I am an Assistant Professor in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management, holding the Fred Kayne (1960) Career Development Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship Chair. My research interests are in innovation economics, energy and environmental economics, strategic management, and climate finance. My work explores how firms and policymakers can foster innovation for social progress — innovation that protects people and the planet — with a particular focus on energy and environmental innovation. One of my current obsessions is understanding how firms respond to externality interdependencies and the implications for the direction of innovation, investment, policy, and strategy.
Test Edit I teach courses on innovation strategy and entrepreneurship, including a class on climate and energy ventures, and I was recently named a “Best 40-Under-40 Business School Professor” by Poets & Quants. In 2022, I was selected to be a Distinguished Fellow on Stakeholder Capitalism and ESG Investing by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise.
I am also an Honorary Research Associate with the University of Oxford, a Research Affiliate of CESifo, and an Invited Researcher with J-PAL’s Science for Progress Initiative. Before joining MIT, I held various positions in the private and public sector that entailed working on energy policy and finance issues as well as helping high-growth technology companies design and manage their reorganizations.
Email: jpless@mit.edu