Allen S. Grossman

Allen Grossman was appointed a Harvard Business School Professor of Management Practice in July 2000. He joined the Business School faculty in July 1998, with a concurrent appointment as a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Outward Bound USA for 6 years before stepping down in 1997 to work on the challenges of creating high performing nonprofit organizations. His current research focuses on business engagement in public education, leadership and management of public school districts, and leading and governing high performing nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Grossman has authored or co-authored numerous cases, articles and three books including Managing School Districts for High Performance; High Performance Nonprofit Organizations: Managing Upstream for Greater Impact; and the  Harvard Business Review article, Virtuous Capital: What Foundations Can Learn from Venture Capitalists.

In the MBA program, Mr. Grossman has taught, among other courses, Leading and Governing High Performing Nonprofit Organizations, Social Entrepreneurship, and Leadership and Corporate Accountability.  In executive education,  Mr. Grossman co-founded  the Public Education Leadership Project (PELP), a joint project of HBS and HGSE; he served as faculty co-chair of PELP until 2013.  He co-founded and co-chaired Performance Measurement and Management of Nonprofit Organizations (PMNO).  He has also taught  in numerous other executive education programs.  

Before joining the nonprofit sector, he served as a Regional Chief Executive of Albert Fisher PLC and Chairman of the Board of GPC, a national distributor of packaging products. Mr. Grossman serves on and has chaired a number of nonprofit and for-profit boards. He is currently the chair of Mercy Corps, an international development organization.  He received a B.S. in corporate finance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Books

• Childress, Stacey, Richard F. Elmore, Allen S. Grossman, and Susan Moore Johnson, eds. Managing School Districts for High Performance: Cases in Public Education Leadership. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2007. View Details
• Childress, Stacey, Richard F. Elmore, Allen S. Grossman, and Susan Moore Johnson, eds. Managing School Districts for High Performance: Instructor's Guide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2007. View Details
• Ryan, William P., Allen Grossman, and Christine W. Letts. High Performance Nonprofit Organizations: Managing Upstream for Greater Impact. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999. View Details

Journal Articles

• Kaplan, Robert S., and Allen S. Grossman. "The Emerging Capital Market for Nonprofits." Harvard Business Review 88, no. 10 (October 2010). View Details
• Childress, Stacey, Richard Elmore, and Allen Grossman. "How to Manage Urban School Districts." Harvard Business Review 84, no. 11 (November 2006). View Details
• Grossman, Allen, and V. Kasturi Rangan. "Managing Multi-Site Nonprofits." Nonprofit Management & Leadership 11, no. 3 (Spring 2001). (Winner of Editors' Prize for Best Scholarly Paper in Nonprofit Management and Leadership presented by Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations​.) View Details
• Backman, Elaine, Allen Grossman, and V. Kasturi Rangan. "New Directions for Practice: Nonprofit Strategy Formulation, Organization and Measurement." Nonprofit Management & Leadership 11, no. 3 (Spring 2001). (Editorial.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen, V. Kasturi Rangan, and Elaine Backman. "New Directions in Nonprofit Strategy." Supplement. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 29, no. 1 (March 2000). View Details
• Grossman, Allen. "Virtuous Capital: What Foundations Can Learn From Venture Capitalists." Harvard Business Review 75, no. 2 (March–April 1997). View Details

Working Papers

• Childress, Stacey, Richard Elmore, and Allen Grossman. "Promoting a Management Revolution in Public Education." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 06-004, September 2005. View Details
• Grossman, Allen. "Social Enterprise Series No. 12: Philanthropic Social Capital Markets Performance Driven Philanthropy." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 00-002, July 1999. (Presented at December 2001 Human Interaction Research Institute at 40 Conference. Monograph available from HIRI.) View Details

