Student Conferences Tackle Business Issues Spangler Center Opens to Rave Reviews TIME OUT — Teresa Clarke: An Advocate for Education in South Africa Trek Talk Hit Radio Show and HBS Alumni Help Young Classical Musicians Professor Thomas Kennedy Remembered     Student Conferences Tackle Business Issues ach year hundreds of hardworking HBS students volunteer their time to arrange on-campus conferences that attract a wide variety of top-notch speakers, expert panelists, and enthusiastic audience participants. Working through student clubs, MBAs organize gatherings that focus on themes of interest to their fellow students — business in Europe, health-care careers, and entrepreneurship, to name a few. The strong tradition of student conferences continued this year; below are highlights of a few of the myriad events held in January and February. More information on student conferences and clubs can be found at http://wasat.hbs.edu/sa/saclubs/newclubs.htm.     Cyberposium 2001 Focuses on Quality     The seventh annual Cyberposium high-technology conference, held on campus in early February, brought together a host of high-tech visionaries, students, and academics for an exploration of new economy themes ranging from getting back to sustainable business models to the emerging wireless landscape. “Over the past year, we have seen a flight to quality in the technology market, where MBA students are paying much more attention to the sustainability of new economy business models,” noted Cyberposium cochair David Margalit (HBS ’01). “This year’s conference reflected that change in attitude.” Opening speaker Tim Koogle, then CEO of Yahoo!, shared the presentation spotlight with a dozen high-tech luminaries, including Jim Barksdale, a partner at the Barksdale Group and former CEO of Netscape; Hank Barry, CEO of Napster; Irwin Jacobs, chairman and CEO of QUALCOMM; and Carl Yankowski, CEO of Palm, Inc. Representatives from top venture-capital and consulting firms joined a diverse mix of corporate executives and students in discussion panels, venture-capital feedback sessions, entrepreneurial boot-camp modules, a career fair, and the Cyberposium TechShow, which showcased cutting-edge products and technologies that have the potential to make a substantial impact on everyday life. The three-day event also featured a concurrent one-day segment in Chicago that was linked via Webcast to the HBS conference. Cyberposium@Chicago addressed the specific needs and interests of the Chicago high-tech and new-media community, bringing students and alumni from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, along with members of the Greater Chicago/Midwestern high-tech business community, into closer contact with industry leaders at the HBS conference. “The volatility of the Nasdaq over the last year has not been lost on the Classes of 2001 and 2002,” said conference cochair Riad Bsaibes (HBS ’01). “The state of the market has made for a more serious tone on campus, and that was reflected in this year’s conference. MBAs are never afraid to ask tough questions, and the Cyberposium provided a forum for students and industry leaders to explore some difficult issues together.” More information about Cyberposium 2001 can be found online at www.cyberposium.org.       AASU Conference Looks to the New Economy     The 29th annual career and alumni conference sponsored by the HBS African-American Student Union (AASU) celebrated the accomplishments of distinguished members of the African-American business community and examined paths to success in the new economy. Held during the last weekend in February, the three-day event, titled “The Digital Dilemma: Challenges to Excelling in the New Economy,” gave participants an opportunity to exchange ideas with successful entrepreneurs and executives from across the country. The opening day of the conference featured a welcome from HBS African-American Alumni Association president Kenneth A. Powell (MBA ’74). His remarks were followed by a management seminar, conducted by HBS professor emeritus James L. Heskett and Gregory A. White (MBA ’90), titled “The Internet Ecosystem: Are You Ready?” HBS professor Howard H. Stevenson, senior associate dean and director of External Relations, then provided an overview of recent events and initiatives at the School. In addition, prospective African-American MBA candidates were invited to attend classes throughout the day and to explore the HBS experience with current students. Highlights from the second day included panel discussions on topics ranging from the union between the Internet and the urban market to accessing the world of venture capital and private equity. Keynote speakers were Keith T. Clinkscales (MBA ’90), chairman and CEO of Vanguarde Media, Inc., and chairman of Vanguarde Neomedia, Inc., and Harold E. Ford, Jr., U.S. Congressman from the 9th District of Tennessee. The day also featured an “Entrepreneurial Ventures Competition,” which gave entrepreneurs an opportunity to present business plans before a panel of leading venture capitalists. Taking top prize was Wind & Rain R&D, a social enterprise entry that aims to foster urban development by facilitating home ownership among low-income renters. After a black-tie banquet on Saturday evening, conference-goers attended a gospel brunch and an afternoon basketball challenge on Sunday. Billed as a catalyst for strengthening management skills, networking, and exploring strategies that will lead African Americans to success in today’s business world, the conference exceeded its organizers’ expectations.       