McGrath graduated Magna Cum Laude from Barnard College in 1981, and earned a Masters of Public Administration from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University in 1982. In 1993 she completed her Doctor of Philosophy at The Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) with the dissertation, entitled Developing New Competence in Established Organizations consistent with her longstanding interest in corporate ventures and innovation.
She is known for her work on strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship, including the development of discovery-driven planning. After her graduation in 1993 she joined Columbia as assistant professor of management, was promoted to associate professor of management in 1998, and recently became a full professor in the Faculty of Executive Education. In 2014 she was elected Deputy Dean of the Strategic Management Society Fellows In 2009 she was elected fellow of the Strategic Management Society, and in 2013 of the International Academy of Management.
She was named one of the top 20 thinkers in 2011, and one of the top 10 thinkers in 2013 by the Thinkers50.
Selected publications Books McGrath, Rita Gunther, and Ian C. MacMillan. The entrepreneurial mindset: Strategies for continuously creating opportunity in an age of uncertainty. Vol. 284. Harvard Business School Press, 2000. McGrath, Rita Gunther, and Ian C. MacMillan.
MarketBusters: 40 Strategic moves that drive exceptional business growth. Harvard Business School Press, 2005. McGrath, Rita Gunther, and Ian C. MacMillan. Discovery Driven Growth: A breakthrough process to reduce risk and seize opportunity.
Harvard Business Review Press, 2009. McGrath, Rita Gunther The End of Competitive Advantage. How to keep your strategy moving as fast as your business. Harvard Business Review Press, 2013.Notable articles McGrath, Rita Gunther, Ian C. MacMillan, and Sankaran Venkataraman.
"Defining and developing competence: a strategic process paradigm." Strategic Management Journal 16.4 (1995): 251-275. McGrath, Rita Gunther. "A real options logic for initiating technology positioning investments." Academy of Management Review 22.4 (1997): 974-996. McGrath, Rita Gunther. "Falling forward: Real options reasoning and entrepreneurial failure." Academy of Management review 24.1 (1999): 13-30. McGrath, Rita Gunther.
"Exploratory learning, innovative capacity, and managerial oversight." Academy of Management Journal 44.1 (2001): 118-131.
McGrath started her career working in government and the political arena and founded two entrepreneurial startups. In 1999 McGrath received the "Best Paper" Academy Of Management Review, in 2001 the Maurice Holland "best paper" award from the Industrial Research Institute, and later the McKinsey "best paper" award from the Strategic Management Society for McGrath and Nerkar, Real options reasoning and a new look at the R&Doctorate strategy of pharmaceutical firms.
The entrepreneurial mindset: Strategies for continuously creating opportunity in an age of uncertainty.
