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Gerald Harris

Gerald Harris is the chair of the Club's Technology & Society forum. He is president of the Quantum Planning Group (QPG), which he founded in 2009. His company specializes in assisting businesses and nonprofit organizations in strategic and business planning using the tools of scenario analysis. During his career, Harris served as a senior consultant with Global Business Network for 15 years, where he became a specialist in scenario analysis. While there, he worked with a wide range of organizations in the business community and nonprofit sector. Prior to joining GBN, Gerald spent 13 years at Pacific Gas and Electric Company. As director of business planning for the engineering and construction division, he was responsible for providing strategic and business planning services to a 4,700-person business unit. He started at PG&E in the Corporate Finance Department, where he specialized in project- and asset-based financing. Before joining PG&E, Harris was a financial analyst in international project finance at Bechtel Corporation. Harris received his B.A. in economics from Morehouse College, where he graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA in finance and business economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His first book, The Art of Quantum Planning: Seven Ideas from Quantum Physics for Breakthroughs in Creativity, Innovation and Leadership, was published by Berrette Koehler Publishing in August, 2009. He has published articles in several business journals and is a sought-after speaker on developments in energy markets and strategic planning. Harris lives in San Francisco. In addition to his leadership of the Technology and Society member-led forum at The Commonwealth Club, he is active on several local nonprofit boards. He is currently the chair of the board of the Hoffman Institute, which provides personal growth training and counseling. He is a volunteer strategy coach and mentor for start-up companies participating in the Cleantech Open West. Learn more at his website: www.artofquantumplanning.com.