Dame Vivian Yvonne Hunt (born July 1967) is a business executive and an advocate for equal opportunities across business and society. She is the Chief Innovation Officer at
Optum
Optum, Inc. is an American healthcare company that provides technology services, pharmacy care services (including a pharmacy benefit manager) and various direct healthcare services.
Optum was formed as a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group in ...
, part of
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American Multinational corporation, multinational for-profit company specializing in health insurance and health care services based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Selling insurance products under UnitedHealth ...
,
which is listed 5th in the Fortune 500, with over 400,000 employees and revenues of $370 billion.
Previously, she was a Senior Partner at
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...
, helping global private and public companies improve their strategy, operations and performance. She served as Managing Partner of the UK and Ireland, McKinsey's second largest office from 2013-2020, and led their EMEA Life Sciences practice from 2007-2013.
She is the President-elect of the Harvard Board of Overseers (June 2024-25).
Early life and education
Vivian Hunt was born in Cleveland, Ohio and has two brothers. During her childhood, she and her family lived in the United States of America and in Japan. She attended the Concord Academy in Massachusetts and graduated in 1985.
Hunt has an MBA from
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 ...
(1995) and an AB from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
(1989). While at college, Hunt worked part-time on campus at several Harvard Student Agencies. She served as HSA President in 1988-89 and was also elected class marshal. After college, she joined the
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
where she worked in
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
as a regional supervisor in a primary care and midwifery practice (1989–91).
Career
UnitedHealth Group
Hunt joined UnitedHealth Group, Inc., as its Chief Innovation Officer in October 2022. UnitedHealth Group is a health care and 'well-being' company.
McKinsey & Company
In 1995, Hunt joined consulting firm
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...
's Boston office before transferring to the United Kingdom and Ireland office. Hunt was appointed Managing Partner of the UK and Ireland offices in 2013 and served in that role for seven years. Previously, she led the company's Life Sciences
EMEA
Europe, the Middle East and Africa, commonly known by its acronym EMEA among the North American business spheres, is a geographical region used by institutions, governments and global spheres of marketing, media and business when referring to t ...
division for eight years. Hunt also served on McKinsey's global Board of Directors, Professional Standards, Finance and several personnel committees.
In 2019, Hunt led the relocation of McKinsey's London office to the Post Building, formerly the Royal Mail sorting office, in London's Knowledge Quarter - a cluster of academic, cultural, research, scientific and media organisations. This included QuantumBlack, a leading advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence company acquired by McKinsey in 2015. The LEED-Gold standard building includes a bold design for clients and agile, technology-enabled co-working. The project includes 360 degree views of London, and a neon light installation suspended in mid-air called 'Astral Projection', by Welsh conceptual artist,
Cerith Wyn Evans
Cerith Wyn Evans (born 1958 in Llanelli) is a Welsh conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker. In 2018 he won the £30,000 Hepworth Prize for Sculpture.
Early life and education
The son of Sulwyn and Myfanwy Evans, Evans was born in Llanelli. ...
. The project won the prestigious 2020 British Council Office award and was purchased by Pontegadea Inmobiliara SL for approximately $741 million.
Hunt has served on a range of government and cross-industry advisory roles including the Industrial Strategy Council, the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group and the London Mayor's Business Advisory Board.
She previously served as Chair of BritishAmerican Business and served on the board of the
Confederation of British Industry
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...
(CBI), Business in the Community and the Trilateral Commission.
Multistakeholder capitalism and business research
Hunt strongly advocates for stakeholder capitalism. This includes an evidence-based approach to identify and eliminate bias and improve performance in business.
Hunt delivered a
TEDTalk on ''How businesses can serve everyone, not just shareholders'', which received over 1.5 million views. She has discussed the importance of a sustainable, inclusive approach to capitalism and made a business case for sustainable fashion in a talk that highlights the scale of the challenge and the importance of action for the
Business of Fashion Voices 2021.
Hunt is a founding co-author of McKinsey's four ''Diversity Matters'' publications that found diversity and inclusion are correlated with higher financial performance. She also co-authored ESG articles ''How to make ESG real'' and ''Does ESG really matter--and why?'' She co-authored the first ''Women in the Workplace'' report, the largest comprehensive study of the state of women in corporate America, and ''How advancing women's equality can add $12 trillion to global growth''. The insights and methodologies have been applied globally.
In 2018, she was criticised by ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' when Gender Pay Gap reporting revealed that McKinsey & Company paid its women employees salaries that were 24% less than male employees and bonuses that were 76% lower than men despite Hunt having received her DBE for services to women in business. McKinsey clarified that it paid men and women in equivalent roles the same amount, but that it had a disproportionately high number of men in senior roles.
