DiscoverThe Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving602: Harvard's Scott Levy on His Path from Investment Banking to Public Education and Leading in Uncertain Times
602: Harvard's Scott Levy on His Path from Investment Banking to Public Education and Leading in Uncertain Times

602: Harvard's Scott Levy on His Path from Investment Banking to Public Education and Leading in Uncertain Times

Update: 2025-11-17
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Scott Levy spent two decades as an investment banker at firms like J.P. Morgan, advising corporate boards and senior executives on risk, growth, and capital decisions. Then he pivoted, serving on a public school board, teaching at Harvard, and writing Why School Boards Matter.

 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • How Levy broke into investment banking and the lessons that carried him through twenty years on Wall Street

  • What he learned about resilience, risk-taking, and long-term thinking at the highest levels of finance

  • Why he left a successful career to focus on public education and democracy

  • How business principles can, and cannot, be applied productively to education

  • What executives misunderstand about AI, and the questions they should be asking

 

Get Scott's book, Why School Boards Matter, here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262552721/why-school-boards-matter/

 

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McKinsey & BCG winning resume

www.FIRMSconsulting.com/resumePDF

 

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Breakthrough Decisions Guide with 25 AI Prompts

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Five Reasons Why People Ignore Somebody

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The Overall Approach used in well-managed strategy studies

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Get a copy of Nine Leaders in Acton, a book we co-authored with some of our clients:

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602: Harvard's Scott Levy on His Path from Investment Banking to Public Education and Leading in Uncertain Times

602: Harvard's Scott Levy on His Path from Investment Banking to Public Education and Leading in Uncertain Times