HBS at a Glance The above link connects to the most frequent points of contact between the School and its alumni. We hope it will make HBS services more accessible to you, as well as suggest new ways to take advantage of the HBS network. HBS Alumni Association Board of Directors: President's Report Tradition and Outreach at HBS Club de France New York Club Focuses on Entrepreneurship A Canadian Hero
		HBS Global Alumni Conference "Knowledge, Risk & Change: Business Without Walls" Berlin, Germany June 13-16, 2000
		Fall 2000 Reunions/MBA Classes of 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, and 1975 HBS September 21-24, 2000
		Fall Meeting of the HBSAA Board of Directors HBS October 20-21, 2000
		Winter Meeting of the HBSAA Board of Directors HBS January 19-20, 2001
		HBS Global Alumni Conference "Leading in a Changing World: Innovation, Growth, and Transformation" Cleveland, Ohio May 15-18, 2001
		Spring Meeting of the HBSAA Board of Directors/Club Officers Roundtable HBS May 30-31, 2001
		Spring 2001 Reunions/MBA Classes of 1926, 1931, 1936, 1941, 1946, 1951, 1981, 1986, 1991, and 1996 HBS May 31-June 3, 2001
		Executive Education Renewal Program HBS June 3-4, 2001

As you read this, many of you will be returning from HBS and the celebration of your class reunion. Knowing how special these events can be, I trust you had a great time -- reconnecting with old friends, taking in all the changes on campus, receiving an important update on the School from Dean Kim B. Clark, and perhaps even learning a few things at a faculty presentation. These reunions afford graduates a unique opportunity every five years -- to celebrate the past and glimpse the future.

In the days prior to the reunions, the Alumni Board met on campus in conjunction with the Club Officers Roundtable, an annual meeting bringing together club representatives from around the world to discuss issues relevant to programming, membership development, and leadership. I will share with you highlights from the Board's meeting in the next issue of the Bulletin. Please stay tuned.

In the meantime, planning for the HBS Global Alumni Conference in Berlin continues apace, and we are thrilled to see that as of late April, close to one thousand people had registered to attend. This is clearly a record -- and a testament to the compelling program arranged by HBS professor Dwight B. Crane and the conference hosts in Germany, Heiner Thorborg (12th ISMP) and Christoph-Matthias Brand (MBA '94). Not only do the conference sessions offer extraordinary value to today's businessperson, but the opportunity to see Berlin thriving at the start of a new century is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Berlin will be the place to be June 13-16. To rephrase John F. Kennedy, you can all be Berliners! I look forward to seeing you there.

The planning for subsequent conferences is already under way. HBS professor Gary P. Pisano and a strong alumni contingent in northern Ohio have made significant progress in developing a program for the 2001 conference in Cleveland. Scheduled for May 15-18, the conference theme is "Leading in a Changing World: Innovation, Growth, and Transformation." In addition to headline speakers, the event will feature close to 25 HBS faculty members who will give presentations in four areas: transforming the enterprise; starting new ventures; managing innovation; and the IT revolution: implications for strategy and operations. Besides business education, the extracurricular lineup will include the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, the Beach Boys, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I hope that you are among the growing number of alumni who have discovered the latest HBS tool: HBS Working Knowledge is a dynamic Web portal that offers the latest in timely business topics, interviews with faculty and industry leaders, and links to other relevant business resources online. Also of note, alumni can now subscribe to a special set of database research tools, including ABI/Inform, OneSource, and CareerSearch -- all of which are offered to HBS alumni at a discount rate. The new Web portal represents just the beginning of what the School has in mind for this learning and research tool. Log on to www.hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu and have a look at all the content and services at your disposal.

With your help we can try to make the best better! I hope you have a great summer, and best wishes on behalf of the HBS Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Edmund A. Hajim (MBA '64)
May 2000

Like a fine French wine, the HBS Club de France has aged well and been savored by many.

