David M. Bender
Founder and Director General --

The Harkness Institute

 

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Bender achieved 3 majors during his university career: Creative Writing, Psychology and Philosophy. He was designated “Man of the Year” of his graduating class for his leadership in a wide variety of student activities including President of the Student Council.
   He began his business career in 1957 with the General Electric (NY) and served in various management roles for six years thereafter. In 1963 he joined the D’Arcy Advertising Agency in Chicago and later the McCann-Erickson Agency.
  In 1969 Mr. Bender co-founded the advertising agency of Bender, Browning, Dolby and Sanderson and subsequently served on its Board of Partners, supervising all creative enterprise and managing primary accounts for the next 30 years. He retired in 1998. During his tenure the agency grew to one hundred million annual billing with a staff of 120 employees.
  Mr. Bender’s vision of a better educational system for Mexico came from studying the pedagogy of world-class schools in leading countries worldwide. The resulting system of peer-to-peer discussions around a table has proved to be  innovative in Mexico. Its major feature is conference style learning where students study independently and then share their knowledge and insights with the rest of the class. 

   Mr. Bender believes his students can become "citizens of the world." He especially loves hearing from them as they graduate from university and enter their professions. "We are delivering a whole new future for Mexico and I believe they will have a major impact."