Raising the minimum wage would hurt many of the people it is intended to protect. Last month, Senator Jim Webb delivered the Democratic response to the State of the Union address. In it, he touted minimum wage legislation as a step toward getting “the right things done, for the right people and for the right…
News
February 5, 2007
The Indian Paradox-High Tech, BPO and Beyond
In 1999, my English friends in London summarized India in 10 words “Chicken Tikka Masala, Shahrukh Khan, Taj Mahal, Gandhi, crowds and IT.” They summarized Indians as “software engineers, doctors, bargain hunters, cabbies and newsagents.” Not anymore! On January 26, 2007, at Harvard Business School’s annual SABA Indian Conference, Charles Kaye, Co-President of Warburg Pincus,…
News
January 29, 2007
Reactions and Takeaways from the Latin America Conference
What did you learn in the first keynote session?Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise in Latin AmericaSpeakers: Daniel Servitje (CEO, Grupo Bimbo), Ralph Alvarez (President & COO, McDonald’s Corporation) 1. Migration is an important topic for globalized companies in Latam. 2. Multinationals are now targeting new healthy consumption trends. 3. Macroeconomic and political conditions drastically…
News
January 16, 2007
Rediscovering Latin America at HBS
Two former Presidents, three former finance ministers, 12 chief executive officers and more than 30 managing directors, senior managers and faculty members will get together early next year at the HBS campus to participate in the 2007 HBS Latin American Conference. With the objective of inspiring participants to reflect and act on the fundamental business…
News
October 3, 2006
Marketing Club Kicks Off Distinguished Speakers Series with P&G CEO
What keeps A.G. Lafley, chairman and chief executive officer of Procter & Gamble, up at night? Growth. It is the toughest problem the largest companies, such as P&G, face today, explained Lafley to a packed audience in the Spangler auditorium on Friday, September 22. In fact, in order for P&G to achieve its stated growth…
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September 25, 2006
Global Economic Slowdown and Governance Issues at the IMF-World Bank Meeting
The annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank Group opened in Singapore last week. With a nod to those who found BGIE fascinating last year, this piece introduces two global economic issues which were discussed at the meeting this year. Controversy struck the meeting even before it started. The Singapore government was heavily criticized…
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May 8, 2006
President Summers Speaks on the US' Current Account Paradox
“History suggests that a deficit of seven-plus percent [of GDP] and rising rarely end happy,” said President Summers in a speech last Wednesday at the Burden Auditorium. The former Treasury Secretary, in possibly his last address to the Harvard Business School as Harvard President, warned the large RC audience of the dangers of a ballooning…
News
April 10, 2006
Candid Perspectives:
The Luxury Goods and Design Business Club (LGDBC) and the Retail and Apparel Club co-hosted the second annual Retail and Luxury Goods Conference at the Spangler Auditorium Sunday, April 2. More than 300 attendees from the Harvard community and beyond turned out for the event. Robert Bensoussan, CEO of Jimmy Choo, opened as the keynote…
News
March 1, 2006
JetBlue President: Keep Your Seatbelts Securely Fastened
HBS students love JetBlue. Maybe it’s because of their vision? Tele-vision that is. We’ve come to love the JetBlue experience, but the airline is now facing severe turbulence. Last week the Hospitality and Travel Industry Club hosted Dave Barger, president and COO of JetBlue, who shared amazing insight to the development of the airline and…
News
March 1, 2006
AASU Guiding Light Program for Small Businesses
On February 17, 10 minority businesses from the Dudley Square area of Boston participated in an on-campus financial training workshop sponsored by the African American Student Union (AASU) in partnership with the City of Boston. The workshop, a component of AASU’s Guiding Light Program, which provides small, black-owned businesses with free consulting services, focused solely…
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February 13, 2006
HBS Insider : Financial Markets and Investments
So What Does the (Financial) World Look Like in 2006 So Far? The economic data seems to point to a global slowdown. Although the effects are unevenly distributed among the majors, clearly a soft patch is upon us. Pick GDP, for example, which took a dive and fell unexpectedly to a disappointing 1.1 percent in…
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February 13, 2006
In Defense of Pharmaceuticals: Novartis CEO Speaks to HBSers
Daniel Vasella, M.D, chairman and CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis AG, was on campus last Tuesday to address HBS students in an event jointly hosted by the HBS Healthcare Club and the Strategy Unit. As the first CEO of Novartis, Dr. Vasella had a leading role in the merger of Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy and…
News
February 6, 2006
Climbing High:Patagonia Founder Makes an Impression with Unorthodox Message
“Leading an examined life is a pain in the ass,” Yvon Chouinard, founder of outdoor clothing company Patagonia, cautioned HBS students. The renowned climber, businessman and environmentalist described Patagonia’s journey from an outdoor clothing start-up, growing 50 percent per year, to a more considered, mature company growing at a “natural growth rate.” The company’s rapid…
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January 30, 2006
Fighting AIDS in India Through Strategic Gaming Exercises
Do you ever wonder what it would be like to make a case recommendation in class and receive instantaneous feedback on its implications? Consultants from Booz Allen Hamilton delivered such an opportunity to a group of scientists, policy makers, and industry practitioners at a discussion on fighting AIDS in India during the Aspen Institute Ideas…
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November 21, 2005
Book Review: The Martha Rules
Martha Stewart has written a book about entrepreneurship that is almost an MBA primer. In her newest book, The Martha Rules, Stewart covers not the latest recipe for sticky buns or the latest in glue-gun advancements, but the topics of our first year MBA program in hopes of offering readers a guide to starting their…
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November 14, 2005
Energy Symposium: Prominent Figures Speak to Unlimited Opportunities in Sector