The club was organized in 1934 by the legendary HBS professor General Georges F. Doriot. Jean L. Borit (MBA '33) headed the first postwar meetings, which attracted a dozen members to two annual gatherings: one in early summer and the other on the day of the Harvard-Yale football game, when the French Harvard and Yale clubs got together to celebrate the game's outcome with champagne provided by alumni of the losing alma mater.

Pierre L. Willaime (MBA '49), who served as club president from 1958 to 1974, addressed the needs of an increasing membership while maintaining strong bonds with the School. He instigated a tradition of monthly luncheons as well as an advisory interviewing committee to meet with French applicants to HBS.

In the late 1960s, Dutch graduate Bert W.M. Twaalfhoven (MBA '54) was instrumental in beginning a tradition of meetings for all European alumni. The first was held in Amsterdam in 1966, with HBS clubs in other European capitals subsequently following suit. The Club de France hosted the event in 1972, when five hundred HBS alumni and guests gathered at a gala dinner at the Château de Versailles.

The French club took European unity a step further in 1972, publishing the first European HBS directory, which was distributed free of charge to seven thousand European alumni. Today the club also publishes a French directory listing French alumni living abroad as well as those in France. "The latter group is close to twelve hundred," notes Willaime, who is still very active in club affairs, "and some 60 percent are dues-paying members."

Currently under the leadership of President Pierre S. Bonelli (MBA '66), the French club draws alumni to numerous events, including monthly luncheons, guided visits to major art shows, and the annual Management Prize award ceremony. Since the late 1980s, notes Executive Director Marie-Hélène de Rancher, the club has been instrumental in securing loans for French students at HBS and, more recently, in recruiting young members. "The club has been very active for a long time, and our past is very rich," de Rancher says with pride. "We look forward to a bright future."

- Amy E. Dean

New York Club Focuses on Entrepreneurship

As interest in entrepreneurship grows, so too does the number of alumni events focused on this hot topic. The HBS Club of Greater New York, for instance, recently hosted its second annual America's Entrepreneur Awards ceremony. "We inaugurated our awards program last year to recognize the accomplishments of those companies that are transforming old industries and creating new ones," said Club President Ron Gerber (MBA '86). As an example, Gerber cited Steve Nicol, cofounder of this year's winning company, Puma Technology. The club also sponsored an Internet conference in conjunction with the awards dinner. More than five hundred attendees listened to a compelling keynote address by America Online CFO Michael Kelly and participated in a seminar led by HBS associate professor Amar V. Bhidé that touched on the findings of his recent book, The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses.

In April, the club hosted "Untethered New York: Strategies for Success in the Mobile Internet World," in cooperation with the New York Times and angelbeat.com. Carl Yankowski, CEO of Palm, Inc., and Microsoft's SVP Craig Mundie were featured speakers.

For information on future events, visit the club's Web site at www.hbscny.org or contact Ron Gerber, at 212-879-6808, rgerber@gerbercompany.com, or Kate Workman, executive director, at 212-947-5544, hbscny@worldnet.att.net.

A Canadian Hero

Describing him as a "brilliant entrepreneur, a distinguished son of Harvard, a beautiful friend, a remarkable man, a committed citizen, and a proud Canadian," the HBS Club of Toronto honored Gerald W. Schwartz (MBA '70) at a gala dinner held in early April.

Schwartz, who "ranks near the top of any list of the most successful business leaders this country has ever produced," according to the Toronto Globe and Mail, is president and CEO of ONEX, a thriving public company he founded sixteen years ago. A diversified global firm specializing in private equity and acquisitions, with current revenues of $15 billion, ONEX is involved with over one hundred companies spanning two dozen industries on six continents.

In addition to his success in business, Schwartz was praised for his work as a philanthropist and a Canadian citizen. "Gerry's life illustrates the full possibilities of our nation," said University of Toronto president J. Robert Prichard.

After accepting the club's award -- and with it, a Harvard chair -- Schwartz, a Winnipeg native, briefly discussed his career and, quoting President Theodore Roosevelt, encouraged his audience "to dare mighty things."