Sometimes it can take considerable time for an individual’s interest in a project to fully evolve. Such was the case for Babson Professor and alumnus Jeff Shay (pictured above in the center) and his involvement with Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).
Shay was always intrigued by GEM, even in the early days when the research project was established in the late 1990s. Bill Bygrave, one of GEM’s founders, asked Shay, his mentee, to serve as an expert for a GEM survey early on in the project. Shay gladly agreed since GEM represented the perfect marriage of his research interests: entrepreneurship and international business.
“I was honored to serve but always wanted to get more involved,” Shay said.
That opportunity arose in 2020 when Shay returned to Babson College as Professor of Entrepreneurship. He joined the GEM USA team and began serving as co-leader with Donna Kelley. Shortly thereafter, Shay was asked to represent Babson on the GERA board (Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, the legal entity of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor).
“I was always impressed with GEM and its reports before joining the USA team, but I didn’t realize what an incredible organization it is,” he recalled. “It is truly amazing to coordinate 50+ teams from around the world, gathering data from 200,000 respondents and create impactful global, country, women’s and special topic reports. I’ve developed an incredible appreciation for the work that makes GEM research possible each year.”
Shay earned his BS and MBA from Babson and Ph.D. from Cornell University. Since 1987, he has been actively engaged with consulting for organizations ranging from startups to large corporations and government entities in several different countries. He looks forward to leveraging these experiences as board chair to deliver on GEM’s mission and goals.
One of the many ways he sees potential for innovation is the transition to online surveys that will enable GEM to have more data. As a result, the organization will be able to conduct, publish and share results that will make an even greater impact on entrepreneurial ecosystems across the globe.
Shay concluded: “GEM has an incredible history and many traditions. My goal is to work with the board and GEM national teams to continue to do the practices and activities with which we have been successful, but to also challenge all of us to consider the ways in we can innovate and make the project even more impactful.”