Cases and Teaching Materials

• Grossman, Allen, J. Puckett, and Nithya Vaduganathan. "A Long, Bumpy and Unfinished Road: Education Reform in Memphis, Tennessee." Harvard Business School Case 314-064, November 2013. (Revised February 2016.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen, Ann Lombard, and Noah Fisher. "StriveTogether: Reinventing the Local Education Ecosystem." Harvard Business School Case 314-031, October 2013. (Revised April 2016.) (available here.) View Details
• Deshpandé, Rohit, Allen S. Grossman, and Annelena Lobb. "The American Repertory Theater (TP)." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 512-101, June 2012. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Regina Garcia-Cuellar. "Salud Digna: Successfully Competing with For-Profit Organizations." Harvard Business School Case 311-051, September 2010. (Revised November 2011.) View Details
• Deshpande, Rohit, Allen S. Grossman, and Ryan Johnson. "The American Repertory Theater." Harvard Business School Case 512-026, October 2011. (Revised May 2015.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S. "Salud Digna: Successfully Competing with For-Profit Organizations (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 312-056, September 2011. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, and Aldo Sesia. "Edna McConnell Clark Foundation-Enabling a Performance Driven Philanthropic Capital Market." Harvard Business School Case 312-006, July 2011. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, and Coleman Radell. "Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts: Alternative Futures." Harvard Business School Case 311-099, April 2011. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Naomi Greckol-Herlich. "Year Up: A Social Entrepreneur Builds High Performance." Harvard Business School Case 308-032, June 2008. (Revised February 2011.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S. "Year Up: A Social Entrepreneur Builds High Performance (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 311-101, February 2011. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Cathy Ross. "International AIDS Vaccine Initiative." Harvard Business School Case 310-015, November 2009. (Revised January 2011.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Daniel F. Curran. "Strategic Planning at NFTE." Harvard Business School Case 302-002, January 2002. (Revised November 2010.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., Thomas J. Steenburgh, Lauren Susan Mehler, and Matthew Benjamin Oppenheimer. "Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 2008." Harvard Business School Case 309-104, April 2009. (Revised October 2010.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S. "Jumpstart." Harvard Business School Case 301-037, May 2001. (Revised June 2010.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., Naomi Greckol-Herlich, and Cathy Ross. "The Bridgespan Group: Chapter 2." Harvard Business School Case 309-020, November 2008. (Revised April 2010.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S. "United Way (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 310-123, April 2010. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., Cathy Ross, and William Foster. "Youth Villages." Harvard Business School Case 309-007, November 2008. (Revised April 2010.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S. "Youth Villages: The challenges of scaling a nonprofit with government as the primary funding source (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 310-078, January 2010. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Geoff Eckman Marietta. "Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education." Harvard Business School Case 309-105, May 2009. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Naomi Greckol-Herlich. "Note on the Nonprofit Sector." Harvard Business School Background Note 308-033, April 2009. (Revised from original May 2008 version.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Caroline Joan King. "Mercy Corps: Positioning the Organization to Reach New Heights." Harvard Business School Case 307-096, January 2007. (Revised December 2008.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Caroline Joan King. "Mercy Corps: Positioning the Organization to Reach New Heights (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 307-097, January 2007. (Revised December 2008.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., Jane Wei-Skillern, and Kristin Lieb. "Guide Dogs for the Blind Association." Harvard Business School Case 303-006, January 2003. (Revised January 2007.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Aldo Sesia. "Innovation Corrupted: The Rise and Fall of Enron (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 307-024, September 2006. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Jane Wei-Skillern. "Guide Dogs for the Blind Association Video." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 306-705, March 2006. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, Richard Elmore, and Caroline King. "Managing the Chicago Public Schools, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Publishing Teaching Note, 2006. View Details
• Austin, James E., Allen S. Grossman, Robert B. Schwartz, and Jennifer Suesse. "Managing at Scale in the Long Beach Unified School District." Harvard Business School Publishing Case, 2006. View Details
