CORRECTION APPENDED

In his quest for the nation’s highest office, former Massachusetts governor and Harvard alumnus Mitt Romney will be consulting a prominent Harvard Business School (HBS) professor whose theories on strategy and competition are considered management dogma by thousands of business executives across the country.

Michael E. Porter, the Lawrence University Professor, will chair the Romney campaign’s Global Competitiveness Policy Advisory Group, according to a recent press release. The group will advise Romney on a variety of issues including international trade, education, and scientific research.

“Now that the campaign is hot and heavy, we thought that putting together a group to really vet and come up with creative policy ideas would be a good thing,” said Porter, who received his MBA and Ph.D. from Harvard.

Porter and the former governor have known each other for 25 years. During Romney’s term as governor, Porter chaired his economic policy transition team, and has continued to advise him on economic policy after Romney declared his intentions to run for president.

Describing Romney as an “unusual” candidate, Porter mentioned Romney’s nontraditional background in management consulting and private equity as one of the reasons why he has elected to take a more public role in the upcoming campaign.

Romney is “someone who is very much respected, particularly in the issue of competitiveness. He’s the only actual candidate who’s worked in the private sector, in the real economy,” Porter said.

However, Porter also said that he is accessible to candidates from all parties and administrations from all over the world. The list of countries he has advised in the past includes Rwanda, Libya, and Kazakhstan.

Another well-known Harvard academic advising Romney is Beren Professor of Economics N. Gregory Mankiw, who teaches the popular Core course, Social Analysis 10, “Principles of Economics.” Although Mankiw has criticized scholars and politicians’ current emphasis on international competitiveness, he said of Porter’s appointment, “I’m delighted to be working with him and I’m delighted to see that Mitt Romney is reaching out to some of the best minds that academia has to offer.”

To Jeffrey Kwong ’08, president of the Harvard Republican Club, Porter’s appointment is a positive sign for the Republican Party. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]

“Every CEO has his books in his library. It says a lot that a guy who has so much experience is supporting the Republican Party,” Kwong said.

Porter will be joined on Romney’s global competitiveness group by a number of business professionals—including honorary co-chairs William B. Harrison, Jr., who is the former chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and Meg Whitman, president and CEO of eBay. Whitman is an HBS graduate.

Porter is considered one of the leading authorities on competitive strategy. Among other honors, he has received three first-place McKinsey Awards, an unprecedented feat. The Award recognizes the best article published in the Harvard Business Review each year.

CORRECTION

The Oct. 29 news article "Porter To Advise Romney Campaign" gave the wrong class year for Harvard Republican Club President Jeffrey Kwong. He is a member of the Class of 2009, not the Class of 2008.