Faculty Profile

Dr. Hugh G. Courtney Vice Dean Professor of the Practice of Strategy Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2416L Van Munching Hall Phone: (301) 405-9544 E-mail: hcourtney@rhsmith.umd.edu Curriculum Vitae

Hugh Courtney is Vice Dean and Professor of the Practice of Strategy at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. As Vice Dean, he oversees the Smith School’s undergraduate, MBA and MS degree programs. In addition, he leads all aspects of the school’s executive education programs, including Executive MBA programs and non-degree custom and open-enrollment programs for business, government and non-profit executives. He also leads development of the Smith School’s global university and corporate partnerships.

Dr. Courtney’s publications on business strategy and competitive dynamics have been featured in leading practitioner journals such as the Harvard Business Review, McKinsey Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Optimize, Research Technology Management and Strategy & Leadership. His book on strategy under uncertainty, 20/20 Foresight: Crafting Strategy in an Uncertain World, was a business bestseller on Amazon.com, and received outstanding reviews from both practitioner and academic publications. In addition to these publications, Dr. Courtney disseminates his research results through frequent invited presentations to industry and academic conferences, and through interviews and invited letters in publications such as the Sloan Management Review, Business Week Online, Entrepreneur, and the Financial Times.

Dr. Courtney has won multiple teaching awards and maintains an active executive education and consulting practice. His clients include McKinsey & Company, Black & Decker, IBM, McCormick, National Security Agency, Entergy, Nextel, Ciena, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Hughes Network Systems.

Before returning to academia in 2002, Dr. Courtney was an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company in Washington, DC. While at McKinsey, he was a leader of its Global Strategy Practice and served clients on six continents across most industry sectors, with particular emphasis on the chemicals and health care industries. His innovative consulting and research contributions while at McKinsey were recognized when Consulting Magazine named him as one of the five "Up and Comers" in the consulting industry in 2001.

Dr. Courtney is also the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of D&E Communications, Inc., a provider of voice, data and video services in central and eastern Pennsylvania which was successfully merged into Windstream Corporation (NASDAQ:WIN) in November 2009.

Dr. Courtney earned his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his B.A. in economics from Northwestern University.

Primary Research Areas

• Applied game theory and competitive strategy
• Strategic planning and decision making under uncertainty
• The link between management research and practice
• Executive education pedagogy and impact (see blog at: http://blogs.rhsmith.umd.edu/emba/)

Selected Publications

20/20 Foresight: Crafting Strategy in an Uncertain World, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2001. (Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean and Chinese editions).

“A Fresh Look at Strategy Under Uncertainty: An Interview,” The McKinsey Quarterly, published online at http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/fresh_look_at_strategy_under_uncertainty_2256, December 2008, and forthcoming in print, January 2009.

“Getting Inside Your Competitor’s Head,” The McKinsey Quarterly, (with John Horn and Jayanti Kar), forthcoming, January 2009.

“Perceived Causes and Solutions of the Translation Problem in Management Research,” (with Debra L. Shapiro and Bradley L. Kirkman), Academy of Management Journal, Volume 50, No. 2, 2007.

“Bringing Rigor and Reality to Early-Stage R&D Decisions,” (with Dan Lovallo) Research · Technology Management, Volume 47, No. 5, September-October 2004.

“Strategy Under Uncertainty,” (with Jane Kirkland and Patrick Viguerie), Harvard Business Review 75, no. 6 (November-December 1997): 66-79.

“Games Managers Should Play,” World Economic Affairs, vol. 2. No. 1 (Autumn 1997): 48-49.

Honors and Awards

• National Science Foundation Fellowship.
• Named one of five "Up and Comers" in management consulting, Consulting Magazine, December 2001.
• Numerous teaching awards including the Krowe Award for teaching excellence and the "top 15%" award for teaching evaluation scores every year that he has taught at the Smith School.

Consulting Work

• A former leader of McKinsey & Company's Global Strategy Practice
• Consulting practice has focused on strategy formulation and implementation in highly uncertain and oligopolistic business environments