Programs & Events
Live from Klarman Hall
Live from Klarman Hall

Klarman Hall regularly welcomes students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other visitors to participate in symposia, conferences, and programs that address the largest challenges facing business and society. Recordings from select Klarman Hall sessions are available below.
- Women's Leadership Summit: Celebrating and Advancing Women Leaders
November 7 & 8, 2024 -
In early November, over 600 HBS alumni came back to campus for the Women’s Leadership Summit.
For the full list of speaker bios, visit the conference website.
Thursday, November 7
Welcome Address
10:00–10:30 a.m. EST
Speakers: Srikant Datar, Dean of the Faculty, George F. Baker Professor of Administration and Robin Ely, Baker Foundation Professor and Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Emerita; Co-chair, Race, Gender, and Equity Initiative
Women & Tech
10:30–11:15 a.m. EST
Faculty Moderator: Tsedal Neeley, Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration
Alumni Speakers: Carolyn Everson (MBA 1999), Board Director, Private Equity Senior Advisor, The Coca Cola Company, The Walt Disney Company, Under Armour, Permira, and BCG; Leslie Feinzaig (MBA 2007), Founder and General Partner, Graham and Walker Venture Fund; Michelle Zatlyn (MBA 2009), Co-Founder and COO, Cloudflare
Challenging Conventional Wisdom: What and How HBS Alumnae are Doing
3:30–4:00 p.m. EST
Speaker: Robin Ely, Baker Foundation Professor and Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Emerita; Co-chair, Race, Gender, and Equity Initiative
Why Women Won
4:00–5:00 p.m. EST
Speaker: Claudia Goldin, Lee and Ezpeleta Professor of Arts and Sciences and Henry Lee Professor of Economics, Harvard University
Friday, November 8
Video Recording
(login required)Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well
8:00–9:00 a.m. EST
Speaker: Amy Edmondson (PHDOB 1996), Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management
Video Recording
(login required)Leading Transformation with a Digital and AI Mindset
9:20–10:20 a.m. EST
Speaker: Tsedal Neeley, Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration
Video Recording
(login required)What's Next for the United States and the World?
10:40–11:40 a.m. EST
Speaker: Rawi Abdelal, Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management
Women & Money
1:30–2:15 p.m. EST
Faculty Moderator: Kristin Mugford, Melvin Tukman Senior Lecturer of Business Administration; Senior Associate Dean for Culture and Community
Alumni Speakers: Beverly Anderson (MBA 1997), CEO and President, BECU ; Mary Erdoes (MBA 1993), CEO, J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management
Closing Remarks
2:15–2:30 p.m. EST
Speaker: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration; Co-chair, Race, Gender, and Equity Initiative
See event details.
- 2024 Fall Reunion Livestreams—September 27 & 28, 2024
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Tap into the energy and excitement of reunion from wherever you are around the world. View recorded livestream sessions with Dean Datar and HBS faculty members for insights on a range of important issues facing business and society today.
Friday, September 27
Dean’s Welcome Address
8:30–9:30 a.m. EDT
Speaker: Srikant Datar, Dean of the Faculty, George F. Baker Professor of Administration
Dean Srikant Datar kicks off Reunion Weekend by sharing his key priorities, which will strengthen and accelerate the School’s impact in the world.Navigating Uncertain Times: Teaching Through Political Shifts and Advancing the Curriculum
10:00–11:15 a.m. EDT
Speakers: Matthew Weinzierl, Joseph and Jacqueline Elbling Professor of Business Administration; Senior Associate Dean, Chair, MBA Program and Debora Spar, Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration; Senior Associate Dean, Business in Global Society
How can we best prepare students to navigate an uncertain world? How do we make sense of the changes in American and global politics over the past decades with our students?
In this session, Professors Matthew Weinzierl and Debora Spar will share their approach on making sense of political shifts and integrating current events into their courses. They will also provide updates on evolving the curriculum through new programs in areas such as AI, Business in Global Society (BiGS), Purpose of the Firm, and the School’s ongoing work in open inquiry and constructive dialogue.
Video Recording
(login required)Saturday, September 28
Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well
10:00 a.m. –11:15 a.m. EDT
Speaker: Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management
As a push for innovation intensifies in many industries, the “fail fast, fail often” rhetoric has made failure downright fashionable. Yet despite happy talk, most people would rather do anything but fail. Failure, it seems, is fine in theory, and fine for other people, but difficult to accept for ourselves. Professor Amy Edmondson will share ideas and practices for thinking about and learning from failure to effectively to thrive in an uncertain world.3 Technologies That Will Change the World. How Will They Affect Your Journey as a Leader?
11:45 a.m.–1:00 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Shikhar Ghosh, MBA Class of 1961 Professor of Management Practice of Business Administration
What does it take to live a purposeful life in an age where everything can change and where existential threats are real? Professor Shikhar Ghosh will examine 3 recently developed technologies that have passed commercial viability and are on track to change the foundations of business and society in the next decade — AI, Blockchain and Synthetic Biology — and examine their impact on who we are as individuals and as a species.
- 2024 Spring Reunions—May 30-June 2, 2024
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During the 2024 Spring Reunions on May 31 and June 1, HBS faculty will address a wide range of important issues facing business and society today as seen through the lens of their research and teaching.
