Biography

Patricia Bellinger retired as chief of staff to the president of Harvard University in June 2023. Prior to that role, she served in several leadership roles at Harvard including adjunct lecturer and senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), executive director at the Center for Public Leadership at HKS, and executive director of Executive Education at Harvard Business School.

Prior to Harvard, Bellinger led the global diversity and inclusion transformation at energy conglomerate British Petroleum (BP), where she served as BP’s first group vice president of global diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, BP won the coveted Catalyst Award for the advancement of women and progress in global diversity. She subsequently served as BP’s group vice president of executive development and led the BP Leadership Academy as its first director. Bellinger has served on numerous public and private company boards, and currently serves on the boards of Safran, Sonepar, Bath and Body Works, the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum, and the Smithsonian National Board. She also devotes considerable time to the nonprofit sector with a focus on youth development and equitable access to higher education.