Mercedes have announced the appointment of Toto Wolff as Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School.
Bringing his extensive experience in one of the world’s most competitive industries, the Mercedes Formula 1 team co-owner, CEO and Team Principal will serve as guest lecturer of a ground-breaking MBA course.
“I feel very honoured and privileged to continue working with the incredibly bright young minds at Harvard,” said Wolff on his appointment. “Whenever I step on campus, I am inspired by the students’ curiosity and ambition, and I leave energised by the special learning environment they create together with the brilliant faculty.”
A former racing driver turned investor, Wolff is one of the most successful leaders in world sport, having guided the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 team to eight Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships in his 10 years at the helm.
After a short racing career, Wolff transferred his competitive ambitions to the business and investment world, founding an investment company in 1998. In 2002, he began a new venture, co-owning a racing driver management company alongside two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen.
Merging his passions of racing and investment, Wolff invested in the Williams Formula 1 Team in 2009. By July 2012, he was Executive Director and played a key leadership role when the team scored its first win in eight years.
In 2013, Wolff became the Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport and Managing Partner of the F1 Team, acquiring a 30% stake of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. From there, he led Mercedes to an unprecedented eight consecutive Constructors’ titles.
Throughout the 2021 season, Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse gained behind-the-scenes access to Mercedes to observe how they prepared for, competed in and analysed performance in races. She later collaborated with Wolff on a Harvard Business Review article, Number One in Formula One, where Wolff’s leadership philosophy was distilled into six lessons to help managers develop a winning culture.
As Harvard’s newest Executive Fellow, Wolff will work alongside Professor Elberse to deliver a course for first-year and second-year students in which he will share insights on high-performance leadership, organisational culture and personal effectiveness.