Gary Hansen
Associate Dean for New Technology Management Programs
Professor of Mechanical and Environmental Engineering
University of California Santa Barbara
Professor Gary Hansen received his Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Michigan. He joined the University of California Santa Barbara as Professor of Mechanical and Environmental Engineering and Associate Dean to build a new educational and research program in technology management and entrepreneurship within the College of Engineering in 2003. Recognized for his leadership at the University of Washington’s School of Business, Professor Hansen was distinguished by the leading scholars in his field by being the sole recipient of the “Outstanding Research for Strategic Management” award in 1987; named in “Business Week” magazine as one of the leading business faculty in the country; and awarded the Ernst and Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” for creating and leading one of the top technology entrepreneurship programs in the U.S, was Director of the Aerospace Industry Manufacturing Seminar an educational joint venture between the Boeing Company and the University of Washington.
Professor Hansen’s MBA was in the field of corporate finance and accounting and his Ph.D. in corporate strategy. Professor Hansen was at the University of Washington from 1986 to 2003, and was a visiting Professor at Hitotsubashi University, Japan’s leading business research institute, in Tokyo Japan in 1994-95 and at the University of California Santa Barbara from 2001-03. His research interests include investigations into determinants of firm performance; improved funding models for corporate innovation; and the impact of social networks on new venture success. Professor Hansen has published in the leading journals in corporate strategy, presented his works broadly, has helped prepare numerous doctoral students for successful careers in scholarly research and reviews for the Strategic Management Journal, the Academy of Management of Journal, the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Business Venturing, Organizational Science, the Journal of Management Studies, the Journal of Management, and Oxford University Press.
Professor Hansen’s current teaching interests include technology-based startups and corporate intrapreneurship. Gary designed and lead the internationally recognized executive management program the Aerospace Industry Seminar (AIMS) for the Boeing Corporation. A former Director for the Washington Research Foundation, gubernatorial appointed member of the Washington Technology Center (Vice Chair). Founder and leader of the University of Washington’s Program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (now called the Center for Technology Entrepreneurship, CTE), the Jones Entrepreneurship Research Fund, the Washington Software Alliance’s “Software.com: Business Leadership Program”, the William H. Gates Technology Fellow program, the MIT Venture Lab, and numerous other initiatives to bring the worlds of business, technology development, and education together.
Dr. Hansen has traveled and studied extensively in Asia; developed and lead the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank’s “Strategic Thinking Program”; worked with multinational Japanese and U.S. based firms on strategic alliances and new product/service development. He was the Vice President of Marketing for the AutoTrain Corporation, and the served in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Commerce and the White House agency the Cost of Living Council. He resides in Santa Ynez, California with his two dogs, Hellhound and Cyclone.
Gary Hansen, PhD, MBA, University
Professor, Associate Dean College of Engineering
