Nearly 2 Dozen Retired Harvard Business School Professors Step Into The Democracy Debate

In classrooms at Harvard Business School, leadership is not an abstract concept. It is dissected in case studies, debated in sections, and stress-tested against real-world crises. Students are asked, over and over again: When the moment calls for it, will you step up?

Last week, 23 retired HBS professors answered that question themselves.

In a jointly signed letter published in The Harvard Crimson, the group — led by longtime faculty members Teresa M. Amabile and Richard S. Tedlow — warned of what they described as efforts “to subvert American democracy by undermining one of its critical foundations: fair and free elections.”

LETTER SIGNED BY SEVERAL OF THE MOST PROMINENT HBS FACULTY OF THEIR GENERATION

The professors are no longer active members of the faculty. They were careful to write as private citizens, not representatives of Harvard University or Harvard Business School. But they are not obscure figures. Many spent decades shaping how future CEOs, entrepreneurs, and policymakers think about power, accountability, and institutional responsibility. The letter was signed by several of the most prominent HBS professors of their generation, including Christopher A. Bartlett, James L. Heskett, F. Warren McFarlan, and Howard H. Stevenson.

Now, in retirement, they have chosen to enter a fraught national conversation.

It is not unusual for political scientists or constitutional scholars to weigh in on voting rights or election law. It is far less common for retired business school professors to do so collectively.

That, perhaps, is the point.

Business schools have long positioned themselves as stewards of capitalism and leadership. For decades, HBS faculty have taught that functioning markets depend on trust, rule of law, stable institutions, and predictable governance. The professors’ letter argues that free and fair elections are not peripheral to economic health — they are foundational to it.

A NOTABLE APPEAL

In their view, threats to electoral integrity or voter access are not just political issues; they are systemic risks.

The signatories do not endorse a candidate or party. Instead, they frame their argument around democratic norms and institutional stability. They call on leaders — particularly business leaders — to recognize that democracy’s infrastructure matters as much as any supply chain or balance sheet.

It is a notable appeal coming from scholars who spent careers examining how organizations respond to crisis, how leadership culture shapes outcomes, and how incentives can distort decision-making.

THE BROADER CONTEXT

The letter arrives amid heightened national scrutiny over election administration, federal authority, and the mechanics of voting. Across the country, debates over ballot access, oversight, and enforcement have intensified.

Rather than remaining on the sidelines, these retired professors decided to add their voices to the public record.

They argue that leaders have an obligation to speak when foundational institutions are at stake. Silence, in their framing, is itself a choice — one that carries consequences.

It is a striking moment: professors who once taught case studies about corporate courage and ethical decision-making now modeling a version of it.

A RARE COLLECTIVE ACTION

Faculty members frequently sign individual statements. A coordinated letter from more than twenty retired professors of a single business school is rarer.

Their status as retirees gives them latitude. They are not subject to the same internal pressures or administrative constraints as active faculty. They do not speak for Harvard. But they do speak with the accumulated authority of decades spent teaching leadership at the highest levels.

And that gives the letter symbolic weight.

At a school that has produced presidents, cabinet secretaries, Fortune 500 CEOs, and global investors, the message lands squarely where it is intended: on the desks of people who hold power.

WHAT THEY WROTE

In their published letter, the professors write that they are concerned about efforts “to subvert American democracy by undermining one of its critical foundations: fair and free elections.” They argue that safeguarding elections is essential to maintaining public trust and institutional legitimacy.

They urge leaders to defend democratic norms and emphasize that the health of markets and the health of democracy are intertwined.

FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER  

As the 2026 elections approach, we are witnessing many efforts to subvert American democracy by undermining one of its critical foundations: fair and free elections.

This is a matter of both voter access to the political process and the integrity of the process itself.

Business leaders — known for their capable company leadership and not their political party membership — are uniquely positioned and clearly needed to address this imminent threat in a strong and nonpartisan fashion.

It is vital to recognize the escalating threats to American democratic processes. On January 28, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents executed a search warrant at an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, for ballots from the 2020 presidential election. On January 24, the U.S. attorney general made unprecedented demands in a letter to the Minnesota governor for information on voters in that state. For the past several months, the federal government has been collecting the largest database of voter information ever gathered by the Department of Justice — information that could be used to fraudulently impact election results. Deployment of armed federal immigration officers in American cities is discouraging citizens of various ethnicities — many of whom have already been detained — from venturing to schools, stores, and workplaces. It’s doubtful they will venture to the polls on election day.

We are retired Harvard Business School professors who have devoted our lives to business education. We ask that the leaders of the business world in the United States — some of whom it has been our privilege to teach — speak out now, act now, in defense of democracy.

“This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.” These words, spoken by Franklin D. Roosevelt ’04 at his first inauguration, perfectly describe our situation today.

We understand the reluctance to speak out. Nobody wants to be a target in the toxic environment surrounding us. We understand that business leaders have a responsibility to their shareholders, employees, and customers, who may not agree with the politics of the CEOs.

But we are not asking for a statement about politics. We are asking for a statement about the most basic feature of democratic government — namely, the right to vote in electing public officials and adopting or rejecting proposed legislation.

Ensuring that our government meets this test is not a partisan issue. Business leaders can do much to help the nation that has done so much to enable them to have fulfilling careers leading successful companies. They can speak out, individually or collectively, for the proposition that access to the polls is a right that must be protected by the rule of law. Business leaders did speak, collectively, about the importance of election integrity in 2020. We need to hear these voices again.

They can allow their employees paid leave not only to vote but also to safeguard the polls, if they choose, against any intimidation from the left or the right. Some companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Procter & Gamble, Salesforce, and Walmart, are already supporting such efforts.

Our country will be a shadow of itself if our democracy fails — economically, socially, and in global standing.

“If destruction be our lot,” Abraham Lincoln said, “we must ourselves be its author.” Business leaders must act to prevent our country from being the author of its own destruction.

The world witnessed what happened when Germany turned its back on democracy on January 30, 1933. History does indeed have lessons to teach. We must strive to see that what happened there, then, does not happen here, now.

Some business executives may feel that any action or statement conflicts with their role as CEO. We understand that reticence. But we respectfully disagree.

A well-functioning democracy and, with it, the rule of law are essential for the functioning of a free enterprise economy.

We urge business leaders to recognize that there is no conflict between their responsibilities as CEO and their responsibilities as citizens. The cost of silence is incalculable.

This is the moment for leaders to lead. If not now, when?

Teresa M. Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration, Emerita, at Harvard Business School. Richard S. Tedlow is the Class of 1949 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School.

Teresa M. Amabile, James E. Austin, Carliss Y. Baldwin, Christopher A. Bartlett, Michael Beer, Stephen P. Bradley, John A. Deighton, Allen S. Grossman, Paul M. Healy, James L. Heskett, Dorothy A. Leonard, Paul W. Marshall, F. Warren McFarlan, John W. Pratt, Alvin E. Roth, Malcolm S. Salter, Benson P. Shapiro, Howard H. Stevenson, Richard S. Tedlow, Richard H.K. Vietor, Lou T. Wells, Michael A. Wheeler, and Gerald Zaltman are retired professors at Harvard Business School. They sign as individuals, not as representatives of Harvard Business School, Harvard University, or all retired professors at HBS.

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