate Accountability, as well as a course on Energy in the 21^st Century. She is developing case materials for both courses, and is also supporting initiatives to strengthen links with technological entrepreneurs in Cambridge.