Business Review Names New Editor

Thomas A. Stewart '70 was named editor of the Business Review last Thursday, taking a position left vacant by April's controversy-filled departure of Suzie Wetlaufer '81.

Stewart, 54, is an expert on intellectual capital who previously served on the board of editors at Fortune magazine.

He comes to Harvard from his most recent post at Business 2.0, where he served as editorial director.

Stewart said he decided to take the position primarily because of the Business Review's excellent reputation for academic business journalism-not because he had missed his alma mater.

"I didn't come back because I was nostalgic for the good old college days in Harvard Square or brilliant undergraduates," he said.

"There is nothing like the Harvard Business Review. It is the red-hot center of ideas for the business world. So it would be impossible for me not to be interested in the position," Stewart said.

Wetlaufer resigned in April after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Review cancelled her story about former General Electric CEO Jack Welch because of allegations that the two had an affair.

Wetlaufer admitted to having had an "improper relationship" with Welch and stepped down when Review staffers complained.

But Stewart downplayed the notion that he might have been hired to redirect the Business Review and said he does not intend to implement any major changes.

Rather, he said he will maintain the status quo, at least in the short-term.

"I wasn't hired to fix something that was broken. I was hired to run something going wonderfully, so it would be premature to talk about any specific changes that I might make," Stewart said.

He did speak to staffers about the unique qualities of the Business Review that differentiate it from more mainstream business journals.

"With the Internet and things like cnn.com, getting breaking news is no longer an issue. Our glory at Harvard Business Review is that we get to be the leading edge. We are both defining trends and synthesizing all kinds of new ideas," he said.

Stewart also acknowledged the odd nature of the Business Review, which, like the Business School, straddles the boardroom and the classroom.

"With a circulation of about a quarter of a million, it reaches into the business world out of an academic context. So, like the Business School, the Review is sort of a hybrid between the business world and the academic world," he said.

Stewart worked as a business writer and editor since 1989, when he joined Fortune as an associate editor. Stewart penned articles on a wide variety of topics, including the management of churches, gay and lesbian executives, emerging electronic marketplaces, the state of American competitiveness, the Persian Gulf war and the war on terrorism.

He has also written extensively about the changing nature of business in the Information Age and the emerging importance of intellectual capital. His 1997 book Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations, which grew out of a series of articles for Fortune, was named one of the most important books of that year by the Financial Times.

"Tom is an exceptional writer and editor, and a first-rate business thinker," David Wan, president and CEO of Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP), which publishes Harvard Business Review said in a statement. "His passion for exploring new management ideas and reputation as a gifted editorial collaborator make him the ideal person to take [the Business Review] to even greater heights. We're thrilled he is joining our elite community of editors at HBSP."