About Harry
In 2018 awarded an honor by the U.S. Costa Rica Foundation, Harry prepared a short video with pictures which describes his family roots and the legacy on which he has built. (7 min)
Please click on the photo below to start the video.
I was born in 1941 in Costa Rica into the missionary family that founded the Latin America Mission. I went to the United States for high school at Hampden DuBose Academy in Florida, then Wheaton College (Illinois), on to Harvard Law School and finally, after a stint in the Army in Europe, received a doctorate in International Finance at the Harvard Business School.
I’ve had three overlapping careers, each a decade or more in length. The first began in 1970 as a professor of management for six years helping establish the INCAE Business School. This was followed by three more years teaching at the Harvard Business School. In 1981/2, I took a leave of absence from my consulting career to be Rector of INCAE during the Sandinista period and remained have connected to the school as a board member and visiting professor since then.
My second business career as a consultant began full time in 1979 with Bain & Co. I was based in the Boston office through 1992 and thereafter in Costa Rica. In this period I helped establish in 1983 Bain Capital, a private equity investing company, and in 1998 a Central American offshoot Mesoamerica Partners. Since around 2010, I´ve been Emeritus to both Bain & Mesoamerica.
My third career began in serious when I moved to Costa Rica in 1993 to focus on helping in the economic and social and political development of the Central America region. While continuing to work with Bain & Co and Mesoamerica Partners, most of my time has been focused on helping the family business groups of Central American become competitive, reinvest in the region and develop the skills needed to play a leadership role in the wider society.
During this I’ve dedicated a significant amount of my time to public policy issues like Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), to non-profits like the Hospital Clinica Biblica, ESEN, to speeches, teaching and moderating with the Central America Leadership Initiative (CALI), sponsored by INCAE and the Aspen Institute.
With my wife Sandy and extended family we´ve created the Strachan Foundation to continue the social investment legacy of my missionary ancestors, my grandparents, Harry and Susan Strachan, my parents Ken and Elizabeth Strachan, and my aunt and uncle, Grace and Dayton Roberts. The Strachan Foundation supports local social entrepreneurs and educational initiatives throughout Central America. At INCAE we funded the Cátedra Strachan to inspire future business leaders to exercise responsible leadership and to develop and produce educational materials on how to do effective philanthropy and social investment.
I have two married children, Sarah and Ken, and five grandsons and I am also close to the large Strachan-Roberts Clan numbering 12 in the third generation, 32 in the fourth generation plus spouses, and 32 kids in the fifth generation. My hobbies are golf, poker, reading, and social events with close friends.
