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COLLECTION Identifier: Mss:867 1901-2004 B786

Research materials about Marvin Bower and McKinsey & Co.

Overview

The collection consists of research materials gathered by Elizabeth Haas Edersheim for her book McKinsey’s Marvin Bower: Vision, Leadership & the Creation of Management Consulting, published in 2004. The collection includes correspondence and articles by Marvin Bower that document McKinsey & Company and the creation of management consulting.

Dates

  • Creation: 1901-2004

Conditions Governing Access

Conditions Governing Access

Restricted material has been identified and separated. Note that box and folder lists of restricted material have been redacted.

Extent

10.5 linear feet (19 boxes, 2 cartons)

Edersheim's research files used to write her "McKinsey's Marvin Bower: Vision, Leadership & the Creation of Management Consulting" John Wiley & Sons, 2004

Scope and Contents

The materials in this collection were gathered by Elizabeth Haas Edersheim for the purpose of writing her book McKinsey’s Marvin Bower: Vision, Leadership & the Creation of Management Consulting, which was published in 2004. The collection is a combination of letters, memos, and articles written by Marvin Bower and his contemporaries. Also included are newspaper articles, McKinsey & Co. records and publications, and records relating to Bower’s connection with Harvard Business School. The materials document Bower’s career at McKinsey & Co., his impact on the company, and his prominence in the development of the field of management consulting

Biographical / Historical

Marvin Silas Bower was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 1, 1903, and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Brown University in 1925 and from Harvard Law School in 1928. Bower then attended Harvard Business School and received his MBA in 1930. After graduating from Harvard Business School, Bower joined the law firm of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in Cleveland.

In 1933 Bower left Jones, Day to work for James O. McKinsey’s accounting and engineering firm. After McKinsey died unexpectedly, Bower and three partners bought McKinsey & Co. in 1939 and turned it into one of the first management consulting firms, using a new phrase created by Bower. Bower was well known for his promotion and advancement of the profession of management consulting and for his firm’s commitment to its customers and its core values.

Marvin Bower was the manager of the New York office from 1935-1950, and managing director of McKinsey & Co. from 1950-1967. He stayed on with the firm until his retirement in 1992. During his long career at McKinsey & Co., Bower lead the firm in opening offices across the United States and overseas, all the while working to maintain a “one-firm” identity. Believing that the senior partners of McKinsey & Co. had an obligation to contribute to the field of management consulting, Bower founded the McKinsey Foundation for Management Research in 1955, one of the first of its kind in the U.S. He was also the founding member and first president of the U.S. Institute of Management Consultants, founded in 1969.

Bower also served on many boards and committees throughout his career. Some of the positions he held include trustee and chairman the board of Case Western Reserve University (1968-1971), chairman of the Joint Council on Economic Education (1967-1986), member of the board of directors of the Associates of Harvard Business School, and trustee of Brown University (1968-1973). In 1994 Bower was elected Fellow of the International Academy of Management, and in 1995 Harvard Business School named a Chair in his honor. Marvin Bower died on January 22, 2003. Marvin Bower is the author of The Development of Executive Leadership (1949), The Will to Manage (1966), Perspective on McKinsey (1979), and The Will to Lead (1997), as well as numerous articles.

Arrangement

The collection was kept in its original order and is arranged into the following series: I. Chronological files, II. Subject files.

Physical Location

MANU

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Research materials about Marvin Bower and McKinsey & Co. were received by Baker Library Special Collections as a gift from Elizabeth Haas Edersheim.

Processing Information

Processed: November 2019 By: Baker Library Special Collections Staff

Author
Baker Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
bak01025

Repository Details

Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository

Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.

Contact:
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