Ann Christensen

As president of the Christensen Institute, I direct the overall strategic and operational development of the Institute and oversee its rapidly growing research programs. I also work closely with the Board of Directors to enhance the Institute’s impact and strengthen strategic partnerships and resources.

I never intended to work at the institute. I remember the days before anyone said the words “disruptive innovation” as a pair, and remember, as a teen, helping my dad with  data entry for the research that led to him coining that term. Disruption and related theories and frameworks were regular topics of discussion that ultimately formed  much of how I’ve looked at the world ever since.

Nearly fifteen years ago, I jumped in to ‘help out’ at the Institute as I transitioned between jobs. But weeks quickly turned into months, as I was quickly drawn into what I’d always loved about the theories and frameworks my dad had been teaching all those  years – their ability to help people from all walks of life make progress against the simplest and most complex of challenges facing society. Perhaps not surprisingly, I never took that other job.

We lost our namesake founder and my dad almost a decade into my time with the Institute, and I’ll forever be grateful for the time to work side-by-side with one of my dearest friends and his incredibly insightful mind. We continue to build on his theories and frameworks because of their power to make us all wiser and more effective in how we deploy effort, time, and capital in search of improving our lives and the lives of those around us. I’m incredibly proud of the team here at the Institute and the work they’ve offered to the world – and am even more excited for how much there is left to do.

Experience

• President, the Christensen Institute
• Senior Associate, Huntsman Gay Global Capital
• Consultant, Deloitte Consulting
• Board Member, Southern Virginia University
• Board Member, the Waterford Institute.
• Duke University, BA
• Harvard Business School, MBA