Clayton M. Christensen

Clayton Magleby Christensen (born April 6, 1952) is an American academic, business consultant, and religious leader who currently serves as the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School of Harvard University. He is best known for his theory of "disruptive innovation"—first introduced in his first book, The Innovator's Dilemma—which has been called the most influential business idea of the early 21st century.Christensen is also a co-founder of Rose Park Advisors, a venture capital firm, and Innosight, a management consulting and investment firm specializing in innovation. 2Early life and education Clayton M. Christensen was born on April 6, 1952, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the second of eight children born to Robert M. Christensen (1926–1976) and his wife Verda Mae Christensen (née Fuller; 1922–2004). He grew up in the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City and attended the nearby West High School, where he was student body president. Christensen and his siblings were raised as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). After graduating from high school in 1970, Christensen matriculated at Brigham Young University (BYU). While at BYU, he took a two-year leave of absence from 1971 to 1973 to serve as a volunteer full-time missionary for the LDS Church. He was assigned to serve in South Korea and became a fluent speaker of Korean. Christensen returned to BYU after completing his missionary service, and in 1975 graduated with an Honors B.A. summa cum laude in economics. Upon graduating, he received a Rhodes Scholarship and spent two years studying applied econometrics at Oxford University, receiving an M.Phi