Beyond Pedigree: Elevating Potential Talent Using Research and Experience

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Hillary Chabot

Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.

February 26, 2026

With 30 years in the executive search industry, bestselling author Laura Gassner Otting DBA'28 wants to change the way companies hunt for new leaders. (Photo: Nic Czarneck/Babson College)

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Editor’s note: As Babson’s new Doctor of Business Administration program begins, we are highlighting the entrepreneurial leaders who comprise the inaugural cohort. This is one in a series of DBA candidate profiles.

For three decades, Laura Gassner Otting DBA’28 has challenged conventional definitions of success—first in politics, then in executive search, and now as a bestselling author and leadership catalyst.

She has built a career on spotting potential where others see gaps, encouraging leaders to think bigger, act bolder, and push beyond self-imposed limits. As a member of the inaugural cohort in Babson’s Doctor of Business Administration program, Gassner Otting is turning her attention to a new frontier: redefining how organizations identify and cultivate talent in a rapidly changing world.

Frequently featured on “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show,” with bylines in Harvard Business Review and Oprah Daily, she is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author of three books, including Wonderhell, Limitless, and Mission-Driven. Her work centers on helping people get “unstuck,” recognize their own greatness, and pursue ambitious goals with confidence and clarity.

And, the eight-time marathoner has practiced what she’s preached. Gassner Otting dropped out of law school to join Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign and later served as a presidential appointee in the White House, helping shape AmeriCorps. She went on to become the youngest vice president at a nationally respected search firm before leaving to found and scale her own executive search company.

“Babson’s emphasis on entrepreneurship and real-world impact mirrors my own career: translating insight into action and turning research into results that help people and organizations thrive.”
Laura Gassner Otting DBA‘28

Now, with 30 years of experience in executive search and the perspective of someone who has advised startup dreamers, social entrepreneurs, and global philanthropists, Gassner Otting is asking a deeper question: What does potential really look like?

Through Babson’s DBA program, she aims to bring academic rigor to the instincts she has honed in the field, creating research-backed frameworks that help organizations elevate overlooked talent and redefine what “greatness” means in the age of AI.

What drove you to want to pursue your DBA, and why did you choose Babson?

“After decades helping leaders find and develop talent, I realized that we still misunderstand what potential actually looks like. Too often, we reward pedigree over possibility. I wanted to dig deeper—to pair my practitioner’s intuition with rigorous academic research—and Babson’s DBA program was the perfect fit. Babson’s emphasis on entrepreneurship and real-world impact mirrors my own career: translating insight into action and turning research into results that help people and organizations thrive.”

As you are entering the program, what is one big problem you would most want to solve, and what research area are you aiming to explore to help solve it?

“Too often, leaders fall back on ‘I’ll know it when I see it,’ overlooking nontraditional candidates while rewarding the usual suspects. My goal is to broaden that definition and elevate overlooked talent, demystifying and derisking how organizations can better identify, recruit, and retain hidden potential—the people who may not look perfect on paper but have the hunger, tenacity, and adaptability to succeed at the highest levels. In a world where AI is changing how we think of talent, and where traditional markers of success are quickly becoming obsolete, I aim to create a framework for spotting and developing greatness in a post-AI world.”

What part of the program are you most looking forward to?

“What I said in my application is that ‘I know what I know is right (from 30 years of practicing in the field); I just don’t know why it’s right.’ As such, I’m most excited to learn the language and discipline of academic research—how to take what I feel in the field and test it, challenge it, and back it up with data. I’m also eager to collaborate with other practitioners who bring their own deep expertise to the table; I thrive on learning from people who see the world differently. I am impressed with the diversity of experience and outlook of the cohort, and look forward to getting to know them more over the next three years.”

At this point, what are your hopes and aspirations professionally after the DBA program?

“My goal is to bridge the gap between scholarship and practice. I hope to use my DBA research to inform my next book, strengthen my keynote work, and build assessment tools that help companies recognize and nurture greatness before it’s obvious. Long-term, I’d like to contribute to the growing conversation on what ‘talent’ truly means in the modern workforce, whether in industry or academia—and ensure that future potential doesn’t go unseen simply because it doesn’t look like the past.”

This is part of a series of profiles highlighting the individual entrepreneurial leaders in the inaugural cohort of Babson’s new Doctor of Business Administration program. Read more about Babson’s first DBA candidates.