
Bill Meehan
Lecturer in Strategic Management
Raccoon Partners Lecturer for 2012-2013
Phone: (650) 724-0126
Email: [email protected]
Academic Areas: Center for Leadership Development and Research
William F. Meehan III is the Raccoon Partners Lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Director Emeritus of McKinsey & Company.
Bio
Mr. Meehan is a regular writer and speaker on nonprofit strategy, governance, performance measurement, philanthropy and the role of the internet. At Stanford, he is a founding member of the Advisory Council of the Center for Philanthropy and the Civil Society and a member of the Arts Initiative Council. He is a long-time Board member of Guidestar and the San Francisco Symphony (where he is a member of the Executive and Governance Committees) and a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Endowment Board. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy (STEP) and a member of the North American Council of Ashoka. He is leading an initiative and working group on frontier markets private equity as part of the recently launched Stanford Institute for Innovation in the Developing Economies (SEED). He teaches strategy in various other programs, including the Stanford Leadership Program.
He is former Chair and Board member of the United Way of the Bay Area, a former member of the Boards of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Fordham Prep, and a former member of the California Roundtable.
Mr. Meehan retired in December 2008 after over 30 years at McKinsey & Company where his focus was working with chief executives and senior leaders in technology, private equity, retail, financial services, and media on topics of top management strategy, organization, and leadership, including mentoring more than a dozen new CEOs in shaping their agendas.
In addition to his service to clients, he held many leadership roles with the Firm. As a member of the Shareholders Council, McKinsey’s board, he was Chair of the Client Committee and Chair of the McKinsey Investment Office, which oversees more than $5 billion in investments. He was also Vice-Chair of the Directors Review Committee, Founder and Chair of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Practice; Chair of the West Coast Practice, and Managing Director of the San Francisco Office.
He is currently a Director of Juniper Networks, Big Switch and Westward Leaning.
Academic Degrees
MBA, Stanford Univ., 1978; BA, Columbia Univ.
Professional Experience
At Stanford since 1998.
Director McKinsey & Company, Inc., 1978-2008.
Selected Publications
- Investing in Society: Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2004
- What Venture Trends Can Tell You: Harvard Business Review, 2003
- Reinventing Philanthropy: McKinsey Quarterly, 2001
- For Charities, Performance is the New Ethic (with Les Silverman): Leader to Leader, 2001
- A Hard and Soft Look at IT Investments: McKinsey Quarterly, 4, 1998
- Escaping the IT Abyss: McKinsey Quarterly, 1997
- Six Principles of High-Performance IT: McKinsey Quarterly, 3, 1997
- Marketing Excellence in Retail Organizations: Internal McKinsey Knowledgebase (IT, Organization, Governance), 1997
Selected Cases
- SI106A: The San Francisco Foundation: The Dilemma of The Buck Trust (A)
- SI107: "Creating An Online Information Marketplace For Giving": The Hewlett Foundation
- SI111: Leadership Public Schools: The Challenges of Real Estate Stability
- SI116: Tipping Point Community
- SI83: QuestBridge: A Search for Scale
- SM198: Willow Creek Community Church: What Really Makes a Difference
- SI94C: Joint Venture: Silicon Valley (C)
- SI11: Quest Scholars Program
- SM64: Ashoka: Innovators for the Public (North America Program)
- SM104: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
- SM63: The San Francisco Symphony
- SI13: Eastside College Preparatory School
- SI103: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Portfolio Management In The Nonprofit Sector: Measuring Performance And Optimizing Results Across Multiple Programs
- SI103S: Supplement to Gordon And Betty Moore Foundation Portfolio Management In The Nonprofit Sector: Measuring Performance And Optimizing Results Across Multiple Programs
- SM139: Acumen Fund and Mytry De-Fluoridation Filter Technologies
- SM141: Note On Issues Facing Nongovernmental Organizations
- SM159B: Rural Development Institute (B): Success in India
- SM158: Acumen Fund and WaterHealth International: The Role of Venture Philanthropy
- SM157: Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
- SI117: National Parks Conservation Association: Public/Private Partnerships
- SM203: Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
- SI106B: The San Francisco Foundation: The Dilemma of The Buck Trust (B)
- SM159A: Rural Development Institute (A): Should It Tackle the Problem of the Landless Poor in India?
- SM191: Acumen Fund and Embrace: From the Leading Edge of Social Venture Investing
Courses Taught
- FINANCE 381: Private Equity in Frontier Markets: Creating a New Investible Asset Class
- GSBGEN 202: Critical Analytical Thinking
- STRAMGT 368: Strategic Management of Nonprofit Organizations and Social Ventures
Centers/Programs
Affiliations
- Board of Directors (Chairman): United Way of the Bay Area (1999 - present)
- Board of Directors: Philanthropic Research Inc. (1999 - present)
- Board of Directors: California Business Roundtable (1999 - present)
- Board of Directors: Fordham Preparatory School (1999 - present)
- Board of Directors: San Francisco Symphony (1999 - present)
- Board of Directors: Committee on Jobs (1999 - present)
In The Media
- Philanthropist Encourages Wealthy to Help United Way, San Francisco Chronicle