H. Naylor Fitzhugh

Alumni and friends of Harvard Business School established the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professorship of Business Administration to honor Mr. Fitzhugh’s exceptional career as a groundbreaking business leader, pioneer in business education, visionary community leader, and mentor of countless African-American women and men. Naylor Fitzhugh (MBA 1933) was one of the first African American graduates of HBS. Shunned by recruiters despite his excellent academic performance, Fitzhugh returned to his native Washington, DC, where he became a leader and activist in the African-American business community. 

He was subsequently asked to teach a business course at Howard University, which led to an association spanning three decades and his legendary impact on the school, its business curriculum, and graduates. One of the many students whose business careers he influenced was his former assistant at Howard, Lillian Lincoln Lambert (MBA ’69), who responded to his encouragement by becoming the first African-American woman to graduate from HBS as well as a founding member of the African American Student Union. In 1965, Fitzhugh accepted a marketing position at the Pepsi-Cola Company, which ultimately led to his history-making work in establishing the African American community as a lucrative mass market and creating the concept of target marketing in corporate America. He continued to mentor young people, introducing them to business through the development of education programs. He also maintained ties to HBS, helping to found the Black Alumni Association and becoming its first chairman in 1978.

Following his retirement from Pepsi, Fitzhugh remained active with the company and in the community, receiving well-deserved honors and recognition for his numerous achievements, including the Heritage award from the Executive Leadership Council and the Distinguished Service Award from Harvard Business School.  He passed away at the age of 82 in 1992. In 1996, the fund-raising campaign, led by Nancy Lane (PMD 29), Dennis F. Hightower (MBA ’74) and Professor James I. Cash, was launched to establish an endowed professorship in Naylor Fitzhugh’s name.

In 2000, Professor David A. Thomas, a recognized authority on mentoring, executive development, and the challenges of creating and managing a diverse workforce, was named the first incumbent of the H. Naylor Fitzhugh chair. Also as a result of Professor Cash’s leadership, and with support from students, alumni and Dean John McArthur, a portrait of Naylor Fitzhugh was commissioned and hung in the foyer of Baker Library until its recent renovation. The portrait now hangs in a busy intersection of student life in Aldrich Hall. And in 2001, the leaders of AASU chose to rename the annual AASU Career/Alumni conference to honor Fitzhugh’s inspiring legacy.

Photo courtesy of Harvard Business School Baker Library Historical Collections.