J. Sterling Livingston (June 7, 1916 – February 14, 2010) was an American entrepreneur, management consultant, and professor at the Harvard Business School for 25 years.

Sterling was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 7, 1916, and grew up in and near Chino, Glendale and Pomona, California.^[1] He worked as a wiper on board a cargo ship, then attended Glendale Junior College, the University of Southern California and the Harvard Business School, where he received his Master of Business Administration in 1940.^[1] During the Second World War he taught the Navy Supply Corps.^[1]

Following the war Sterling received his PhD in Business Administration from Harvard, where he became a professor and taught for 25 years.^[1] His articles "Myth of the Well-Educated Manager" and "Pygmalion in Management" were published in the Harvard Business Review.^[1] He founded or co-founded several consulting companies including the Logistics Management Institute.^[1]

Sterling died on February 14, 2010, and was buried at the Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.^[1]