Christopher M. Gordon

Chris Gordon is a Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Business School teaching and writing in the real estate group primarily on the subject of complex capital projects. He also is a Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the Center for Real Estate, teaching a nationally recognized course on project delivery, and serves as an advisor on complex capital projects worldwide.

Prior to his appointment to HBS, he served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Allston Development Group at Harvard University from 2005 to 2010. In that role he oversaw all aspects of the development of Harvard’s campus expansion in the Allston section of Boston as well as development projects on the historic Cambridge campus.

Before stepping into the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Allston Development Group, Chris was director of Capital Programs and Logan Modernization for the Massachusetts Port Authority. During his decade at Massport, he was responsible for capital programming and project delivery for all capital projects at all Massport facilities, including Logan International Airport (the 13th busiest airport in the world), Hanscom Airfield, Tobin Memorial Bridge, Maritime Terminals on the Port of Boston, and the Worcester Regional Airport. He oversaw the successful completion of the $4.4 billion Logan Modernization Project and as Director of Capital Programs, oversaw a $500 million annual budget.

Chris has served as a board member of the National Research Council’s Board on Infrastructure and the Built Environment, a trustee of the Engineering Center Education Trust, a corresponding editor of the American Society of Civil Engineers Engineering Management Journal, and has been a speaker at numerous conferences. Chris was named the 2001 Person of the Year for the Construction Management Association of America for both the New England region and the country, and was named the 2000 Government Engineer of the Year by the Boston Society of Civil Engineers. In 2003, he received the Manuel Carballo Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service. He was Governor Mitt Romney’s appointee as Co-Chair of the Special Commission on Public Construction Reform; in 2004, this resulted in landmark reform of all public construction laws in the Commonwealth. Chris was honored as the recipient of the 2006 New England Achievement Award, presented by the Engineers Week in Boston Committee, a division of The Engineering Center; this annual award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievements, commitment to public service, and support of the engineering profession. Most recently, Chris served as the Chief Judge for 2010 for the Engineering Excellence Awards for America.

Prior to joining Massport, Chris worked for Cambridge Systematics in the Program Management Group, for Bechtel Corporation in the Civil Division, and for H.E. Bergeron as a project manager.

Chris holds a bachelors degree in civil engineering from the University of Maine and a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (research focus on project management and infrastructure delivery methods) and is a registered Professional Engineer in several states. He is married to Cici Gordon, public relations executive; the Gordons reside in Winchester, Massachusetts, with their two children, Tucker, age sixteen, and Tate, age ten.