McKinsey Partner Will Be New Darden Dean

THE NEW DEAN WILL GET A DOCTORATE FROM PENN IN MAY

Beardsley received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering magna cum laude from Tufts University and an MBA from the MIT’S Sloan School of Management, where he received highest honors as a Henry S. Dupont III Scholar and served as editor and marketing manager of the MIT Sloan Management Review. He is a candidate at the University of Pennsylvania for an executive doctorate in higher education management, expected in May.

Beardsley joined McKinsey in 1989, was elected partner in 1995 and senior partner 4½ years later – among the fastest to rise to senior partner. Prior to his current global role in developing the talent and capabilities of McKinsey’s more than 12,000 professionals, Beardsley led the firm’s strategy practice. Within McKinsey’s model of shared governance and tightly knit partnership, Beardsley co-led for years the committees that elect partners and senior partners. A global strategy and regulation expert, Beardsley has served leading clients in the telecom, technology, public, nonprofit and professional services arenas. The school said that through his work in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States, he has a proven track record of impact, entrepreneurship and innovation.

“I am honored by the opportunity,” Beardsley said in a statement. “I believe deeply in Darden’s values and its clear and focused mission to improve the world by developing responsible leaders and advancing knowledge. I am very excited to be part of the University of Virginia family, and its Jeffersonian commitment to excellence. I look forward to working with the school’s outstanding faculty, staff, students and alumni to shape a vision for the future and to ensure that the world is keenly aware of Darden’s exceptional MBA, executive education and Ph.D. offerings, which are personalized for each learner and delivered by a faculty second to none.”

‘SCOTT HAS BEEN AN AMAZING LEADER AND A TRUE GLOBAL CITIZEN’

McKinsey Global Managing Director Dominic Barton had high praise for Beardsley. “Scott has been an amazing leader, from our board of directors to the strategy practice, and is one of our very best values-driven people developers,” he said in a statement. “He has been instrumental in creating and implementing many impactful innovations in how McKinsey approaches capability building and leadership development that will benefit the firm for years to come. Scott is a true global citizen, and we are sorry to see him go, but know he will thrive in his new role as dean of the Darden School.”

In a statement, UVA Provost John Simon said that Beardsley “rose to the top of a highly competitive and global pool of candidates. He brings to Darden a deep and global understanding of business, a successful track record of developing business leaders at all levels and experience in and passion for education, teaching and research. He has the leadership skills required to advance this dynamic, world-class institution, and we’re excited for what’s ahead. We see this as a great opportunity – not just for the University – but for the individuals and organizations who come to Darden to equip themselves as the best-prepared business leaders of the 21st century.”

FROM A FAMILY OF EDUCATORS

In addition to spending two years on McKinsey & Company’s Knowledge Committee, which oversees knowledge research at the firm, Beardsley has led major research efforts on topics such as technology trends, the knowledge economy, regulation, IT productivity, performance transformation and broadband. Through his research in business in society, he helped McKinsey incubate the McKinsey Climate Change Special Initiative, which dealt with issues such as carbon abatement and sustainability.

A frequent author, speaker and media commentator, Beardsley has presented at the World Economic Forum at Davos and teaches as a faculty member in McKinsey’s programs. Previously, he lectured in the MBA program of the Belgian business school Institut d’Administration et de Gestion. He chairs the board of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Belgium.

From a family of educators, Beardsley was born in Maine, grew up in Vermont and Alaska, and is a citizen of France and the United States. He and his wife, Claire Dufournet, have three sons.

Darden will welcome Beardsley and his family at a special event of its traditional First Coffee on Jan. 20.

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that McKinsey was not among Darden’s major employers. That is because the school did not include McKinsey in reporting data on major employers to Bloomberg Businessweek. The school now says that McKinsey hired 13 MBAs from Darden last year, equal to Amazon and BCG.

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