Steven Rogers retired from Harvard Business School (HBS) Faculty in 2019. He taught Entrepreneurial Finance and a new course that he created, titled “Black Business Leaders and Entrepreneurship.” A 1985 graduate of the school, Professor Rogers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College. Prior to HBS, he taught in the MBA and PhD programs at Northwestern University. He received the Outstanding Professor Award for the Executive MBA Program 26 times and daytime program twice. Both are records.
In 2024, he taught Introduction to Generative Artificial Intelligence to faculty at schools, church groups and community organizations. In 2023, he purchased a church for $1 million that sits on land taken from Black families in 1929. In 2022, he published his third book, Successful Black Entrepreneurs, in 2021 A Letter to my White Friends and Colleagues: What you Can Do Now to Help the Black Community, and in 2020, the 4th edition of Entrepreneurial Finance: Finance and Business Strategies for the Serious Entrepreneur. His background in Finance has resulted in law firms hiring him as an expert witness in several legal cases.
He has also authored 30 HBS case studies. He has published more case studies with Black protagonists than anyone in the country. In 2019, he toured 10 HBCUs where he taught a workshop, Finance for Black Entrepreneurs. In 2017, he received the “Black Brilliance in Service” award from Harvard Black Law Students Association, and in the same year, Poets & Quants Magazine selected him as one of “Our Favorite MBA Professors of 2017.” In 2016, he was a volunteer professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point Army, where he received the West Point cadets’ sword for “Expert Teaching and Professionalism.” He’s taught in Africa, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Philippines, and Vienna.
Before becoming a professor, he owned and operated two manufacturing firms and one retail operation. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Rogers worked at Bain & Company consulting firm, Cummins Engine Company and UNC Ventures, a private equity firm. He also owns a real estate company that rehabs residential properties on the South Side of Chicago. He is also a partner in Nubian Square Ascends, a real estate development firm in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
He received the “Bicentennial Medal for Distinguished Achievement” by an Alum from Williams College, and the “Bert King Award for Service” from the African American Student Union at HBS. Ebony Magazine named him one of the top 150 influential people in America. Dominican University presented him with the Award of Entrepreneurship and Ethics in Business. Radnor High School inducted him into its Hall of Fame. In 2023, he became a Licensed General Contractor.
Professor Rogers’ governance experiences span over two decades. He has served as a Trustee of William College, and the Visiting Committee for HBS. His Corporate Board experiences includes SuperValu (Chairman, Governance Committee), Duquesne Light (Chairman, Finance Committee), Oakmark Mutual Funds (Chairman, Audit Committee and Investment Review Committee), W.S. Darley (Lead Director) and S.C. Johnson Wax. He has completed five Triathlons and is part owner of the Chicago Sky, the 2021 WNBA Champions.