Don Lessard

Prof. Donald Lessard works with firms and other organizations to craft pathways for decarbonization that bring together technology, public policy, and innovative business models. Drawing on his extensive experience in global strategic management, major projects, and finance, he also extends this discipline to other dimensions of sustainability.

Don is the Epoch Foundation Professor of International Management and Systems Engineering Emeritus at MIT and currently Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Asia School of Business.

He recently led the MIT-Bain Executive Education Program on Sustainability in Action and is preparing an online course on Competitive Strategy: Aligning Sustainability and Strategic Transformation for MIT Professional Education.  

At MIT, Prof. Don led the development of the five-school energy minor and the MIT Sloan Executive MBA. He also played a key role in the Sloan School’s global initiatives, including its founding engagement with NTU Business School in Singapore and its extensive faculty and MBA program development collaborations with Tsinghua, Fudan, and Lingnan Universities in China.

He has taught, advised, and published extensively in academic and professional journals on a variety of topics including risk management and diversfication, mega-project shaping and management, and capabilities and global strategy.

Don was a past President of the Academy of International Business and Dean of the Fellows of the Academy.  In 2014, he received the Pathfinder Award from the Engineering Projects Organization Society for his lifetime contributions to the field, and in 2022 he received the Hyundai Motor Eminent Scholar Award from the International Management Division of the Academy of Management.

Prof. Don earned his BA in Latin American Studies and MBA and PhD (Corporate Finance) from Stanford University. He taught at the Amos Tuck School and has held visiting positions at the Asia School of Business (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), Harvard Institute of International Development, IESE (Barcelona, Spain), The Peterson Institute for International Economics, ITESM (Monterrey Tech – EGADE Santa Fe campus, Mexico City), London Business School, Stanford University, STOA (Naples, Italy), and the Stockholm School of Economics.