Willy Shih is a Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. He spent 28 years in industry making mistakes, and has spent the last 14 years at the school figuring those mistakes out, and teaching along the way.
Willy Shih is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration. He is part of the Technology and Operations Management Unit, and he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education Programs. His expertise is in manufacturing and product development, and he has written or coauthored numerous cases and teaching materials in industries ranging from semiconductors, information technology, consumer electronics, aerospace, transportation equipment, manufacturing processes and tools, and intellectual property. His paper, “Restoring American Competitiveness,” coauthored with Gary Pisano, won the 2009 McKinsey Award. His book, “Producing Prosperity – Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance,” coauthored with Gary Pisano, has called attention to the link between manufacturing and innovation. He is also the author of “Back Bay Battery,” a bestselling innovation simulation.

Prior to coming to HBS in 2007, Willy spent 28 years in industry at IBM, Digital Equipment, Silicon Graphics, Eastman Kodak, and Thomson SA. He worked in product development and manufacturing in a wide range of areas including computer systems, scientific instruments, semiconductors, digital cameras, optical discs and software systems. Reporting to him have been major manufacturing operations in the United States, China, Ireland, Japan, and Mexico, as well as global sales and marketing operations. He has led the building of billion dollar revenue businesses.

Willy is on the Board of Directors of FLEX Inc., a large provider of design, manufacturing and supply chain services. He is also on the Board of Directors of VEO Robotics, a firm that brings advanced computer vision, 3D sensing, and AI to industrial robots, enabling them to work collaboratively. He has two S.B. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Life Member of the IEEE. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx