Robert S. Kaplan

Robert Samuel Kaplan (born 1940) is an American accounting academic, and Emeritus Professor of Leadership Development at the Harvard Business School, known as co-creator, together with David P. Norton, of the balanced scorecard.

Biography

Kaplan Obtained his BS in Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he also obtained his MS in Electrical Engineering. For his graduate studies he moved to the Cornell University, where he obtained his PhD in Operations Research. Since the 1990s he has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Stuttgart in 1994, the University of Lodz in 2006, and the University of Waterloo in 2008.

After his graduation Kaplan started his academic career at Tepper School of Business at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1968, and served as its dean from 1977 to 1983. In 1984 he moved to the Harvard Business School, where he was appointed Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development.

In 2006, Kaplan was named to the Accounting Hall of Fame. In the same year he also received the Lifetime Contribution Award from the Management Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association.