WSA Examines Dynamic Women in Business     Support, courage, and inspiration were the watchwords at the “Dynamic Women in Business” conference, held at HBS in late January. With a packed house of more than nine hundred participants, the event offered a day of sharing strategies for business and personal success. The tenth annual conference, organized by the HBS Women’s Student Association, attracted participants from 24 other schools as well. New to the program this year was the honoring of HBS alumnae for their work in technology, “special services,” industry, and nonprofits. Alumnae Award winners were Nancy M. Barry (MBA ’75), president of Women’s World Banking; Rena Clark (MBA ’90), chair and COO of QVS, Inc.; Judith R. Haberkorn (111th AMP), retired president of consumer sales and service at Verizon; Andrea Caren Silbert (MBA ’92), founder and CEO of the Center for Women & Enterprise; and Jeanne B. Lewis (MBA ’92), president of Staples.com. Keynote speaker Deborah C. Hopkins, EVP and CFO of Lucent Technologies, addressed the group via satellite four days prior to her company’s official announcement of a $2 billion cost-cutting plan. Hopkins, who was recently named the second most powerful woman in business by Fortune magazine, discussed the media’s effect on business and the monumental changes in communications technology. “Business now moves at lightning speed as a result of Internet news sites, investor chat rooms, and nonstop business coverage on cable news channels,” said Hopkins. “The world you are about to enter is far different than the one I faced after graduation.” Ellen M. Hancock, chair and CEO of Exodus Communications, Inc., delivered frank remarks about women’s role in business in her keynote speech. “I’m a female CEO of a public company at the forefront of the information age,” Hancock told the audience. “I take that responsibility seriously. I’m trying to lead by example and taking time to mentor.” Hancock also made Fortune’s list, ranking number five. Other events during the jam-packed day included a panel on challenges in social enterprise titled “The Road Less Traveled,” moderated by HBS Initiative on Social Enterprise associate director Margot Dushin, and a panel on manufacturing, moderated by HBS professor Janice H. Hammond. At the end of the day, the enthusiasm of conference attendees seemed to echo the statement of Ellen Hancock: “The workforce is becoming more and more team-oriented, less authoritative, and more consensus-driven.” This article was compiled from reports posted on the HBS Working Knowledge portal. For more coverage, visit hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu.       Asia Business Conference Highlights Role of Globalization     On the first weekend in February — with the Year of the Snake just over a week old — students from the HBS Asia Business Club and Harvard Law School’s Asia Law Society hosted “Connecting Asia,” a two-day conference with some twelve hundred participants that focused on globalization and its implications for the region. H.E. Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, the next director general of the World Trade Organization and the deputy prime minister of Thailand, discussed the need for managing developing countries’ reactions to rapid and widespread trade and economic liberalization. He cautioned that the high level of multinational mergers and acquisitions, while positive for the developing economies, puts a burden on Asian cultures to “bear the brunt of the change of ownership at local firms,” increasing the likelihood of antitrade and nationalist sentiment. A sampling of the conference’s panel topics was a clear reminder of Asia’s variety and complexity as a region. HBS professor Lynda M. Applegate moderated “Asia’s Silicon Valleys,” a panel that featured high-tech executives from Taiwan, Korea, India, Japan, and Singapore. This range of countries underscored the conference’s central theme that globalization has irreversibly linked every Asian nation to its regional neighbors and to the rest of the world through three main avenues: information and technology, capital flows, and trade. HBS professor Michael E. Porter moderated “Japan towards the 21st Century: How Should Japan Compete?” Harvard professor Ezra F. Vogel, Shin Yasunobe of the Stanford Japan Center for Research, and Yoshito Hori, chairman of Globis Group and chairman and CEO of Apax Globis Partners & Co., examined Japan’s past and present role as a credible model of success for Asian countries, with particular emphasis on the emergence of entrepreneurial behavior and how this competitive dynamism is reviving the Japanese economy. Conference cochairs Amar Lalvani and Yen Liow (both HBS ’01) were pleased with the event: “The conference’s timing was perfect,” stated Lalvani. “The challenges Asia and the rest of the developing world face from globalization, combined with a change in U.S. leadership, warrant thoughtful discussion.” “The depth of speakers and breadth of topics allowed for meaningful interaction between the current and future leaders of Asia,” added Liow. “This is just the beginning of a closer relationship between HBS and the region.” Selected content from the conference can be viewed at www.asiabusinessconference.org.     RETURN TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE     Spangler Center Opens to Rave Reviews Officially opened in January, the Spangler Center has already made a dramatic impact on student life at HBS. The 121,050-square-foot building features a new student dining hall, comfortable lounges, meeting rooms, and a 350-seat auditorium. It also brings together under one roof a number of commercial and MBA Program services (e.g., the Coop, post office, travel center, financial aid, registrar) that were formerly scattered around the campus. The Spangler Center has been praised for its architectural harmony with the rest of HBS’s Georgian campus and for its south-facing orientation, which is seen as symbolic of Harvard’s openness to the local community as the University expands its presence on the Boston side of the Charles River. Completed after just 22 months of construction, this new HBS landmark was made possible by the generosity of Meredith and C.D. (“Dick”) Spangler, Jr. (MBA ’56). They, along with members of their family and various Harvard dignitaries, took part in a dedication ceremony on January 22 attended by several hundred students, staff, alumni, and faculty. “The Spangler Center will help the HBS community to connect and will make the entire educational experience here even more effective and more powerful,” Dean Kim B. Clark observed at the dedication. “We are enormously grateful to the Spanglers.” For his part, Spangler thanked the thousands of people who had worked on the building in various capacities. He also acknowledged the School’s history, observing that “this building was built on academic foundations put in place by many who preceded all of us.”                                                                                                                   RETURN TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE