Babson Appoints Undheim, Davenport to Leadership Roles with Metropoulos Institute
Babson College announced the appointment of two exceptional leaders and technology experts to key leadership roles at the new C. Dean Metropoulos Institute for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
Trond Undheim has been appointed the inaugural executive director of the Metropoulos Institute, and Babson Professor Tom Davenport has been named the inaugural faculty director.
The institute, launched last year thanks to a generous gift from C. Dean Metropoulos ’67, MBA’68, supports and expands curricular and co-curricular programs that amplify the importance of technological innovation in the entrepreneurial process, equipping students to lead in an increasingly AI-driven world.
“These two visionary scholars will advance the institute’s position as a global thought leader that reimagines the vast potential to move society forward through technological innovation and entrepreneurial spirit,” Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD said in announcing the appointments of Undheim and Davenport.
The addition of the Metropoulos Institute to the Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership extends Babson’s leadership at the intersection of technology, generative AI, and entrepreneurship.
“We are excited to have Trond and Tom bring their impressive expertise and experience to the Metropoulos Institute and the Blank School,” said Donna Levin, CEO of the Blank School. “They are inspiring leaders who will play a vital role in enhancing how Babson shapes the future of entrepreneurial leadership.”
‘Wealth of Expertise’
Undheim comes to Babson from Stanford University, where he most recently served as a research scholar in global systemic risk, innovation, and policy. At Stanford, his teaching experience spanned a wide range of learners, from undergraduates to seasoned professionals. He also conducted extensive research assessing global risk scenarios linked to artificial intelligence, climate factors, and geopolitics, and he developed courses exploring the future of systemic risk and regenerative societies.
Previously, Undheim was the inaugural director of the MIT Startup Exchange, supporting more than 1,500 MIT startups around the world, including businesses leading in disruptive innovations and technologies.
“Trond brings to this important role a wealth of expertise and scholarship in technologic innovation, startup facilitation, futurism, and entrepreneurship,” Spinelli said.
An author, podcaster, entrepreneur, and startup founder, Undheim also serves as venture partner at Antler, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology companies, and is the CEO and co-founder of Yegii, an insight network with experts and knowledge assets on disruption. He also hosts the Futurized podcast exploring the next 50 years of humanity, and he is finalizing his eighth book, The Platinum Workforce: How to Train and Hire for the 21st Century’s Industrial Transition, which will come out this summer.
Undheim earned his PhD on the future of work and AI and cognition from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and he was a visiting research associate at UC Berkeley.
‘Source of Inspiration’
Davenport, a professor in the Operations and Information Management Division, has been at Babson since 2004. He also is the President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management and is the co-founder of the International Institute for Analytics.
Davenport’s extensive expertise at the intersection of business and AI will play an integral role in the institute’s research and applications of emergent and generative technologies. He has authored, co-authored, or edited 25 books, including All Hands on Tech: The AI-Powered Citizen Revolution, which was published last year, and All In on AI: How Smart Companies Win Big with Artificial Intelligence (2023). He has also published more than 200 articles in Harvard Business Review. Davenport earned his bachelor’s degree from Trinity University and his master’s and PhD from Harvard University.
“As a longtime Babson professor and renowned tech scholar, Tom brings a wide breadth of knowledge and expertise in information technology analytics, big data, AI and their respective impacts on the entrepreneurial process,” Spinelli said. “Babson has long appreciated Tom’s many contributions to campus and his commitment to advancing entrepreneurial leadership. His vision within the institute will be a valuable source of inspiration.”
The appointments of Undheim and Davenport advance the development of the Metropoulos Institute as one of the Blank School’s seven innovative centers and institutes, which empower the Babson community to lead change, solve global problems, and create sustainable value across business and society.
“We know that the Metropoulos Institute’s thought leadership and academic rigor will enhance the Blank School’s impact and global reach,” Levin said. “While the entrepreneurial spirit allows us to ideate continuously and imagine new approaches to society’s greatest challenges, technological innovation will provide the means to bring those approaches to scale.”
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