Tyler Confoy (MBA ’26) connects with Jana Kierstead on life, work, and the future of business education.
Jana Kierstead always knew she wanted to work in some form of service operation. First as a snack bar girl at her grandfather’s country club in Rye, New York. Then, as a Hotelie at Cornell during undergrad, and most recently as the Executive Director of MBA, Doctoral Programs and External Relations. From the time Jana started at HBS in 1999, she has been instrumental in launching both the FIELD Global Immersion course and Harvard Business School Online, and along the way has gone from managing zero to over 300 people. I spoke to Jana about life before HBS, and the journey she’s been on here for 25 years.
Where did you grow up?
I'm a New Yorker, so I grew up in Westchester and Manhattan. School was super impactful for me. I went to the same school from first through twelfth. I had a fairly dysfunctional childhood and that was, for me, stability. I know this is where I found my love for this kind of a community and what it can do for people.
What was your first job, and what did you think you were going to do when you grew up?
My family had country clubs. I was always at the snack bar, or I worked as a waitress. So, I thought it was always going to be some sort of service-based business.
I went to Cornell; I was a Hotelie, and I learned how to run a service-based business. The first thing I did [after college] was try hotels, and I realized I was not a 24/7 gal. Media was a family business, so I went to work for my dad’s media company. I got to commute back and forth with him to work, so that was really special. I went and got my MBA [at Northwestern], did a summer in banking, and got the offer. I said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” and I went and worked at CBS. That was the dream job coming out of school. Loved it, but there was a CEO change, and so the strategy group that I was in dissolved. I tried executive search after that, for media companies. It didn't speak to me.
I got engaged, got married, moved to Boston, and I thought, okay, let me take some time off. I ended up [with] three days between jobs, and I went from AT Kearney Executive Search to HBS.
What was your first job here?
My first job here was the Careers Office [in 1999]. I was inclined toward mentoring and coaching. In those first five years, I kind of moved around and did every job in the shop, and then I was the Director, MBA Career Services [starting in 2004]. Booms, busts, great recessions, it was a super interesting time to be in Careers.
Nitin Nohria became Dean in 2010, and he decided he wanted to create the FIELD course. He asked me if I would build up the infrastructure that is now GEO (Global Experience Office) within the Careers Office. So, I started to work with faculty, and then moved over to the Executive Director of MBA Program role [in 2012]. In this role I oversee admissions, financial aid, student life, student support, student global and careers. I was [in this role] for 17 months and got another phone call from Nitin and he said, “I'm doing this online thing, this HBX thing. Can you go over to HBX and do what you did for FIELD for HBX?” I was like, “Um? I don’t know software, I have no hardware experience. I'm not your gal.” Either way I ended up at HBX [now Harvard Business School Online] for two and half years. I agreed to go as long as I was able to come back to this role, because I love students.
How did you lead in the HBX role when you didn’t have much technical experience?
I spent a lot of time on Wikipedia. What's Python? What's Jingo? What’s a technology stack? I had no clue. I asked a lot of questions. Apparently they were halfway decent, because the team said I did pretty well. That whole experience was super interesting. How do you create a startup in an organization like this?
What do you get excited about in your role here?
I get really excited when people find what they're meant to do. It doesn't so much matter if it's a leap or a pivot, but when they take the time to really understand what gets them excited and find that job that's a good match. And it doesn't always happen right out of school. You either need to build skills, or you get a little distracted by what everybody's doing. But then when you find your way back to the thing that you're meant to do. That's the best, because then it doesn't feel like work.
Have there been mentors in your life who have had a significant impact on you?
It’s corny and cliche, but it's my dad for sure. I learned a ton from him — just how you conduct yourself and how you engage in business. I learned a ton from Nitin, our former dean. He just has a very special way of engaging the people. It was amazing to watch. We are so lucky [with our faculty members, too]. I’ll pick up the phone and just say, “I don't know what to do. Can I come to your office hours?” Me, as an employee, and I get to go and meet with someone who is a consultant for Fortune 500 companies.
What core leadership principles have you developed?
