Jonathan Spector

Jonathan Spector is president and chief executive officer of The Conference Board, the most widely cited private source of business intelligence. The Conference Board convenes thousands of executives annually in council, conference, and meeting programs, and publishes the Consumer Confidence Index, The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for 11 countries and regions around the world, and other reports on economic trends and best management practices.

Spector joined The Conference Board after serving as vice dean of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He was responsible during his tenure for the significant growth and strategic repositioning of the school's executive education activities, and for strengthening Wharton's involvement in book publishing, globalization, and collaborations across the university.

Spector began his career at McKinsey & Company, where he spent 20 years and was elected a senior partner. He founded and managed the firm's Taipei office, and helped lead McKinsey's North American electronics practice to become the chief executive of two startup technology companies. Spector is the co-author of We Are Smarter Than Me (2007), which highlights the ways in which businesses can harness the power of collective intelligence. The book resulted from an experiment in which thousands of participants attempted to pool their knowledge and create a book manuscript.

Spector serves on the board of the March of Dimes, and is a trustee emeritus of Wesleyan University. He earned his BA in math/economics with honors from Wesleyan University, and his MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.