Under the theme of “The Biggest Opportunity in the World”, a lineup of top-level speakers visited HBS this past Wednesday for the annual Energy Symposium. The event was hosted by the HBS Energy Club, and from the record turnout and record number of speakers it was clear that interest in the subject matter has climbed…
News
November 7, 2005
Motorola CEO Ed Zander: Catching the Wave of Prosperity
The Globalization Club, formerly the GO Club, hosted Ed Zander, chairman and CEO of Motorola, on Wednesday, November 2 at Harvard Business School’s Burden Auditorium. Mr. Zander touched on several topics during his talk, including his career progress, Motorola’s turnaround and its future prospects, the wireless industry, and the impact of globalization. He also provided…
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November 7, 2005
The Energy Industry: Opportunities Abound in Tackling Geo-Political Tensions, Environmental Distress
Whether headed to a club on Friday night, or pondering the implications of a strategic career decision, the vast majority of us want to feel that we’re making choices that will leave us looking good…no, not just good, hot. On Friday night, that choice (for ladies that is) might involve a little black dress. When…
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November 7, 2005
HBS Insider : Financial Markets and Investments
As hinted in the last column, October turned out to be a tough month across most markets. In the United States, worries about inflation, slower earnings and economic growth dominated sentiment. In addition, an unexpected event shook investors: the meltdown of Refco, one of the largest commodities and futures brokers in the world. Refco went…
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April 19, 2005
it's time to learn
The Killer Species that’s killing itself: (cretins who call imperative change “unrealistic”)Humans in their infinite stupidity have determined that they are the master-race of the planet. They want to save the environment by killing off Nature and Fellow species so that ever more humans can “survive”. They make consumption more expensive so that they can…
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April 11, 2005
HRES Introduces New Self-Service Leasing System
Harvard Real Estate Services is pleased to announce its new and improved Self-Service Leasing System which offers many benefits to housing applicants. Over the past year Harvard’s Residential Real Estate department has worked to develop an online self-service leasing system that will better serve our affiliates and will enable us to proactively support anticipated growth…
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December 6, 2004
"I am bullish on India": Mr. N. Srinivasan
On Friday (November 19th), members of South Asian Business Association (SABA) met with the Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Mr. N. Srinivasan, to discuss the current economic situation in India. Mr. Srinivasan was bullish on India and expressed his optimism that India will continue to be a major player on the…
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December 6, 2004
My Job is Not to Manage a Museum
The Harbus recently had the opportunity to meet with Chuck Prince, CEO, Citigroup and interview him about what it takes to run a large company like Citi, the greatest challenges that he sees for the company today, his views on leadership, and his life outside the office. Harbus: With the great changes that a large…
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April 20, 2004
Entrepreneurial Idol: Battle of the Business Plans
This year’s Entrepreneurial Idol: Battle of the Business Plans contest put the spotlight on the hottest entrepreneurial ideas and the entrepreneurs behind them during the 20th Annual Entrepreneurship Conference at Harvard Business School. Participants included entrepreneurs from all over the United States; MBA students from HBS, MIT, Wharton, Columbia and Stanford; graduate students from other…
News
April 12, 2004
Harvard Team Wins $10,000 Prize in National Urban Design Competition
A team of students from HBS and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) recently competed in the 2nd annual Urban Land Institute (ULI) Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. The event was held over the past two months, and finalists presented on March 29 in Pittsburgh, PA. The ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban…
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March 8, 2004
Fidelity's Feingold Dishes on Funds, Analysts, and Stock Picks
A veteran Fidelity portfolio manager visited the HBS campus on February 24 to give students a snapshot of the company’s research operations. Jeff Feingold, (HBS ’87), serves as Co-Director of Research for Analysts within Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), a position he accepted just four months ago. Formerly, he managed the firm’s Select Aerospace and…
News
February 2, 2004
How to Make a Bundle in India
The South Asia Business Association and the Entrepreneurship Club invited Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder, Chairman and Group Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, India’s leading private sector telecom company, to give a talk at HBS on January 26th. Using his own story as an example, Mr. Mittal gave valuable insights into the nature of entrepreneurship and…
News
October 6, 2003
News In Brief
EC Student Trapped Under Weight of Own Engagement Ring (Hawes 203) EC student Erica Lodge was clinging to life late last night as firefighters worked to free the 28 year-old from her 3.7 carat princess cut diamond ring that toppled onto her in what has become an all-too-typical engagement ring-related accident. “It was crazy,” said…
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May 5, 2003
A Minute With: John Malkovich
“The Dancer Upstairs” marks John Malkovich’s ‘official’ debut as a feature film Director, but is far from his first effort driving theatrical vision. Malkovich is a two-time Academy Award nominee (“In the Line of Fire” and “Places in the Heart”), a veteran stage director and one of the founders of Chicago’s highly regarded Steppenwolf Theatre…
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April 28, 2003
New Profit Inc.
Inspirational alums: The Social Enterprise Club recently caught up with Alexander Packard (HBS 1997) to get his perspective on his move from the for-profit to the non-profit sector and the challenges and rewards he has experienced in his transition. Harbus: Can you please tell us about yourself? AP: I graduated from HBS in 1997 (the…