Dean Srikant Datar’s 2026 Commencement Address

Why It Matters

The address signals how top business schools are preparing future leaders for a rapidly AI-driven economy while emphasizing ethics and human-centered decision-making; graduates will be expected to govern AI’s commercial, organizational, and societal impacts. HBS’s concrete AI initiatives reflect broader shifts in education and workforce development that could reshape hiring, training, and entrepreneurship.

Summary

Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar delivered the 2026 commencement address, congratulating the MBA and doctoral graduates, acknowledging recent campus anxieties over travel and the loss of student Zoe Savellos, and announcing two fellowships in her memory. He praised the Class of 2026’s resilience and community support during uncertainty and grief. Datar focused the speech on the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence—outlining both risks (jobs, security, bias) and opportunities (innovation, democratizing education and healthcare)—and described HBS’s adoption of AI tools for personalized learning, career matchmaking, and an entrepreneurship platform called Foundry. He urged graduates to combine technical literacy with human judgment and initiative as they assume leadership roles.

Original Description

On May 28, 2026, Dean Srikant Datar addressed the Class of 2026 at the Harvard Business School Diploma Ceremony.