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Porter Helps Jerusalem Mayor with Economic Development
Nir Barkat, a software entrepreneur elected mayor of Jerusalem last November, visited HBS in late March to take part in a roundtable discussion on the economic development of his city, Israel’s poorest. HBS professor Michael Porter, a leading authority on competitiveness, hosted the discussion. At a press briefing, Barkat explained that he has adopted Porter’s cluster-based development approach to focus on three existing areas of strength: culture and tourism, health care and life sciences, and outsourced medical and financial services. Until now, “Jerusalem has never had a systemic economic development campaign that’s strategic,” said Porter.
Lewis and Primo Receive Recognition for Achievements
Edward Lewis (OPM 7, 1982), founder and chairman of Essence Communications, and Quintin Primo (MBA ’79), chairman and CEO of Capri Capital Partners, were honored in March by the HBS African-American Alumni Association, the HBS African-American Student Union, and the Bert King Foundation.
Lewis, who received the groups’ Professional Achievement Award, built Essence magazine into the leading lifestyle publication for African-American women.
Primo’s real-estate investment and development firm has over $4 billion under management and projects under way in India and the Middle East. Active in civic and charitable organizations, Primo received the Bert King Award for Service.
Africa on the Move
In February, nearly 1,200 participants from twenty countries gathered at HBS for the Africa Business Club’s 11th annual conference, “Africa on the Move: Transforming Quick Wins into Lasting Change.” With some countries experiencing growth rates of 10 percent in recent years, attendees were eager to hear more about the continent’s opportunities. Numerous practitioners and experts took part in a variety of panels that ranged from “Africa and China: Friends or Foes?” to “Doing Business in Post-Conflict Countries in Africa” to “Renewable Energy: Unlocking Africa’s Green Potential.” In addition, many networking, social, and special events took place throughout the weekend, including a banquet at which Cyrille Nkontchou (MBA ’97), founder and CEO of the South Africa–based investment firm LiquidAfrica, received the club’s Alumni Achievement Award.
Life-Saving Network
HBS professor Al Roth, along with two economists from Boston College, has created software that facilitates the process of donating kidneys. Through it, transplants can still be arranged even if a willing donor and recipient — a husband and wife, for example — aren’t compatible. Instead, they can give and receive from others who, like them, have signed on to a larger computerized network that matches willing donors and recipients. Said Roth, “There are 70,000 people waiting for a kidney. I don’t think it solves the whole problem, but it solves these problems one patient at a time.” For more information, visit www.nepke.org/.
From Beats to Tweets
MC Hammer, the 1990s rapper known to his mother as Stanley K. Burrell, visited HBSin February in his latest incarnation: expert on social-media sites, music, and business. According to the Harvard Crimson, Burrell noted that social media, more than any other, excels in “shortening the distance between creator and consumer.” As for music, he said, these days it’s all in the marketing: “At the end of the day, there are only so many notes, so many rhymes, so many keys on the keyboard. The next thing is, who is the best marketer?”
HBS Art Collection Now Online
As a student at HBS, Gerald Schwartz (MBA ’70) says the only thing missing was an artistic presence. For the past decade, Schwartz, founder and CEO of Onex Corporation, a private-equity firm in Toronto, has been on a mission to bring contemporary art to campus buildings most frequented by students. His annual art-buying trips to New York City with HBS students have yielded a collection of some 160 works. Now there’s a Web site where all the works may be viewed: www.hbs.edu/schwartz/.
