HBS Alumni Association Board of Directors: President's Report

As the newly elected president of the HBS Alumni Association, I am very excited at the prospect of leading this important organization and representing your interests to the School over the course of my two-year term. I would like to express my appreciation to Monty Milner for leading the Board so effectively over the last two years - it is a pleasure to inherit such a healthy organization. My fellow Board members and I are committed to carrying out the overall mission of the Board, which is to continually evaluate the quality and quantity of programs offered to HBS graduates and to strive to find new and important ways to add value for our alumni constituency.

The Alumni Association Board of Directors meets three times a year on campus, as well as at each annual Global Alumni Conference. At these meetings we hear about new initiatives and projects from HBS faculty and administrators. In addition, committees are formed to develop programs that respond to specific issues of concern to alumni. This year, the committees will be structured around the following topics.

Online Services for Alumni

In an effort to refine the online services available to alumni, this committee will examine ways in which technology can be used proactively to serve alumni. Possible projects include developing a strategy for "push" technology, designing a format for communicating regularly with graduates about faculty research and course development, developing a more robust Web site, and augmenting the online alumni directory. The committee's goal is to use technology to better communicate news and information to alumni and to facilitate communication between alumni.

Positioning Clubs for the Next Century

HBS clubs (both domestic and international) are working harder than ever to attract and retain members. Membership growth and retention is a challenge, given the busy schedules of all alumni and the fact that people transition through jobs and locations more quickly, are more selective about which organizations to join, and are more demanding of the events they do attend. This committee will attempt to determine how clubs should define themselves to compete in the 21st century. The committee will undertake a marketing analysis in conjunction with a group of clubs, the goal being to create workable models for improving membership and enhancing programming.

Alumni Continuing Education for the Millennium

Building on the work begun in 1998, this committee will continue to look at the viability of offering continuing education to HBS alumni. Feedback tells us that alumni of all ages are looking for opportunities to tap back into the unique educational experience they encountered at HBS. Opportunities for engaging in professional "redipping" currently include reunions, global conferences, and club-sponsored lectures and programs. To expand upon these offerings, the committee will look carefully at emerging technologies and other possible delivery mechanisms for making continuing education more accessible to alumni. The group will work with administrators from Baker Library, Executive Education, External Relations, and HBS Publishing to discuss possible topics and formats.

In addition to these standing committees, there are two subcommittees that provide guidance and feedback on nominations to the Board as well as assistance with the Global Alumni Conferences.

In each issue of the Bulletin, I will follow my predecessors' lead and inform you about the activities of the Board. In addition to maintaining a list of current Board members on the HBS Alumni Web site (www.alumni.hbs.edu) and in the Bulletin, we will use subsequent issues of the magazine to profile new members of the Board. Please feel free to contact us with your thoughts or recommendations. Our goal is to find ways to enhance communication between alumni and reinforce your connection to HBS. Your input is very important to our success.

Best wishes on behalf of the HBS Alumni Association Board of Directors!

Edmund A. Hajim (MBA '64)
September 1999

HBS Clubs Help Nonprofits Succeed

In towns and cities across the country, HBS club members are putting their expertise to work helping local nonprofit organizations solve an array of interesting challenges. Alumni agree that it's a rewarding and enjoyable way to make a significant contribution to their communities. A case in point is the Community Partners (CP) program of the HBS Association of Northern California. Founded in 1986, CP has involved more than four hundred alumni in providing pro bono consulting services to nearly 130 nonprofit organizations. CP volunteers have helped the Girls Scouts of Santa Clara County become financially self-reliant, created a business plan for the Rainforest Action Network, evaluated public television station KQED's external communications, and are devising a long-term strategic plan for the American Lung Association, to cite just a few examples. Says CP chair Nayla Rizk (MBA '84), "I had always wanted to do something in the community, and CP lets me leverage what I know how to do to really help an organization."

After Jay Misra (MBA '82) and Kathy Salmanowitz (MBA '78) moved from San Francisco to New York, they launched a similar effort there in 1998. Since then, the New York Community Partners program has seen more than one hundred volunteers tackle consulting projects ranging from strategic planning to marketing to technology management. Aside from offering alumni an opportunity to try their hand at community service, "it's also a chance to meet fellow HBSers with similar interests and community consciousness," says Misra.

Other clubs in the United States and overseas have also shown a strong interest in social enterprise. The Atlanta, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Malaysia clubs have sent local nonprofit executives to HBS to attend Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management, a program offered by Executive Education and the Initiative on Social Enterprise. In addition, several clubs, including Philadelphia and Northern California, have sponsored summer internships in their communities for HBS students interested in social enterprise.

HBS clubs benefit in many ways from their involvement in social enterprise programs, notes Sandra Mallalieu, assistant director of Alumni Programs and the School's liaison with alumni clubs. "It's a way for clubs to develop contacts with senior nonprofit and corporate executives, increase networking opportunities for alumni, expand membership, engage with the local community, and heighten club visibility among current HBS students," Mallalieu says. A wealth of best practices, ideas, news, information, and club contacts can be found at www.alumni.hbs.edu/clubs.

(This article is adapted from the HBS Initiative on Social Enterprise newsletter, People & Practice, Spring/Summer 1999.)

Making the Case for Maine:
HBS Club and State's CEO Discuss Business Issues

Since the case method was introduced to management education by HBS in the 1920s, its approach to understanding business through real-world examples has been employed in thousands of classrooms throughout the world. Last May, the HBS Club of Maine took this tried-and-true learning tool into new territory by drafting a case study about the business potential of their state. At an event held in Falmouth attended by Maine Governor Angus King, HBS professor D. Quinn Mills, HBS professor emeritus (and Maine resident) Wickham Skinner - who led the discussion - and eighty HBS alumni and their guests, participants addressed both the positive and the negative factors that business encounters in a state best known by the nickname inscribed on its license plates: "Vacationland."

"The whole discussion was predicated on a very simple premise: the state of Maine is antibusiness," says Christina Lane-Merrill (MBA '82), marketing strategist and director of research at ViA Marketing & Design, a strategic brand management company based in Portland. President of the newly reinstated HBS Club of Maine, Lane-Merrill is one of three hundred HBS alumni who reside in Maine. She is committed to expanding business opportunities in this scenic northeastern state that has traditionally been associated with tourism, logging, and a single company - L.L. Bean. "The dialogue has begun on how to make the state more hospitable to business," Lane-Merrill says, "and the state government is very interested in bringing business here."

With this in mind, Lane-Merrill organized the May event and crafted the case about Maine, titled "The Way Business Life Should Be?: An HBS Case Study on the State of Maine," which is a play on the state's motto, "The Way Life Should Be." The case highlights Maine's positive draws for new business, including location, lifestyle, a loyal and dedicated work force, and a sophisticated fiber-optic telecommunications system. It also lays out the problems that new businesses face, such as high taxes and a lack of capital and properly skilled workers. The case stimulated debate among Maine's business leaders and entrepreneurs, who left the event with a clearer understanding of the problems that keep Maine from attracting new business. At the end of the discussion, Governor King spoke about his commitment to increasing business in Maine and encouraged attendees to continue to work on making a difference.

Energized by the event's success, Lane-Merrill is planning future meetings to discuss common business goals at the state level and to stimulate networking among HBS alumni. In the spring, the club will host a gathering that will focus on the geographic strengths of the state in an effort to "put Maine on the map," Lane-Merrill says. "Maine is the heartland of the North Atlantic. We are interested in building business strategies for the state based on that fact."

by Janine Brunell Looker