I believe in hiring all-around players as opposed to position players. Really smart people with great attitudes and resilience — I’d take that any day over an expert in X, Y or Z. I think we can teach people skills. But to have the grits and the can-do and positivity and energy and overall skill set, I would hire for that any day over the position player.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Create your own personal board of advisers, people that you can go to who will call you out, to say, “That is blankity blank,” or “This is what you said you were setting out to do, are you still on that path? ” People who know you well and can ask you the tough questions.
How have you seen students change over your time with the MBA program?
Certain sectors were born while I've been here. Private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, that wasn't a thing. So, when I first came into the Careers Office, it was an entirely different world where the students’ industry backgrounds were rather homogeneous, and their interests leaving were pretty homogeneous. And now it’s 1,800 different job searches. It's a completely individualized ballgame because people are coming in with so many different experiences, and they're wanting to do a variety of things.
What excites you and what scares you the most about the future of business education?
What excites me? I believe that business can change lives. I believe that business can end the cycle of poverty. I believe it is the answer to a lot of the problems of the world. What scares me is that I feel like business has become, maybe, a dirty word in a younger generation. I ask my kids, “You guys have any interest in coming to the business school?” They're like, “No, what?” I think they don't necessarily understand, which obviously is my failing, what a business degree can do, or what business is. That bookstore you're working in? That's a business. You have to understand how to run it if you want to be successful. So, I'm concerned about the pipeline. I'm concerned about making sure people understand the value of business and its role in solving problems, and how to open up that aperture for people.
How have you seen the perceived value of an MBA change and how do you think it will continue to change?
I think the press and media obsess over the first job, and that's how they define the ROI. Sorry, but this a 50-or 60-year experience, to be honest, and yes, you're in the first two [years] and those are the most immersive. But in my experience, this experience lasts a lifetime, so I would not measure the value of an MBA on which job you get out of here. I don't remember how much I made in my first job out of here; it's not relevant anymore. But how it impacts your life, the partnerships that you're able to make at work; how it impacts deals, or understanding of other cultures, or friendships; and how it impacts the way that you navigate your career and life... all will be impacted by HBS for a lifetime.
When you were leading the RC orientation program, you mentioned that HBS is no longer commenting on social issues. Could you expand on that?
We want to encourage discourse in all parts of life, whether it's inside the classroom or outside the classroom. If the institution has a view, that can silence [voices], and we don't want to be in that position. An academic setting is different from a corporate setting. In an academic setting, you want to actually get more voices in the room, and us having a voice does not make sense. So, we will not have a voice, even though we care deeply. And I think that's the one thing I want to make sure doesn't get misconstrued. Just because we're not commenting on something doesn't mean we don't care that people are struggling or there's been a loss. We care deeply, and we're going to be reaching out to individuals who might be affected by a flood in their home region or something like that, but we're not going to comment on it.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I go to a lot of soccer games. My children are athletes. I have one who just graduated from college, and she's looking for a job — it’s really fun to have a former career coach as a mom — one who's at University of Wisconsin, she's a sophomore; and then a son who’s a senior at boarding school. And then we have a lot of pets. It's slightly insane. Three cats, one bunny, and we will be welcoming a new dog in the new year.
What do the first couple hours of your day look like?
That’s embarrassing. Well, there are the farm chores — I gotta feed the cat, the pets, and clean up after all the pets. And then honestly, I open up my laptop. It’s so bad, but I hope to get that back to a normal state — I've only been in the new job since January (“External Relations” was added to Jana’s title in January, which includes Alumni Relations & Development).
And the last couple?
Again, embarrassing, The Dodo. It’s an Instagram account that shows all rescues, pet stories. It’s on brand. Or there are a couple African safari [Instagram accounts] about the elephants I really enjoy. So, I look at my happy pet stories. Or once in a while, Ted Lasso. It’s gotta be upbeat.
Tyler Confoy (MBA '26) grew up between North Carolina and Florida, and studied journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. She has spent the last several years working in TV Production and sustainability in New York City, most notably for HBO/Max shows. Prior to her TV career she worked in magazine journalism.
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