Steven A. Denning : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Steven A. Denning (1978 MBA Graduate School of Business), a former chair of Stanford’s Board of Trustees, reflects on his career in business and his continued involvement with Stanford. Denning shares memories of his upbringing and education, including his time at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in the 1970s. He describes his consulting work in international business with McKinsey & Company, his career at General Atlantic, and how he became involved with Stanford’s Board of Trustees. He discusses the leadership of John Hennessy and John Etchemendy, the Board’s culture and processes, and some of the issues faced by the Board during his tenure, including decisions made during the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, the university’s discontinuation of plans to open a campus in New York City, and the search process for a new president following Hennessy’s resignation.
- Summary
- Early life in Salt Lake City and family background, including Mormon upbringing • Parental expectations • Hillcrest High School • Decision to attend Georgia Tech after earning an ROTC scholarship • Memories of transition from Salt Lake City to Atlanta • Extracurricular activities and leadership positions in college • Initial desire to be an aerospace engineer; transfer to industrial management • Georgia Tech and ROTC during the 1960s • Master’s degree in management at the Naval Postgraduate School • Navy service • Decision to pursue an MBA degree at Stanford • Appeal of Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) during the 1970s • Summer job for McKinsey in the Netherlands • Excellence and balance at GSB • Gaining an understanding of the European Community while with McKinsey • Returning to McKinsey after finishing MBA • Assignments at McKinsey in international business • Culture and leadership values of McKinsey & Company • Decision to leave McKinsey • Recruitment to General Atlantic by Ed Cohen • Chuck Feeney and his views on philanthropy • Career at General Atlantic • Invitation from A. Michael Spence to join the GSB Advisory Council • Strengthening strategic planning and global focus at the GSB • Expectations when joining Stanford’s Board of Trustees • Universal commitment to excellence at Stanford • Isaac Stein as chair of the Board • Board of Trustees globalization committee • Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 • Trustees’ recommendations to the university on handling the crisis in Fall 2008 • Priorities when dealing with crises • Leadership of John Hennessy and John Etchemendy • Stanford Medicine’s relationship with the wider university • Getting to know the university as a trustee • Chairing the Board of Trustees • Collaborative nature of Stanford Board • Leadership style • Stanford’s symbiotic relationship with Silicon Valley and reflections on Stanford’s rise to prominence • Appeal of building a Stanford campus in New York City • Decision to pull out of New York campus negotiations • Thoughts on divestiture • Building an environmentally-friendly campus • Preparation and agenda-setting for Board meetings • Structure of Board discussions • Executive sessions • Working with the president and provost • Thoughts on dealing with the media • Hennessy’s decision to resign as president • Challenges of the Stanford presidency • Fundraising • Long-term planning for Stanford • Assembling a presidential search committee • Presidential search process • Corporatization in higher education • Knight-Hennessy Scholars program
Description
| Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text, still image |
|---|---|
| Extent | 2 audio files; 1 text file; 1 photograph |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | May 26, 2020 - 2020-06-04 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Denning, Steven A. | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Denning, Steven A. | |
| Interviewer | Costello, Paul | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Stanford University. Board of Trustees |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University. Graduate School of Business |
| Subject | Stanford University. Students > 1970s |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | Steven A. Denning is the Chairman of General Atlantic LLC, a firm he joined in 1980 and has helped build into a leading global growth equity firm with $35 billion in assets under management and fourteen offices worldwide. Mr. Denning joined GA after working with McKinsey & Company. He received an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1978. Prior to business school, Mr. Denning served for six years in the US Navy, where he also earned an MS degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He received a BS from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1970, and an honorary doctorate in 2019. Mr. Denning is former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University and former Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). He is Emeritus Chairman of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council. |
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| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/hz432zj4350 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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