Edward B. Berk

Ted Berk is the Barry and Teri Volpert Fellow and a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Private Equity Finance in the elective curriculum and Finance I & II in the required curriculum.

Ted retired in 2016 as a managing director of Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading alternative investment firms, after nearly 20 years as a private equity investor. Ted was based in London for the majority of his career, where his primary focus was private equity investments supporting consumer-facing businesses in Europe. Ted held a number of leadership responsibilities at Bain Capital over the course of his career, including coordinating the European investment committee and recruiting.

Ted has broad investment experience, including high-growth situations, international expansions, founder transitions, and operational turnarounds. He has worked across Europe and in North America, South Africa and Japan.

Prior to joining Bain Capital, Ted worked as a consultant with Bain & Company in the United States. He graduated from Harvard Business School, as a Baker Scholar and Siebel Scholar, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Harvard College. Ted also attended the Ecole Polytechnique (Paris) as a Jean Monnet fellow.

Cases and Teaching Materials

• Berk, Ted, and Ryan Flamerich. "Delta Air Lines: Navigating the COVID-19 Storm." Harvard Business School Case 221-063, January 2021. (Revised May 2021.) View Details
• Berk, Ted. "Turnaround at Mattel, 2017." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 219-735, April 2019. View Details
• Berk, Ted. "Turnaround at Mattel, 2017." Harvard Business School Case 219-102, April 2019. (Revised December 2019.) View Details
• Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Edward B. Berk, and Nate Schwalb. "AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO." Harvard Business School Case 818-097, May 2018. (Revised January 2019.) View Details
• Lerner, Josh, and Ted Berk. "Altoona State Investment Board & Bain Capital Fund XI." Harvard Business School Case 218-022, August 2017. View Details

Awards & Honors

Received the 2018 HBS Student Association Faculty Teaching Award for exceptional contributions to the graduating class’s HBS experience.

Received the 2019 HBS Student Association Faculty Teaching Award for exceptional contributions to the graduating class’s HBS experience.

Received the Robert F. Greenhill Award for Outstanding Service to the HBS Community in 2020.

Areas of Interest

• corporate finance
• incentives
• international business
• mergers and acquisitions
• private equity
Additional Topics
• boards of directors
• capital structure
• consumer goods
• corporate governance
• financial management
• financial strategy
Geographies
• Europe
• North America
• Southern Africa