HBS Alumni Association Board of Directors: President's Report

A change of seasons often means new beginnings, and I am delighted to report that the Alumni Association Board of Directors got off to an energetic start at its first meeting of the 1999-2000 term, held on campus October 15 and 16.

You may remember from my last letter that the Board has identified three areas to address in committee this year:

• Alumni continuing education for the new millennium
• Online services for alumni
• Positioning clubs for the next century

Each of these committees has important implications for you as a graduate of HBS, and I will report on their progress in the next issue of the Bulletin.

In the meantime, I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage you to take advantage of two exciting new offerings available to HBS alumni.

Earlier this fall, the School introduced Working Knowledge, a Web-based gateway to the intellectual capital of HBS. The site (www.hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu) was developed to provide business professionals with critical information and insight into timely management topics and areas that reflect a rapidly changing landscape. Updated regularly, the site includes research developed by HBS faculty, material produced by HBS Publishing, career and networking information, and access to many search engines and databases. For more information, check out the article on page 6 of this issue. This is a valuable resource for all HBS alumni, and I urge you to explore it the next time you are on the Web.

Moving our attention from the HBS campus to another continent, our alumni friends in Germany have been doing a wonderful job of organizing the upcoming 2000 HBS Global Alumni Conference, scheduled to take place in Berlin, June 13-16. This milestone three-day event, titled "Knowledge, Risk & Change: Business Without Walls," will feature twenty HBS faculty members along with first-rate speakers and panelists drawn from the top companies in Europe. Key themes include technology, corporate strategy, globalization, and entrepreneurship. Specific sessions will be held on "The Role of Global Financial Firms," "Global Brands: Connecting with Consumers across Boundaries," and "The Long-Term Impact of E-Commerce." This conference, like its predecessors, offers a unique opportunity. Where else can you hear from the best and brightest among the HBS faculty, network with fellow alumni and compelling business leaders, and witness an extraordinary city reestablishing itself at the tenth anniversary of its reunification? This will be a historic conference, one you will not want to miss. In addition to the formal program, the organizers have arranged for some truly special pre- and postconference tours. Why not make this a multidimensional trip and take advantage of all there is to offer?

If you haven't already signed up for the conference, do so immediately by visiting the conference Web site (www.hbsberlin.com) or contacting the HBS Global Alumni Conference Office in Germany by phone (49-69-15051-74), fax (49-69-15051-88), or e-mail (info@hbsberlin.com).

These are exciting times at HBS. The School is identifying valuable and meaningful ways for us to stay in touch with each other through dynamic new Web sites and stimulating conferences, as well as through tried and true vehicles such as reunions, club events, the Bulletin, and class notes. These services and programs offer something for everyone. Please take the time to investigate what works best for you, and let us know how we can continue to keep you in contact with each other and with the School.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season!

Edmund A. Hajim (MBA '64)
November 1999

Big Doings in Big Apple: New York Club Hosts Multiple Events

In the city that never sleeps, the Harvard Business School Club of Greater New York is seldom at rest, as its busy schedule of activities in recent months indicates. Last May, for example, with more than four hundred people in attendance at its International Dinner, the club honored Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), and Charles R. ("Chuck") Lee (MBA '64), chairman and CEO of GTE Corporation. Edelman, who established the CDF in 1973, received the club's Leadership Award and was introduced and praised by Michael J. Johnston (MBA '62) as an individual who has "positively changed the lives of millions of children" and who is an inspiring example "of how leadership transcends business and politics."

The club's Business Statesman Award was presented to Chuck Lee by Rajat K. Gupta (MBA '73), who observed that "there has never been a more exciting time to be on the cutting edge of technology, and GTE is leading the way. Chuck Lee understands that an organization is only as good as the men and women in it."

Proceeds from the International Dinner help support the club's many other activities, which annually include dozens of events that feature prominent business and financial leaders; the Community Partners program, which provides pro bono management consulting to New York-area nonprofits; and financial aid for students entering HBS.

An example of one of the club's many initiatives is the Angel Investor Conference, inaugurated last year, which attracted some five hundred attendees to this year's session in September. Said conference organizer Brian Carlton Byrd (MBA '92), "We want to help foster the same investment climate for New York's Silicon Alley that California's Silicon Valley firms have enjoyed for years." In addition to networking opportunities, the event, whose speakers included HBS professor Myra M. Hart, featured discussions on the specifics of financing and running a startup.

Last month, the club held a one-day symposium, "The Internet for the Next Millennium," with a number of HBS alumni Internet entrepreneurs and members of the HBS faculty serving as speakers and panelists. Sessions were devoted to "Bandwidth and Hardware," "Technology and Services," "Content, Commerce, and Community," and "Financing the Next Millennium." Looking ahead, the club's Entrepreneurs' Exhibition and Conference is scheduled for February. Details of that event can be found at the club's Web site (www.hbscny.org).