Chiyoung Kim’s (MBA ’23) summary of an RC’s work-in-progress journey so far in defining his masculinity I was born in Seoul, Korea on April 21, 1995. I grew up raised by my parents and my maternal grandparents. In this early few 4-5 years of my life, all I knew was that I wanted to grow…
Three full dictatorships at the heart of the Caribbean challenge the US democratic capitalism model, Martin Rodriguez Rodriguez reports For the first time since the 1980s the Western Hemisphere is home to three full-fledged dictatorships. Last month Nicaragua’s sham elections granting Daniel Ortega a fourth consecutive term formally consolidated the so-called Troika of Tyranny. The…
Mark Tomasovic (MBA ’20) shares his insight into the exciting progress of the renewable energy industry Change happens slowly, and then all at once. At least when it comes to renewable energy. For the last century, power plants have been built and operated the same way. A coal-fired or gas-fired plant would generate electricity in…
Part of a series of articles on female founders, Ziana Kotadia (MBA ’22) asks Rachel Drapper (MBA ’22) and Asena Uyguner (MBA ’22) about their startup Fairshare, which is helping make couples happier and more equitable at home. Tell us more about your startup, Fairshare? Drapper: Fairshare is a solution to help couples live happier…
For HBS US Army Veteran Jake Ahle (MBA ’22), the mission to protect never ends. Tell us more about your background and what inspired you to be an entrepreneur. Ever since I was young, I found myself gravitating toward leadership roles. Whether it was captaining a sports team or leading student government, I always sought…
Felipe Cerón (MBA ’22) reports on HBS most expected comeback. Oh, we’ve missed live performances. As I write this piece the show hasn’t happened yet, but if you were lucky enough to get tickets (and I mean it, four 200+ people shows sold out in one day, and the team had to squeeze in another…
Katherine Richardson (MBA ’23) interviews Drake about his first few months on the job. Terrill L. Drake began his role as Harvard Business School’s first chief diversity and inclusion officer (CDIO) on September 1 of this year. Drake has worked in higher education for more than 18 years, most recently at the Villanova School of…
A Farewell Letter The summer before joining HBS was a very difficult one. We were locked down, embassies were closed, it was impossible to know what the future would look like. It was impossible to imagine what life at HBS would look like. It was that summer that I read the post on Slack “we…
While many in the South Asian community at HBS celebrated Diwali—the festival of lights—far away from their homes, some found their own ways to make up. The Indian festival of Diwali fell in the first week of November this year (the dates change every year according to the Hindu calendar), right after the Halloween weekend….
Ziana Kotadia (MBA ’22) asks Professor Trevor Fetter (MBA ’86) for post MBA career advice For students who still don’t know what they want to do with their careers, how would you advise them to narrow down their search? I have a remarkably large number of conversations on this question. A wise former CEO and…
A group of health and wellness enthusiasts launch a brand new HBS student club Now more than ever, focusing on health and wellness has become a staple for staying sane in our new day-to-day. As many elements of our lives continue to change, we have noticed a pull towards healthy living, whether through at-home workouts,…
Ahead of his upcoming move into the Dean’s House, Dean Datar takes some time to talk to the Harbus. Israt Tarin (MBA ’22) and Raseem Farook (MBA ’21) report. On January 1 this year, Srikant Datar was appointed the 11th Dean of the Harvard Business School in the school’s 112 year history, replacing Nitin Nohria,…
Team JEDI talks to Ziana Kotadia (MBA ’22) about the role of businesses in achieving racial equity. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among numerous others, triggered an unprecedented national movement for racial justice. While systemic racism has plagued American history for decades and is yet to be dismantled, individuals and…
Founders Jiyoon Han (MBA ’22), Luqzan Mustafa Kamal (MBA ’21) and Ethan Hirsch (MBA ’21) elaborate on their love and enthusiasm for brewing. Raseem Farook (MBA ’21) reports. The spring of 2020 saw the arrival of the Coffee and Tea Club at HBS. Founded by Jiyoon Han (MBA ’22), Luqzan Mustafa Kamal (MBA ’21) and…
Samara Sone-Blank reports on the first time in recent memory when HBS commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day that commemorates the genocide of Jewish people that took place at the hands of the German Nazis and their collaborators from 1939 to 1945. Although Jews were the major…
