Toto Wolff to lecture at Harvard Business School

Mercedes have announced the appointment of Toto Wolff as Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School. 

Bringing his extensive experience in one of the world’s most competitive industries, the Mercedes Formula 1 team co-owner, CEO and Team Principal will serve as guest lecturer of a ground-breaking MBA course. 

“I feel very honoured and privileged to continue working with the incredibly bright young minds at Harvard,” said Wolff on his appointment. “Whenever I step on campus, I am inspired by the students’ curiosity and ambition, and I leave energised by the special learning environment they create together with the brilliant faculty.”

A former racing driver turned investor, Wolff is one of the most successful leaders in world sport, having guided the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 team to eight Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships in his 10 years at the helm. 

After a short racing career, Wolff transferred his competitive ambitions to the business and investment world, founding an investment company in 1998. In 2002, he began a new venture, co-owning a racing driver management company alongside two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen. 

Merging his passions of racing and investment, Wolff invested in the Williams Formula 1 Team in 2009. By July 2012, he was Executive Director and played a key leadership role when the team scored its first win in eight years. 

In 2013, Wolff became the Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport and Managing Partner of the F1 Team, acquiring a 30% stake of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. From there, he led Mercedes to an unprecedented eight consecutive Constructors’ titles. 

Throughout the 2021 season, Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse gained behind-the-scenes access to Mercedes to observe how they prepared for, competed in and analysed performance in races. She later collaborated with Wolff on a Harvard Business Review article, Number One in Formula One, where Wolff’s leadership philosophy was distilled into six lessons to help managers develop a winning culture.

As Harvard’s newest Executive Fellow, Wolff will work alongside Professor Elberse to deliver a course for first-year and second-year students in which he will share insights on high-performance leadership, organisational culture and personal effectiveness.