Solomon Darwin

Solomon Darwin has broad leadership experience in corporate management and academia. He is an international speaker recognized by peers, executives, and students with numerous awards for his innovative leadership and passion for teaching. He inspires students from both business and engineering disciplines in his courses for open innovation, business models, smart cities, scalable smart villages, and business models for emerging economies. He is also known as the father of the Smart Village Movement. As an expert in “open innovation” and “open business models,” he is an adviser to senior executives of multinationals and government leaders in the emerging world. The list includes large global brands and government entities in Europe, China, Russia, India, and Latin America. He directs and moderates international innovation conferences and forums, and chairs quarterly Chief Innovation Officer round tables in Silicon Valley.

Before joining Berkeley Haas in 2005, he was an Associate Professor for nine years at the University of Southern California. His progressive corporate leadership experience covers a span of 14 years as a Senior Executive Officer at Bank of America, First Interstate Bank, and Glendale Federal Bank, and Motorola.

During summers, Darwin regularly teaches in executive programs at prominent international universities and institutions. He has conducted workshops and programs in over 18 countries. He also serves as an honorary professor at several universities in Europe, China, South Korea, and India. His current projects, “Building Scalable Smart Villages” and “The Rebuilding India Initiative” were commissioned by the government of India.

EDUCATION

• Doctoral Studies (Doctor of Business Administration), Golden Gate University
• MCCP, Harvard University, Graduate School of Business
• MBA, Golden Gate University
• BA, San Francisco State University
• AA, Skyline College

Expertise and Research Interests

• Open Innovation
• Smart Villages / Smart Cities
• Business Models Innovation
• Strategies for Emerging Economies
• Business Ecosystems
• Sustainability of the Planet
• Forensic Accounting

Positions Held

At Haas since 2005

• 2009 – Present, Executive Director, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation
• 2008 – 2009, Executive Director, Center for Innovative Financial Technology
• 2005 – 2008, Executive Director, Center for Financial Reporting & Management
• 1996 – 2005, Associate Professor, University of Southern California
• 1984 – 1995, Senior Corporate Officer: Bank of America, 1st Interstate Bank
• 1980 – 1983, Senior Financial Analyst, Motorola

Adjunct Professorships

• 2015 – Present, Adjunct Professor on Faculty, Lancaster (U.K.) University, School of Management
• 2011 – Present, Adjunct Professor on Faculty, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University

Visiting Positions Since 1996

• Cambridge University
• Norwegian Business School
• University of Turku, Finland
• Oxford University
• University of Toronto
• Kings University, Bangkok
• Aachen University, Germany
• WHU, Germany
• Maastricht University, Netherlands
• Lancaster University, UK
• Stockholm School of Economies
• University of Zurich
• University of Science & Technology, China
• World Trade Center, Mexico
• Jiao Tong University, China
• Korean University
• Qingdao University, China
• Moscow State University, Russia
• International University of Business & Economics, Beijing, China
• China Normal University
• Fraunhofer Institute, Germany
• Wuhan University, China
• Euro-med School of Management, France
• EM Lyon School of Management, France
• Peter Drucker School of Management, Claremont, CA
• Stanford University, Graduate School of Management

Selected Honors and Awards

• PhD (Honorary)
  Shanghai Jiao-Tong University, Overseas College
  2011

• PhD (Honorary)
  CapStone University, Pasadena, CA
  2005

• Leadership Award for Exemplary Service
  Haas School of Business
  2009

• Golden Apple Teaching Awards
  Marshall Business School, USC
  1999, 2000, 2003

• Most Innovative Teacher Award
  Marshall Faculty Award, USC
  2005

• Motor Board Outstanding Professor Award
  2005

• Professor of the Year Award
  National Greek Society – Gamma Sigma Alpha
  2003

• National Teaching Award “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers”
  2002, 2004, 2005