Regina E. Herzlinger (born c.1944) is an American businessperson and academic.
She is the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
(HBS) where she teaches the
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
program.
Herzlinger was the first woman to obtain tenure or become a chair at HBS.
She has also been the first woman on several company boards. Her approach has been described as
fiscally conservative
In American political theory, fiscal conservatism or economic conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, an ...
.
Background
Herzlinger was born Regina Elbinger circa 1944 in
Tel Aviv, Israel
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, to Ella and Alexander Elbinger. Her father was a rabbinical scholar who had fled
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in the 1920s. Herzlinger's parents then fled Nazi-controlled
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in 1939 and moved to Israel, where she was born. Her mother was a card player and her father a businessman. The Elbingers emigrated to the United States when Regina was eight years old. She grew up in a Jewish community in
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue (New York City), Atlantic Avenue to the north, ...
, where she attended a small
Orthodox yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...
, graduating in 1961. She was the first girl from her school to leave the community.
Herzlinger received a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in economics from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
in 1965. Herzlinger met her future husband, George Herzlinger, when they were classmates at MIT. They were married in 1966. After graduating from MIT, Herzlinger obtained her
Doctor of Business Administration degree from HBS. She began teaching at HBS in 1971.
Herzlinger and her husband have two children.
Career
Herzlinger was formerly Senior Fellow at the
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (renamed in 1981 from the International Center for Economic Policy Studies) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservative think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs.R. Emmett Tyrrell, ...
. In 1999, she became the first
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is the global professional management accounting body, based in the United Kingdom. CIMA offers training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects. It is focused on ...
Visiting Professor at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
.
Herzlinger has served as director or board member of
Bard
In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...
,
Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals ...
, ChemoCentryx,
HCR Manor Care, HealthAllies.com,
John Deere
Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...
, Lumenos (now
Anthem Inc.), Noven Pharmaceuticals (now
Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical
, headquartered in Saga Prefecture, Saga and Tokyo, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical corporation that develops and markets prescription and over-the-counter drug (OTC) products, especially external pain relie ...
), Physicians Interactive, RealMed Corporation,
Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough Corporation was an American pharmaceutical company. It was originally the U.S. subsidiary of the German company Schering AG, which was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering. As a result of nationalization, it becam ...
, Total Renal Care (now
DaVita Inc.), and
Zimmer Holdings
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. is a publicly traded American medical device company. It was founded in 1927 to produce aluminum splints. The firm is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, where it is part of the medical devices business cluster.
In 200 ...
. She also served as a member of the advisory board of KBL Healthcare Ventures.
Herzlinger sat on the board of
WellCare
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. is an American health insurance company that provides managed care services primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug plans for members across the United States.
WellCare began ...
from 2003 to 2010 where she led the board's audit committee. She resigned in 2010, citing a lack of co-operation from other board members in her efforts to deal with a number of accounting errors.
Herzlinger describes herself as a healthcare "activist" and argues against
managed care
In the United States, managed care or managed healthcare is a group of activities intended to reduce the cost of providing health care and providing health insurance while improving the quality of that care. It has become the predominant system o ...
. She has advised the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
and President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
on healthcare policy.
Herzlinger has served on the Scientific Advisory Group of the
United States Secretary of the Air Force
The secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the secretary of the Department of the Air Force, (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the head of the United States Department of the Air Force, Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for ...
. Herzlinger is the author of several best-selling books and has written for
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
and
HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
.
Her book Who Killed Health Care? was recognized by the
United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business association advocacy group and is the largest lobbying group in the United States. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President Will ...
as one of the 10 most influential books in the healthcare debate.
Herzlinger founded Belmont Medical Technologies (formerly known as Belmont Instrument Corporation) with her husband. Their company's medical technology is primarily designed for fluid warming and temperature regulation and as a bridge to
heart transplant
A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common procedure is to take a functioning heart ...
, with George Herzlinger's design of the
intra-aortic Balloon Pump
The intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is a mechanical device that increases myocardial oxygen perfusion and indirectly increases cardiac output through afterload reduction. It consists of a cylindrical polyurethane balloon that sits in the aorta, ...
.
Herzlinger is also closely involved with the
Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). In collaboration with CAHME, the Herzlingers developed the CAHME/George and Regi Herzlinger Innovation Education Award.
Herzlinger has created The GENiE Group (Global Educators Network for Health Innovation Education), a charity devoted to furthering health care innovation and funding in the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
.
Selected publications
* Market-Driven Health Care: Who Wins, Who Loses in the Transformation of America's Largest Service Industry? (Boston, USA: Perseus, 2000)
* Consumer-Driven Health Care: Implications for Providers, Payers, and Policymakers (San Francisco, USA: Jossey-Bass, 2004)
* Who Killed Health Care? (New York, USA: McGraw-Hill, 2007)
Awards
Herzlinger has twice received the American College of Healthcare Executives James A. Hamilton Book of the Year Award (1977 and 1998).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herzlinger, Regina
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni
Harvard Business School alumni
Harvard Business School faculty
Date of birth missing (living people)
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
1940s births
Living people
People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn
American people of Russian-Jewish descent