Felix Oberholzer-Gee
Felix Oberholzer-Gee is a Harvard Business School professor who helps leaders and organisations understand competitive strategy and value creation in the context of digital change and modern business competition.
- Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
- Researcher and academic specialising in competitive strategy and the impact of digital technology on corporate performance.
- Author of Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance.
- Developed a value-based strategy framework known as the “Value Stick”.
- Former faculty member at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
- Member of the board of Ringier.
Full Profile
Key speaking topics
- Competitive strategy and value creation
- Value-based strategy frameworks
- Business strategy in the digital economy
- Customer willingness-to-pay and value capture
- Strategic decision-making in competitive markets
- Digital transformation and corporate performance
- Media markets and digital disruption
Ideal for
- Senior executives responsible for strategy and growth
- Corporate strategy teams and business unit leaders
- Boards and senior leadership teams evaluating competitive positioning
- Organisations navigating digital disruption and market competition
Audience outcomes
- Clear understanding of value-based strategy principles.
- Insight into how willingness-to-pay and willingness-to-sell shape competitive advantage.
- Practical frameworks for analysing value creation in competitive markets.
- Strategic clarity on the impact of digital change on business performance.
Why organisations work with Felix Oberholzer-Gee
- Combines academic research with practical frameworks for competitive strategy.
- Provides structured approaches for analysing value creation and competitive positioning.
- Helps leadership teams focus strategy discussions on measurable sources of value.
- Brings insight from research on digital markets, strategy, and corporate performance.
Biography
Felix Oberholzer-Gee is the Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where his work focuses on competitive strategy and the drivers of corporate performance in an increasingly digital economy. His research and teaching explore how organisations create and capture value, helping leaders understand the strategic decisions that shape long-term competitiveness.
His approach to strategy centres on value creation. In his book Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance, he introduces a framework often referred to as the “Value Stick”. The model emphasises the importance of customer willingness-to-pay and employee or supplier willingness-to-sell as the core variables that determine value creation and competitive advantage.
Alongside his academic work, Oberholzer-Gee has held faculty roles at leading institutions including the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Earlier in his career he served as managing director of Symo Electronics, a Swiss process-control company, providing first-hand experience of business leadership and operational decision-making.
His research spans competitive strategy, international competition, non-market strategy, and the impact of digital change on corporate performance. Published work also examines file-sharing, copyright, and the economics of media markets, contributing to broader understanding of how technology reshapes industries.
Oberholzer-Gee also brings board-level perspective through his role as a member of the board of Ringier. Across teaching, research, and advisory work, he helps organisations focus strategy discussions on measurable sources of value and the competitive choices that determine performance.