Harry Silver

Harry Silver has served as a senior fellow, adjunct professor, and senior research scholar on the faculty of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) since 2013. At SIPA, he teaches and facilitates workshops on career development, networking advice, and resume preparation. At the request of the Dean, he also engages in a broader set of supportive activities including admissions, alumni mentoring, and professional development. Mr. Silver teaches “Leading and Sustaining Change,” a course that equips students with skills to lead change in the public, non-profit, and social sectors. He also serves as a faculty advisor for capstone course projects and student independent study courses.

Mr. Silver is a former Managing Director with Goldman Sachs. During a broad-based career spanning four decades at Goldman, he led several global operational and risk management initiatives in investment banking, general (corporate) services, human capital management, compliance operations, crisis management, global security, and vendor risk management. Mr. Silver has also served as senior vice president and chief administrative officer of the Wit Soundview Group; executive director for Cravath, Swaine and Moore; vice president and chief of staff to the president of Personal and Banking Services at Chemical Bank; principal with the consulting firm of Booz, Allen and Hamilton; and auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co. From 2012-2013, he served as a senior advisor/loaned executive with the US Department of Homeland Security. In this role, Mr. Silver suggested potential areas of improvement in public-private collaboration related to infrastructure, and provided independent and critical assessments of policies, procedures, and tools impacting the private sector.

Mr. Silver mentors Columbia students in the Executive Masters of Science in Technology Management program within the School of Professional Studies, particularly those with a public sector focus. He also mentors veterans who recently left active duty (within the American Corporate Partners, Honor our Heroes, and Veterati programs), and children learning literacy skills through the Read Ahead program at PS 36. He earned a BS with honors in accounting from Pennsylvania State University in 1976, and an MBA from Columbia University in 1980. He is a certified public accountant and formerly a FINRA registered supervisor.