Geneen

The Harold S. Geneen Institute of Corporate Governance

The Geneen Institute is dedicated to the pursuit of directed, leading-edge research on important corporate governance issues and is committed to researching social, comparative and reformative approaches to governance. 

We support a diverse portfolio of research projects that have clear, practical implications for managers and for society. Our current initiatives examine the role of governance in five main areas: ethics and corporate boards, social and environmental reporting, board composition and diversity, internal controls, CEO appointments and executive compensation. Please see our recent media attention in the Boston Globe, Climate Wire, Forbes, CNN Business, Boston Business Journal and Reuters.

We engage doctoral students, faculty and practitioners through books, articles, reports, teaching cases, curricula, conferences, and workshops. Bentley currently has faculty in several disciplines who are interested in various dimensions of corporate governance. For example, we have faculty in accounting (auditing and risk management), management (corporate social responsibility, diversity, director selection, executive compensation, women and the glass-ceiling), and finance (director independence) who are active researchers in the broad view of governance. Please see our recent Governance Research.

We reach out beyond the Bentley community to engage people through various activities that foster a dynamic community of scholars, practitioners and students, who come together through such programs as the Geneen Speaker Series, 50/50 Women on Boards, National Association of Corporate Directors, Society for Governance Professionals, the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Ethics and Compliance Initiative.

Recent Research

  • Sloan Management Review on board refreshment
  • HBR on boardroom diversity
  • Strategic Management Journal on nominating committees and gender diversity in the boardroom
  • Organization Science on director tenure.
  • The Census of Women Directors and Executive Officers of Massachusetts top 100 Public Companies, compiled by Bentley faculty members Cynthia Clark and Laura Jackson Young, is available here for 2023.
Women in Corporate Leadership and the Challenges Ahead THE 2025 CENSUS OF WOMEN DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC COMPANIES

The Census of Women Directors and Executive Officers includes the 100 largest public companies in Massachusetts based on net revenues. The Census companies range in size from the Fortune 500 through the Russell 3000 and include some companies that may be considered “small cap” as well. The data collected for the Census tracks the information that publicly traded companies are required to disclose in their corporate filings with the U.S. SEC.

Among the trends discerned from the data, the annual Census provides insights into the progress that Massachusetts companies are making toward achieving gender parity in leadership ranks.

Learn More

The 2025 Gender Diversity Index Report from 50/50 Women on Boards, produced in partnership with Equilar and Bentley University, examines trends in board diversity across the Russell 3000 companies and finds that progress toward gender parity has significantly slowed. As of Q2 2025, women hold 30.1% of board seats—an important milestone, yet the smallest year-over-year increase in more than a decade—while representation of women of color declined slightly to 7.4%. The report highlights growing headwinds from political and legal pressures on DEI initiatives, a sharp drop in new board appointments for women, and a slowdown in board refreshment. At the same time, it underscores that companies with women in key leadership roles and gender-balanced boards continue to outperform peers, demonstrating stronger governance, resilience, and long-term performance. The findings emphasize that without renewed, intentional strategies, recent gains risk stagnation or reversal, but with focused action, accelerated progress remains achievable.

2025 annual gender diversity index report
50 50 Women on Boards

An all-star panel consisting of Kelly Ayotte (Blackstone and Boston Properties (BXP) board member), Coleen Downs Dinneen (Artisan Partners board member), Carmel Shields (Radialis and Women's Foundation of Boston board member), Carolina Alarco (Eastern Bank advisory board member), and Dede Orraca-Cecil (Egon Zehnder) moderated by Cynthia E. Clark, PhD (Bentley University) held on November 1, 2023

About Harold S. Geneen

The Harold S. Geneen Institute was established in 2008 through the generosity of the Harold S. Geneen Charitable Trust. Mr. Geneen was the former chairman of ITT from 1959 to 1977. When he stepped down as chief executive at the end of 1977, ITT was the 11th-largest industrial company in the United States with more than 375,000 employees and $16.7 billion in revenue. According to the New York Times, Geneen's management style and practices were widely imitated.

He envisioned that his endowment would help create a community of scholars and practitioners who would pursue leading-edge research on corporate governance and complement Bentley’s preeminent educational programs in the business and accounting fields.

With this generous assistance, we sought to build on Bentley’s foundation by creating the Harold S. Geneen Fellowship program. Geneen Fellows pursue directed, leading-edge research on important corporate governance issues through the Institute.

At Bentley, we believe that the center of corporate governance should focus on promoting integrity within and across organizations from a financial, environmental and social vantage point. As a result, the inter-relationships between for-profit, not-for-profit and government agencies in promoting integrity in a global setting will also play a role in the research undertaken by the Geneen Fellows.