In 2018, Hunt spoke at the inaugural ''Financial Times's Women at the Top Summit'' on how inclusive leadership leads to inclusive growth amongst many other speaking engagements and interviews. She also contributed to the 2022
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 ...
bestseller, ''To The Top: How women in corporate leadership are rewriting the rules for success'', authored by Jenna Fischer.
Board, government and nonprofit experience
Hunt has extensive board experience with influential business and charitable groups Hunt has served on the boards of multiple educational, arts and cultural organisations. This includes BritishAmerican Business, where she was Chair, the
Confederation of British Industry
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...
,
Business in the Community
Business in the Community (BITC) is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, Corporate social responsibility, CSR, corporate responsibility, and is one of the The Prince's Charities, Prince's Charities of Cha ...
and the
Trilateral Commission
The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...
.
In April 2024, Hunt and Tyler Jacks were elected senior officers of the
Harvard Board of Overseers
The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend the Board of Overseers) is an advisory board of alumni at Harvard University. Unlike the Harvard Corporation, the Board of Overseers is not a fiduciary governing board, but in ...
for academic year 2024-25.
As a Harvard Overseer, Hunt co-chairs the governing boards’ joint committee on alumni affairs and development and serves on a diverse array of board and academic visiting committees, including those for Harvard’s Business School, the Graduate School of Education, and the Art and Peabody Museums.
Hunt is a co-founder and Chair of the Black Equity Organisation, an independent Black civil rights organisation created to dismantle systemic racism in Britain. In this role, Hunt is leading the fight for key issues that affect the Black community and ensuring Black voices are heard through programmes such as Shaping the Future of Black Britain. She participated in a conversation with
5 News
''5 News'' is the flagship news programme of British broadcaster 5. It is produced by ITN from its main newsroom on London's Gray's Inn Road, and has been broadcast since Channel 5's launch in March 1997.
History
''5 News'' was one of the n ...
on the presence of racism in a wide range of areas, including health care, education and the criminal justice system.
She is a founding member and Chair of Generation UK, a non-profit that trains people with few academic qualifications, social or economic disadvantages and provides intensive technology and analytics training. This is a skills-based collaboration with companies and governments to place qualified people into jobs.
Hunt also served on the US-UK Fulbright Commission and the University of Oxford Said Business School Business Leadership Council amongst other UK governmental bodies.
Since 2019, she has been Chair of
Teach First
Teach First (also Teach First Cymru) is a social enterprise registered as a charity which aims to address educational disadvantage in England and Wales. Teach First coordinates an employment-based teaching training programme whereby participa ...
, the UK's leading education charity and the
Black Equity Organisation
The Black Equity Organisation (BEO) is a civil rights organisation and anti-racism charity in the United Kingdom, launched in 2022 with the aim of dismantling systemic racism.
Background
The organisation was registered as a charitable incorp ...
, the UK's first national Black civil rights organisation. Hunt is also a Trustee of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
and is on the
Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank.
It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...
Board of Governors.
Personal life
She is married to Nicholas Basden. The couple has two sons. She is a British and American citizen.
Honours
Hunt was made a
Dame Commander
''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronetesses in their own right also use the title ''Da ...
of the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
in Queen Elizabeth's
2018 New Year Honours
The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...
for "services to the economy and to women in business". In 2019, she received the Chartered Management Institute's Gold Medal Award and Business in the Community's National Gender Champion Award. In 2022, she received the
Strategic Management Society
The Strategic Management Society (SMS) is a professional society for the advancement of strategic management. The society consists of nearly 3,000 members representing various backgrounds and perspectives from more than eighty different countries ...
's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Hunt was named one of the ten most influential black women in Britain by the
Powerlist
The Powerlist is a list of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The Powerlist is not lim ...
Foundation, and one of the 30 most influential people in the City of London by ''
The Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
''.
In 2018, she was appointed
Dame Commander
''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronetesses in their own right also use the title ''Da ...
of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
for "services to the economy and women in business".
She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Strategic Management Society in 2022 and the Chartered Management Institute's Gold Medal in 2019.
Hunt has received multiple honorary awards for her contributions to business and society. These include an honorary doctorate in law from the
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
, the
University of York
The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
and the
University of Portsmouth
The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...
and an honorary Fellowship from
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
.
References
External links
Vivian Hunt TedTalk on "How businesses can serve everyone, not just shareholders".Dame Vivian Hunt Concord Academy Commencement Speech 2018Dame Vivian Hunt speaking at One Young Worlds 2021 Summit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Vivian
1967 births
American emigrants to the United Kingdom
American expatriates in Senegal
American midwives
American women chief executives
Black British businesspeople
British women chief executives
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Date of birth missing (living people)
Harvard Business School alumni
Harvard College alumni
Living people
McKinsey & Company people
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Place of birth missing (living people)