For many decades, Japan’s corporate culture has been an enigma to many. Even more puzzling still was how a small, resource-poor nation grew at one point to become the world’s second largest economy. The Harbus met with HBS Professor Hirotaka Takeuchi to demystify what makes Japan unique and what lessons could be drawn. Maintaining a…
Our interview with Larry Summers has not quite started according to plan. Half an hour after we are scheduled to meet in Klarman Hall, where Larry is speaking at a conference marking the 10th anniversary of the global financial crisis, he is still deep in conversation with an attendee while your interviewers hover awkwardly in…
The Retail and Luxury Goods Club successfully hosted their famous Annual Charity Fashion Show on October 25th at Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel. In the 2018 edition of the longstanding HBS tradition, the Fashion Show featured 35 RC and EC models, showcasing styles from top designers to raise money for the Greater Boston Food Bank. This…
On October 1, the southeastern corner of campus featured a flurry of events as HBS dedicated Klarman Hall, a brand-new venue that brings many new possibilities to the community. But that day was not the first time that an event was held in Klarman; it was the culmination of years of planning. The story of…
Beginnings are a good chance to think about objectives and plans, so let’s review what some of the big ideas here at HBS should be for you. For most of you those include learning to be a leader and critical thinker, meeting new friends, having new experiences, learning about yourself and perhaps positioning yourself for…
Every year, incoming RCs are required to complete a number of tasks on their “Prematriculation Checklist” before they arrive at HBS. This summer, the Class of 2020 had to complete an item not seen in previous years’ checklists: an online tutorial entitled “Sexual Violence and Harassment at HBS.” The purpose of this exercise, according to…
HBS Family, On behalf of the Student Association (SA), we are excited to welcome you to what will be a fantastic year at Harvard Business School. As you settle in on-campus and crack open your cases, we would like to share our vision and team for the school year. What is the SA? We work…
This column is addressed mostly to the class of 2018, but perhaps the class of 2019 might take a peek too. First, my congratulations for earning the right to be in perhaps the most admired, sought after and elite group in the business world. You very soon will be a graduate of Harvard Business School….
The Harbus Foundation has announced a total of $60,000 in grant awards to Boston-based nonprofit organizations Empower Schools, Generations Incorporated, and GroundTruth. The recipients took home $20,000 each in the categories of Education, Literacy, and Journalism, respectively, following the Harbus Foundation’s annual gala. The K-12 education efforts of Empower Schools, the Education grant recipient, have…
From starting out licensing coloring books at the Walt Disney company, to Pearson’s Penguin group, AOL Europe, Time Warner International, and then running Sony Pictures, Michael Lynton (MBA ’87) is one of the most experienced executives in the media and entertainment industry. Most recently in 2017 Lynton stepped down as CEO and Chairman of Sony…
Creating a global company with social impact at its heart doesn’t happen overnight. But, as Prodigy Finance demonstrates, it can definitely happen within a matter of years. Cameron Stevens, like any recently-accepted INSEAD candidate, was looking forward to his MBA experience in France. And, like most other grad students, began looking for the financing needed…
Sana Mohammed (MBA ‘19) and Triston Francis (MBA ‘19) have been elected as the Harvard Business School Student Association Co-Presidents for 2018-2019. The co-presidency, elected at the end of February by the RC year, will begin after spring break. Sana and Triston campaigned under an overarching mission to “foster a more collaborative environment that enables…
When Drew Faust announced her intention to step down as Harvard University’s 28th President at the end of this academic year, she invoked “Fair Harvard,” the university’s alma mater, in reflecting upon the resilience of an institution that has found purpose and progress “through change and through storm.” Faust concludes her 11 years at the…
Securing educational financing as an international student is no easy feat. You might think getting into grad school is the tough part, but even securing a seat in a prestigious, competitive MBA program is likely to seem easier than finding the financing to accept it. And, it’s difficult to imagine affording an international MBA (or…
On March 1, 2018, Microsoft released the latest large-scale dataset for machine reading comprehension and question answering. You can access the public dataset, named MS MARCO, at //www.msmarco.org/. As human beings, we are so habituated to the daily routines of reading, writing, and conversing that we may deem it intuitive to transfer our language understanding…
