Willy C. Shih

Education

Ph.D., chemistry, University of California, Berkeley; S.B., chemistry, and S.B., life sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Summary of Experience

Professor Shih’s interests are intellectual property, manufacturing, and supply chain issues for complex technical products. Prior to joining the Harvard Business School faculty, he worked in private industry for 28 years, holding senior management positions at IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation, Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, and Eastman Kodak. In these roles, Professor Shih had direct responsibility for manufacturing operations in various countries, including the US, Ireland, Mexico, Japan, and China. Professor Shih is coauthor of the book Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance. His research on global supply chains, including such topics as the automotive chip shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of tariffs on electric vehicles in the US, has appeared in Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg. Additionally, he is the author of “Back Bay Battery,” an online innovation simulation. Professor Shih has developed numerous case studies for the Harvard Business School curriculum that explore manufacturing and supply chain issues in industries such as consumer electronics, retail, automobiles, aerospace, and semiconductors. He is a lifetime member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.