Merton ReceivesPrestigious Award
University Professor Robert Merton, a member of the HBS faculty since 1988 and cowinner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Economics, recently received the Kolmogorov Medal from the University of London. He was honored for his distinguished work in the fields of research influenced by the renowned Russian mathematician Andrei N. Kolmogorov. Merton’s research focuses on developing finance theory in the areas of capital markets and financial institutions.
Students Serve as Consultants
Twelve HBS students spent their January Term as volunteer consultants to USAID projects in Bangladesh, Jordan, Morocco and Uganda. Only in its second year, the student-led Global Impact Experience program, the brainchild of Rich Chung (MBA ’10), screened more than 100 applicants for consulting assignments. The program aims to find sustainable solutions to problems of development and will continue next year with a new set of student leaders, says Chung.
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Janet Kraus, cofounder of Circles, a leader in concierge services, is HBS’s newest Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Founded in 1997, Circles became a $50 million company with nearly 1,000 people operating in Boston and Burlington, Ontario. After selling Circles in 2007, Kraus went on to lead Spire (which she spun off from Circles), a Boston-based media company whose leading brand, Suzanne’s Files, targets high-end consumers with travel and lifestyle content. A 2003 finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year competition and a recipient of the Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award, Kraus holds a BA from Yale and an MBA from Stanford.
Pitch for Change
The “Pitch for Change” wasn’t a case of saving the best for last, because all that came before was so good. But the elevator-pitch, business-plan showdown did close February’s 11th annual Social Enterprise Conference on a high note: Competing against contenders from across the United States and Canada, Aldi Haryopratomo’s (HBS ’11) Ruma took top honors with its kit for cellphone entrepreneurs in poor, rural areas of Indonesia.
Nearly 1,400 people attended the student-organized conference, held jointly at HBS and the Harvard Kennedy School. The event featured inspirational keynote speakers such as Raymond Chambers, UN Special Envoy for Malaria; more than twenty panels and workshops on technology, energy, development, health care, investing, and education; and a career fair. For more on the event, visit http://socialenterpriseconference.org.
Lerner Honored for Research
Lerner
Photo by Mark Alcarez
The most esteemed international prize in entrepreneurship research was awarded in February to HBS professor Josh Lerner, author or coauthor of five books, including most recently Boulevard of Broken Dreams, the first in-depth examination of the failed efforts of governments to support entrepreneurs. Lerner received the 2010 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research and delivered a lecture at a ceremony in Stockholm in May. The awards committee, composed of Swedish academics, recognized Lerner for “pioneering research in venture capital and venture capital–backed entrepreneurship.”
Said Lerner: “Research in entrepreneurship has made great strides, and I am fortunate to be part of the HBS Entrepreneurial Management Unit, whose more than thirty faculty members have led the School to a preeminent position in this field.”
Volunteer Program Attracts ’09 MBAs
In response to high interest expressed last spring by graduates of the Class of 2009, HBS Alumni Relations has created a way for new MBAs to participate in key School initiatives and activities: the Young Alumni Ambassadors program. One hundred and eight members of the class volunteered to participate in the program, which involves new MBAs in admissions outreach, reunion planning, club and association events, and career and professional development focus groups. The program continued this spring with a call for volunteers from the Class of 2010. For more information, visit www.alumni.hbs.edu/volunteers/yaa/.
Devilish plot: This year’s HBS Show, The Devil Wears Crimson (here in rehearsal), centered on an anonymous gossip blogger who wreaks havoc at HBS as she tries to uncover who caused the financial crisis. When she learns that her boyfriend’s faulty math is to blame, she is torn between love and her dream of becoming a published writer. Photo by Russ Campbell.
