Crain’s New York has released its list of the most well connected business people, with over two hundred names on the roster. Harvard University topped Crain’s list of 50-most well-connected schools, along with Harvard’s Law and Business schools.
Almost 30% of the two hundred most connected people in New York have attended Harvard. Of that 30%, 20% attended Harvard Business School and 10% attended Harvard Law School.
Crain’s comprehensive list is the result of its partnership with tech firm Relationship Science. The two hundred most connected New Yorkers were identified among a pool of nearly 16,000 executive and board members at more than 1,000 partnerships, non-profit, public, and private companies.
As can be expected, top-connected executives have received higher education, with 82 holding M.B.A.s, 59 with law degrees and 14 Ph.Ds. Three hold both law degrees and doctorates. The top three most well connected New Yorkers were Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, Henry R. Kravis and Rochelle “Shelly” Lazarus. These top influential figures are not Harvard Alums, as Greenberg attended the University of Miami, and Henry R. Kravis and Rochelle Lazarus both received their M.B.A.s from Columbia Business School.
From these statistics, it can be said that attending a prestigious school has become more important within the last twenty years, and higher education presents more opportunities in the business world. Lauren Rivera, an associate professor of management and organization at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, said that if Crain’s produces a similar list in fifteen years, she expects an even higher proportion of well-connected executives attending Ivy Leagues.
“New York City is very special because it’s close geographically to many elite schools, and it has a very knowledge-based economy,” she said. “This list would look a lot different in other parts of the country.”
