The Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership is grounded in the idea that leaders need more than knowledge—they need action skills to achieve their goals and insight skills to learn from their successes and failures.
What does the Davis Center for Leadership do? We offer a variety of programs, MBA courses, and leadership resources designed to help build your leadership skills. Whether you’re a Booth alumnus, student, or a member of the broader community, our programs will empower you with the skills to continually learn from experience throughout your career.
Harry L. Davis: The Vision and Inspiration
The Davis Center was named in honor of Harry L. Davis, the Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Distinguished Service Professor of Creative Management Emeritus, who has been a major force of innovation at Chicago Booth for six decades. Thanks in large part to Davis’s work, the school has become recognized for its many contributions to experience-based learning and leadership development.
The common thread throughout Harry’s work is curiosity about human beings: why and how we do what we do, personally as well as professionally. In 1992, he collaborated with Robin Hogarth on “Rethinking Management Education: A View from Chicago,” a paper that laid out a powerful framework on helping students acquire action skills and insight skills, or the ability to reflect on the outcome of our actions and draw the right lessons from experience.
Today, that framework underlies much of the Chicago Booth curriculum, and the Davis Center continues to lead the way in helping students learn more effectively from their experience.
Meet the Team
Robert W. Vishny
Myron S. Scholes Distinguished Service Professor of Finance and Neubauer Faculty Director of the Davis Center
Robert W. Vishny
Carolyn Ou, Executive Director
Carolyn collaborates with campus partners and alumni to design, deliver, and support alumni leadership programming worldwide. She has experience in consulting, marketing, education, and entrepreneurship, as well as a passion for creating effective leaders at all levels.
Carolyn Ou, Executive Director
Chelsea Fishman, Senior Associate Director, Communications & Programs
Chelsea manages the Davis Center's open-enrollment "minicourse" series, which is designed for professionals who want to engage with leadership development through online coursework. She also is responsible for the Center's communications, and previously served on the editorial staff of Chicago Booth Review and Chicago Booth Magazine.
Chelsea Fishman, Senior Associate Director, Communications & Programs
Samantha Coleman, Senior Associate Director of Leadership Development
Samantha partners with faculty and staff to create innovative leadership opportunities for current students and alumni across the globe. Her experiences as a scholar, executive coach, and social entrepreneur assist her in inspiring others across industries to lead with their most authentic selves with a consistent pursuit toward personal and professional mastery.
Samantha Coleman, Senior Associate Director of Leadership Development
Devin Cox, Assistant Director of Operations and Programs
Devin provides operational support to Davis Center programs, overseeing event logistics, supplies, and contracts. He ensures that the programs run smoothly from start to finish and strives to create positive, meaningful experiences for Booth students and alumni.
Devin Cox, Assistant Director of Operations and ProgramsExplore Stories from the Davis Center
The Book of Booth: Professor Harry Davis
The leadership pioneer reflects on ways that the Booth community comes together during times of crisis.
The Book of Booth: Professor Harry Davis
How Do You Develop Leadership Skills?
Three experts discuss how executives can grow as leaders.
How Do You Develop Leadership Skills?
Embracing Uncertainty
Professor Harry L. Davis and David Booth, ’71, came together for a fireside chat that touched on chance taking, Booth’s small-town upbringing, and advice for young graduates.
Embracing UncertaintyGet Updates from the Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership
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