We sat down with Patrick Mullane, our new Executive Director, to talk about his role at HBX, his best life advice, and Oreos.

What do you do here at HBX?

I am the Executive Director of HBX which means I help the team here in any way I can as they go about being the best course developers, marketers, coders, operators, creators, and support personnel they can be. I hope that I bring some general management experience across all parts of HBX that will help us to further advance the Harvard Business School's mission of educating leaders that make a difference in the world.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of job by far is seeing the pride students take in their involvement in and completion of HBX CORe or Disruptive Strategy.

How would you describe yourself? 

I love to laugh, I don’t take myself too seriously, and I hate missing the previews at the movies.

Where did you go to school and what did you study? 

I went to the University of Notre Dame where I got a BS in Mathematics. I then went to Golden Gate University for an MS in Project and Systems Management. I finished off my formal education with an MBA from Harvard Business School.

If a genie gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

I’d wish for world peace. And a lifetime supply of Oreos covered in peanut butter and dipped in hot fudge. 

Best advice anyone has ever given you? 

An HBS professor once said to me (and the rest of my class), “It’s okay to be lucky. It’s okay to be smart. It’s not okay to be lucky and think you're smart."

Best book you've read?

Lonesome Dove, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Larry McMurtry. The best book you’ll ever read about risk-taking, adventure, love and redemption (and it was a great TV miniseries in the late 80s as well).