Two billion people worldwide have enrolled in Facebook, and it is fair to say most of them have used the service. Many have integrated Facebook and its services deeply into their lives. While Facebook is the dominant social media product, there are other providers in America and around the world. But allow me to focus…
In 2017, the U.S. economy had a solid year. Unemployment fell to a 17-year low, GDP growth picked up, and the stock market reached record highs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Trump Administration was quick to take credit for these positive developments. “The President’s economic agenda of lower taxes, less regulation, and more opportunity for all is…
After the release of their much anticipated report – Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America – Harvard’s Michael Porter and business executive and political innovation activist Katherine Gehl sat down with Kenneth Zauderer (MBA ’18) to share a bit of color on their findings, what led them to take a business lens…
Interview with Alan Horn (MBA ’71), Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios Alan Horn (HBS ’71) may be the humblest man in Hollywood. This might not be what you’d expect from one of the most influential figures in the film and television industry, and one of the individuals responsible for shaping much of what we’ve watched…
Drew, thank you for taking the time to talk with us, we’re excited to have you. I’d like to take you to the beginning, to the very first days of Dropbox. Some entrepreneurs have a grand vision for their startup to take over the world right from the get-go. Did you ever imagine that Dropbox…
Hi HBS! We are excited to serve as your 2017-2018 Student Association Co-Presidents. We are honored to have the opportunity to represent you and continue the legacy of LaToya and Libby. The leadership our outgoing Co-Presidents have shown over their tenure has not gone unnoticed and is immensely appreciated. HBS is indeed a little smaller,…
To our classmates, As of March 20th 2017, we have officially transitioned the SA presidency to Angelica Castellanos and Kevin Ferguson. We have the utmost confidence in both Angie and Kevin and wish the two of them – and their new team – a very successful year in the SA. When we were elected to…
In a landmark decision, Harvard Business School’s admissions department has announced that, beginning next fall, all applicants will be required to submit their social media passwords to be considered for the full-time MBA program. Admissions Director Chad Losee shared the thinking behind the change. “It was daunting to fill Dee Leopold’s shoes this year; the…
WSA CONFERENCE & THE 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL RACE SERIES: INTERVIEW WITH HEIDI CRUZ Editor-in-Chief Pippa Lamb caught up with the closing keynote speaker of this year’s WSA conference, Heidi Cruz (HBS ’00) to discuss her views on empowerment, a career on Wall Street, working for President George W. Bush, and her time on the 2016…
CEO Series: On a bench with the lady who caught the ball at Nike From a park bench on campus, Cordelia Shackleton (MBA 2018) caught up with Jeanne Jackson (HBS ’78), to chat about her childhood, time at HBS, ascension to the top of the retail and marketing industry, and some candid advice on relationships….
At the end of President Donald Trump’s first week in the White House, Deputy-Editor-in-Chief Pippa Lamb caught up with British politician the Baroness Tessa Jowell of Brixton DBE, former British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Minister for the London 2012 Olympics, and cabinet minister under both the Blair and Brown governments…
This Thanksgiving, like many of you, I spent a few minutes contemplating my many blessings. One blessing in particular provoked a surprising flood of gratitude in my heart: I am deeply and profoundly thankful to Barack Obama for his service to our country over the past eight years. No, this is not a back…
Vipul Chhajer (Class of ’16) sat down with Lord John Browne, the former CEO of British Petroleum and the first openly LBGT leader of a Fortune 100 company, and his co-authors, Robin Nuttall and Tommy Stadlen, to discuss their new book, Connect, and challenges at the intersection of business and society. The following conversation has…
Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble. And if I stay it will be double. So you gotta let me know. Should I stay or should I go? –The Clash Brazil is fighting two battles at this very moment. The first is the biggest economic crisis since 1994, when the Real…
A little under three years ago, Lindsay McGregor graduated from HBS with her MBA. Today she, along with co-author and co-founder Neel Doshi, are the authors of a New York Times best-seller list book, Primed to Perform, and run a hybrid professional services and tech company called Vega Factor. The two endeavors – writing and…