Alumni in the News
Education Revolution
COMPTON: Making the case on film that America’s education system is falling short globally.
Photo by Matthew Craig/Memphis Commercial Appeal
“I don’t even talk about education reform any more, I talk about education revolution,” documentary filmmaker and venture capitalist Bob Compton (MBA ’84) told the Memphis Commercial Appeal (September 17, 2009) at the premiere of his latest documentary film, Two Million Minutes: The 21st Century Solution, which focuses on a successful charter school in Arizona. His 2007 film, Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination, followed students in several countries and found the American education system falling short, especially in science and math. “If we don’t take control of our schools,” Compton said, “we are condemning our children to a life of struggle and declining standards of living, and that’s not the life I want to give my children.”
Yurt Man
ZWERN, WITH “GLIMMER”: At Burning Man, a cool yurt has potential for disaster relief and housing for much of the world.
Photo by Waldemar Horwat
Arthur Zwern (MBA ’85) and his solar-powered Hexayurt generated buzz at this year’s Burning Man festival, the annual bohemian happening of free expression and environmentally responsible bonhomie that draws tens of thousands to the scorching hinterlands of summertime Nevada. Playing against festival type, the Hexayurt was not a temporary artsy structure but a prototype for a low-cost home, built from hexacomb cardboard panels, that Zwern (aka “Sunshine Dreamer”) and his company, HOMErgent, see as ideal for disaster relief and globally sustainable affordable housing.
“For less than $2,000, we can provide better housing than what most people in the world already have,” Zwern told the Los Angeles Times (September 4, 2009), which declared the Hexayurt “remarkably cool in the skin-ripping heat.” Observed Zwern, “Every CO2 molecule out there came from a carbon atom somebody burned. With mirrors, lensing, and focusing, we can use the sun directly instead of in the form of ‘batteries’ like wood and coal that renew slowly when at all. The sun provides heating, cooling, recycling, everything.”
Up for Grabs
WHITMAN: After a successful career at eBay, going for the gold in California.
Photo by David McNew/Getty Images
Making her biggest bid in a career built on bids, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman (MBA ’79) threw her hat into the ring in September and formally declared that she wants one of the nation’s biggest political prizes: the governorship of California. Alluding to the cash-strapped Golden State’s financial predicament, Whitman said, “Honestly, when I talk about spending, I get mad. I simply cannot understand how even politicians could have let things get so bad,” the New York Times (September 23, 2009) reported. One of her radio ads stated, “We need to reinvent California, and that reinvention starts at the top.”
Downhill Re-Boot
HANSON: For boomers who still dare to schuss, a new way to keep them from getting cold feet.
Photo by Associated Press
Former ski racer Denny Hanson (OPM 2, 1977) saw a lot of his contemporaries giving up skiing because they were tired of being cold and dealing with uncomfortable and ungainly ski boots. So he came up with a softer “walking” boot that fits into a carbon-fiber chassis that in turn fits into a ski binding. “Our whole design concept is first and foremost to have a boot that’s comfortable,” Hanson told the Associated Press (September 5, 2009). “Comfort and warmth are important to our target market.” What remains to be seen is whether buyers will pony up the suggested retail price of $1,295 per pair. Hanson, a pioneer of the rear-entry boot, acknowledges that “in this very, very difficult economy,” there is “some skepticism around making this price point work for us,” but his Apex Sports Group projects sales of about 1,200 pairs this season.
What’s On?
KILAR
Photo by Robyn Twomey
After working at Amazon.com for nine years, in 2007 Jason Kilar (MBA ’97) became CEO of Hulu, the service that brings popular television programming and movies to computers via high-quality streaming video. Hulu, free and ad-supported, may be the next big thing; last July, after adding Disney to its existing stable of FOX, NBC, and ABC, Hulu attracted 38 million viewers, according to CNBC.com (September 8, 2009). At a panel discussion, Disney president Robert Iger asked Kilar what will replace the thirty-second ad, long a staple of broadcast television. Replying that ads may be both longer and shorter, Kilar added, “There’s already something better than the thirty-second ad.” He noted that viewer recall of ads is higher when Hulu shows fewer commercials, so that Hulu is able to charge more for those ads (HollywoodReporter.com, September 8, 2009).
Online Entrepreneur
In September, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce announced that its 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year is Diane Hessan (MBA ’77), president and CEO of Communispace Corporation, a firm that helps companies generate customer insights via online communities. The chamber noted that with the continuing growth of social media as an important business tool, “Communispace offers the only social-networking model with a proven track record of providing real business value and competitive advantage to businesses.” The firm, based in Watertown, Massachusetts, has 210 employees; under Hessan’s leadership, its revenues have grown more than 30 percent annually for each of the last nine years.
