SALT LAKE CITY — The funeral for Clayton Christensen, who pioneered the theory of disruptive innovation followed by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and other business leaders, is scheduled on Saturday, Feb. 1, his family announced Sunday.
“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the passing of Clayton Christensen,” said a statement released by his family, including his wife, Christine Christensen. “After a year of valiantly fighting leukemia, he passed away in Boston on Jan. 23, surrounded by his family. It has been our great privilege to call him our husband, father and friend.”
A viewing will be held Friday, Jan. 31, at the Belmont Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 15 Ledgewood Place, Belmont, Massachusetts.
On Saturday, Feb. 1, a viewing will held from 9:30-10:30 a.m. followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. at the Cambridge Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 65 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“Our family is grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received over the past few days,” the family statement added. “We are humbled by how many lives he has touched. Clayton felt his life would be measured by the individuals he helped and the ways in which he could serve those around him.”
Christensen was a Harvard professor whose landmark book, “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” revolutionized the business world. That and his additional works launched terms like “disruptive innovation” and disruption beyond the business world and into the zeitgeist of his era.
Christensen was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2019.
The Harvard Business School will hold a memorial service and reception at 2 p.m. on March 13 in Klarman Hall, Soldiers Field Road, Boston, Massachusetts.
The family invited those with personal stories to share to do so at: www.memoriesofclay.com.
It also invited donations in his honor to:
— The non-profit research institute he founded, the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.
— The Clayton Christensen Fund at Harvard Business School.
— The Verda Mae Christensen Fund at Brigham Young University.
“We are grieving,” the family added, “but are also celebrating the legacy of a man who has made an incredible and indelible impact on the worlds of business, of health care, of education, of economic development and beyond. He changed the way people think. He helped them grow. He encouraged them to focus on what is most important: defining and pursuing a meaningful, principled life.”