Starting a new chapter...

It is with bittersweet emotion that I draw to an end my time at MIT. Beginning December 2020, I am taking up an appointment as Professor of Practice (Artificial Intelligence and Innovation) with the business school at Imperial College London. 

Transitions like these are always an opportunity for reflection.

MIT has been an amazing journey for me, ever since the moment in the summer of 2012 when I decided that I wanted to re-orient my career for better impact on the world. Jeff Saviano, the Global Head of Tax Innovation @ EY, asked me during my final lecture at the Institute about how I was able to make my various career moves, back and forth between academia and private sector (EY was in fact the last truly ‘corporate’ role I held before joining MIT).

Creating Possibilities

By far the #1 factor has been keeping myself open to opportunity when it comes my way. Receptivity to the art of the possible has made happen every interesting project or achievement I can point to, whether it was a Little, Brown book editor approaching me on LinkedIn (thanks, Tom!) or multiple conversations in Dean’s offices at MIT and Oxford that led to starting Esme Learning.

Beyond this, I think it’s a combination of fearlessness and impatience. Fearlessness consisting of taking risks to advance the mission, even if it means I may face personal repercussions, because frankly I can always get another job. Impatience insofar as I’m not willing to let a project languish, even if it means nudging people a little outside their comfort zones.

Engaging Collaborators

I’ve had the chance to work with some truly incredible collaborators, the first among them being Professor Alex 'Sandy' Pentland, whose good humor, insights, and support have helped me progress. 

Sandy and I put together some truly cool initiatives ranging from an amazing digital privacy consortium that is helping reshape how personal data is managed, to reinventing the model of online learning for the top tier schools globally, along the way impacting people in 150 countries. Sandy also taught me the power of bringing together government, industry, and academia in novel collaborations around disruptive innovation. 

From the peacocks of the UN complex in Geneva to the dusty altiplano of Chile to the densely-trafficked streets of Dhaka, I’ve had an amazing set of global adventures in the quest to apply technology for the greater good. 

Worth also mentioning: the guidance and support of Kris Schaefer and Dave Schmittlein of MIT Sloan, who provided me the opportunity to apply some of my more radical ideas about engaging high influence individuals to solve big problems.

What's Old, Is New

Going to Imperial is a little bit of a homecoming. While many of the faculty I am working with earned their PhDs at MIT, one of my key collaborators will be Professor Chris Tucci, who I met 20 years ago when I first started teaching MBA students at NYU Stern. 

We’re going to be pushing the boundaries of digital transformation. My work in particular will focus on ethical applications of artificial intelligence, how we build trusted technology systems that benefit business and society, as well as how new disruptive technologies are reshaping the world’s financial infrastructure.

With this comes a relocation from Boston to London. It’s a little odd doing so in the middle of a global pandemic, but I am heartened by the progress that the vaccine researchers are making, and I look to 2021 with great hope.

I will continue to lead edtech pioneer Esme Learning with my cofounder Beth Porter. Given our extensive work in the UK, relocating will if anything help the effort. I’ve also got interesting advisory activities in the UK and Europe and this puts me closer to the action.

I hope to connect, or reconnect, with you in this new role. Look me up if you happen through South Kensington!