Russ Banham

Russ Banham (born September 20, 1954) is an American author and reporter formerly with The Journal of Commerce and later a freelance journalist writing for The Wall Street Journal, Inc., Forbes, The Economist, Euromoney, Financial Times, Chief Executive and several other business publications and trade magazines. Banham is the author of 31 books, including The Ford Century, an acclaimed history of Ford Motor Company translated into 13 languages; Higher, the best-selling history of aerospace giant Boeing and the U.S. aviation industry; Problem Solving: HBS Alumni Making a Difference in the World, a co-authored history of Harvard Business School (HBS), written with HBS Professor emeritus Howard Stevenson, and the first (2009) and second (2020) editions of The Fight for Fairfax, a 150-year political and economic history of Northern Virginia and the Greater Washington Region. Banham is also a former actor known for co-starring with Bill Murray in the 1979 film Meatballs, and as a playwright and theatre director. Education and early life Banham graduated from St. John's University in New York City, where he studied Speech and Theatre. He later earned a Master of Arts in Drama Theory and Criticism from the University of Montana. On a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship at the university, he also earned a Master of Fine Arts in Directing and Playwriting, while teaching classes in drama for three years.