Diversity Is a Source of Strength The process of wrapping up the edition of this issue transported me to the words I wrote for the October issue of 2020 to introduce myself as the then-new Women Leadership Editor: The stories we read, we listen to, we tell, inevitably shape our understanding of the world. Storytelling,…
“Such phantoms as the dignity of man and the dignity of work are the feeble products of a slavery that hides from itself” – Nietzsche For as long as I can remember being lucid and able to reason, I hated the idea of working to survive. I sought honor in being fed and clothed. To…
Meet Your New Topic Editors! I am constantly amazed by how fast our time at HBS goes by. This month marks my first anniversary with the Harbus and true to form, we are excited to welcome the new crop of Topic Editors who will add investigative, thought-provoking, and well-rounded stories to our pages in the…
James Williams (MBA ’21) introduces us to MasterGlass, a new platform to connect customers with wineries and tasting experts. Tell us more about your background and what inspired you to be an entrepreneur. I have always loved the idea of building a business from the ground up. Our first-year TEM course inspired me and gave…
Raseem Farook (MBA ’21) reports on the first (and hopefully only) edition of Virtual RC START. My favorite event from RC START last year was the Reciprocity Ring. As noted by Gabriel Ellsworth (MBA ‘20) in his article, “RCs Learn to Give and Take,” Harbus, September 2019, this guided collaboration exercise teaches its participants to…
A pocket-sized run-down of some of the best in Arts and Culture happening at HBS, at Harvard, and around town this month. 1) From the Student Association (SA): The SA teamed up with ArtRoom to host the Sheila Del Bosque Trio on March 2 for a night of jazz, refreshments, and conversation in…
Upoma Dutta (MBA ’21) talks with Brickson Diamond and Sarah Harden (MBAs ’99) about their efforts to advance the diversity and inclusion agenda in the U.S. media industry. For many RCs, one of the most remarkable experiences on campus last semester was listening first-hand to civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson in the newly created ISDL…
In January, 44 ECs led by Professor Willy Shih (TOM) and Professor Meg Rithmire (BGIE) traveled across Asia to study globalization and international relations on the ground. Gabriel Ellsworth and Ryo Takahashi (MBAs 2020) report. On January 5, 2020, an arduous undertaking was under way as 44 ECs, two professors, two program managers, and staff…
RC students embark on an excursion to New England’s 101-year-old furniture company. Jiyoon Han (MBA ’21) reports. Professor Michael Toffel and 20 Required Curriculum (RC) students embarked on a Technology and Operations Management (TOM) field trip to Jordan’s Furniture in Reading on October 3, 2019. Jordan’s Furniture is a furniture retailer founded 101 years ago…
An ancient civilization restores its “rightful” place in the world, but where does it belong? Ryo Takahashi (MBA ’20) talks with Professor Meg Rithmire. China’s transformation from a rural, agrarian society to an economy second only to that of the United States feels less like a successful growth story and more like a miracle. Underlying…
C’est le provisoire qui dure (“it’s the makeshift that lasts”). Nestled near the end of the case that RCs were assigned for Friday’s BGIE class, this adage was a thought-provoking highlight amidst a dense and challenging account of Bretton Woods and the liberal world order spanning 15½ pages (plus 14 exhibits—ECs, don’t you miss BGIE?)….
Recently two former CEOs of large multinational companies (one British and one American) were talking about the most serious mental health problems that exist in the large American and British universities they each chair. Surprisingly the challenge on both sides of the Atlantic and echoed at two university chair meetings they had just attended was…
Ever since Thomas Edison flipped the switch on the world’s first permanent power station in 1882, energy has flowed in a single direction: from large-scale, centralized generators out to homes and businesses. For a long time, this hub-spoke model made the most sense. Large cities consume a lot of power, and it’s far cheaper to…
This month, as Dear Harby is enjoying a well-deserved October break amid the dunes of Cabo with her counterparts from the Law (Dear Torty), Design (Dear Artsy), and Divinity (Dear God) schools, we wanted to pass along a bit of Harbus humor history. Eleven years ago, one enterprising HBS student set out to examine life…
For ECs returning back to campus after a long summer away from the HBS bubble, the first days have been filled with catching up on friends’ stories of travels, treks and internships. As usual, we have been awed and inspired by the range of our classmates’ professional interests and experiences over the past few months….