• Austin, James E., Allen Grossman, and Jennifer Suesse. "Managing at Scale in the Long Beach Unified School District, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Publishing Teaching Note, 2006. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, Richard Elmore, and Caroline King. "Managing the Chicago Public Schools." Harvard Business School Publishing, 2006. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Jane Wei-Skillern. "The Nature Conservancy (DVD)." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 306-701, October 2005. View Details
• Childress, Stacey, Allen Grossman, and Caroline King. "Meeting New Challenges at the Aldine Independent School District." Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Case, 2005. View Details
• Childress, Stacey, Allen S. Grossman, and Caroline King. "Meeting New Challenges at the Aldine Independent School District, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Publishing Teaching Note, 2005. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Jane Wei-Skillern. "Nature Conservancy, The (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 305-010, July 2004. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Daniel F. Curran. "Harlem Children's Zone, The: Driving Performance with Measurement and Evaluation." Harvard Business School Case 303-109, May 2003. (Revised March 2004.) View Details
• Childress, Stacey, Richard F. Elmore, and Allen Grossman. "Note on the PELP Coherence Framework." Harvard Business School Publishing Case, 2004. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, Nancy D. Beaulieu, and Jennifer Suesse. "Compensation Reform at Denver Public Schools." Harvard Business School Publishing Case, 2004. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, and Jennifer Suesse. "Compensation Reform at Denver Public Schools, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Publishing Teaching Note, 2004. View Details
• Elmore, Richard, Allen Grossman, and Modupe N Akinola. "Bristol City Schools (BCS)." Harvard Business School Publishing Case, 2004. View Details
• Elmore, Richard, Allen Grossman, and Modupe N Akinola. "Bristol City Schools (BCS), Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Publishing Teaching Note, 2004. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, James P. Honan, and Caroline Joan King. "Learning to Manage with Data in Duval County Public Schools: Lake Shore Middle School (A)." Harvard Business School Publishing Case, 2004. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, James P. Honan, and Caroline Joan King. "Learning to Manage with Data in Duval County Public Schools: Lake Shore Middle School (B)." Harvard Business School Publishing Case, 2004. View Details
• Grossman, Allen, James P. Honan, and Caroline Joan King. "Learning to Manage with Data in Duval County Public Schools: Lake Shore Middle School (A) and (B) Case Series, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Publishing Teaching Note, 2004. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Christina Darwall. "Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, The." Harvard Business School Case 303-069, February 2003. (Revised April 2003.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Daniel F. Curran. "EMCF: A New Approach at an Old Foundation (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 303-119, April 2003. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Jane Wei-Skillern. "The Nature Conservancy." Harvard Business School Case 303-007, February 2003. (Revised March 2003.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Daniel F. Curran. "Strategic Planning at NFTE." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 303-053, September 2002. View Details
• Austin, James E., and Allen S. Grossman. "Pura Vida Coffee." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 303-051, September 2002. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Daniel F. Curran. "EMCF: A New Approach at an Old Foundation." Harvard Business School Case 302-090, March 2002. (Revised June 2002.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Elizabeth Kind. "Pallotta TeamWorks." Harvard Business School Case 302-089, April 2002. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S. "Jumpstart TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 301-134, May 2001. (Revised August 2001.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S. "Bridgespan Group, The TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 302-035, August 2001. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and John D. Kalafatas. "Bridgespan Group, The." Harvard Business School Case 301-011, October 2000. (Revised November 2000.) View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., and Sharon Peyus. "Explore, Inc. TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 300-064, June 2000. View Details
• Grossman, Allen S., James E. Austin, Myra M. Hart, and Sharon Peyus. "Explore, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 300-011, September 1999. (Revised November 1999.) View Details

Awards & Honors

Winner of the 2002 Editors' Prize for the Best Scholarly Paper in Nonprofit Management and Leadership for "Managing Multi-Site Nonprofits" (with V. Kasturi Rangan, spring 2001).

Areas of Interest

• education
• global collaboration
• nonprofit governance
• philanthropy
• social entrepreneurship
Industries
• education industry
• nonprofit industry
Geographies
• North America