Rory McDonald is a Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Ethics area at Darden where he teaches Disruptive Strategy: Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise in MBA and executive education programs. Before Darden, he spent a decade as a professor in the Technology and Operations Management unit at Harvard Business School. He has been named one of the world’s top 40 business school professors under 40 by Poets and Quants, and his article “What is Disruptive Innovation?” was named as one of Harvard Business Review’s Definitive Management Ideas.

He is the co-author (along with Christopher Bingham) of the recent book, “Productive Tensions: How Every Leader Can Tackle Innovation’s Toughest Trade-Offs,” (MIT Press). Professor McDonald’s award-winning research focuses on how firms compete and innovate effectively in new technology-enabled markets.

Professor McDonald received his PhD in Management Science and Engineering from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. He also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, an MA in economic sociology from Stanford University, as well as two engineering degrees from the University of South Florida. McDonald is on the board of YCG Funds, an Austin-based mutual fund company, and is an advisor to several startups.

Professor McDonald and his wife Anne live in Virginia with their four children. They are active in their church and enjoy a variety of family activities.