Friday, May 31
Dean’s Welcome Address
8:30–9:30 a.m. EDT
Speaker: Srikant Datar, Dean of the Faculty, George F. Baker Professor of Administration
Dean Srikant Datar kicks off Reunion Weekend by sharing his key priorities, which will strengthen and accelerate the School’s impact in the world.Competing in the Age of AI
10:00–11:15 a.m. EDT
Speaker: Karim Lakhani, Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
We have entered a new era in which artificial intelligence (AI) is challenging the very concept of how a company is put together. AI-centric organizations exhibit a new operating architecture, redefining how they create, capture, share, and deliver value. Professor Karim Lakhani discusses how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have limited business growth for hundreds of years. From Airbnb to Ant Financial, research shows how AI-driven processes are vastly more scalable than traditional ones, enable companies to straddle industry boundaries, and open up powerful opportunities for learning.
Saturday, June 1
Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier
11:45 a.m. –1:00 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Arthur Brooks, Professor of Management Practice
Happiness levels are plummeting in the United States. People disagree about why this slump is happening—technology, polarized culture, the economy, politics, etc.—but we all know it’s happening. Journeying toward greater happiness is possible, no matter how challenging life’s circumstances may be, and getting there is an art and a science. In this session, Professor Arthur Brooks will discuss his latest research on happiness, dispel the myths about finding unrealistic, perfect bliss, and share ways to improve your life right now by making finding greater happiness a choice.Perspectives on Harvard Climate Leadership: Veritas vs. Human Nature—Which Future Will We Choose?
2:30–4:00 p.m. EDT
Hosted by the Class of 1974
Moderated by Roger Shamel, MBA 1974.
Climate change has been described as "the most consequential threat facing humanity" by Harvard President Bacow, and as "the defining challenge of our generation" by Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella. How well our generation responds to this challenge will make a huge difference for the world that we experience in the coming decades—for our children, and for the world that future generations inherit. The Climate Leadership Panel, moderated by HBS Class of 1974 MBA Roger Shamel, will offer a variety of helpful perspectives on global climate change leadership challenges and opportunities.
- Leading with AI: Exploring Business and Technology Frontiers—Tuesday, May 7, 2024
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As leaders, how do you navigate the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities arising within the rapidly evolving realm of artificial intelligence (AI)? Leading with AI addressed this question by convening experts at the forefront of AI with business leaders who recognize its profound impact and potential.
The conference was presented in partnership by HBS Alumni Relations and the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard (D^3), a pioneering hub dedicated to the study of transformative technologies.
For the full list of speaker bios, visit the conference website.
The plenary sessions of the Leading with AI conference were recorded and will be available on the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard's YouTube page.
Join the conversation in the D^3 Slack community
Welcome
Srikant Datar
George F. Baker Professor of Administration & Dean of the Faculty
Harvard Business School
Karim Lakhani
Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Co-Founder and Chair
Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard
Tsedal Neeley
Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business SchoolMitchell Weiss (MBA 2004)
Richard L. Menschel Professor of Management Practice
Harvard Business School
Co-Intelligence
Ethan Mollick
Associate Professor
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Investing in the Future of AI
Moderator
Karim Lakhani
Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Co-Founder and Chair
Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard Panelists
Azeem Azhar
Founder
Exponential View
Marcelo Claure
Founder & CEO
Claure Group
Mary Erdoes (MBA 1993)
Chief Executive Officer, Asset & Wealth Management
JPMorgan Chase
AI and Healthcare
Moderator
Robert Huckman (PHDBE 2001)
Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Panelists
Francesca Dominici
Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population, and Data Science
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Nicolò Fusi
General Manager
Microsoft Research
Sham Kakade
Co-Director
Harvard University Kempner Institute
Armen Mkrtchyan
Origination Partner
Flagship
AI and Marketing
Join Sir Martin Sorrell and Associate Professor Ayelet Israeli for a discussion about the profound impact of AI on marketing operations, including visualization and copyrighting, hyper-personalization, media planning and buying, and general efficiency and organizational knowledge. The session will delve into how AI-driven strategies are revolutionizing job structures and marketing efficiencies, underscored by insights into privacy regulations and the future of personalized advertising.
Sir Martin Sorrell (MBA 1968)
Executive Chairman
S4 Capital
Ayelet Israeli
Marvin Bower Associate Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Leading AI-nization: Fueling Growth with Data and AI
Join Mickey Mikitani and Professor Tsedal Neeley to discuss how Rakuten continues to set the pace as a global innovation leader. They will discuss building an ecosystem and operating model that leverages an extraordinary level of data. The conversation will cover the strategic initiatives driving AI adoption and the personal journeys fostering continuous learning. The discussion also will explore how Rakuten harnesses this data to redefine the future, highlighting both the challenges and triumphs of AI integration on a grand scale.
Mickey Mikitani (MBA 1993)
Founder, Chairman and CEO
Rakuten Group, Inc.
Tsedal Neeley
Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
The Power of AI
Explore with Ewa Duerr, head of product management at Google Cloud Artificial Intelligence, the new era of AI we’ve entered—with multimodal, multilingual, and generative capabilities that enable companies to build applications that can understand, think, and act on information the way that humans do. This paradigm shift in AI technology is driving an explosion of use cases transforming industries, governments, and society as a whole. It also is posing numerous questions around its responsible use. In this session, participants will look at how enterprises have embraced generative AI, will take a deep dive into its impact and key use cases across industries, and will examine how Google Cloud can help accelerate this transformation.Ewa Duerr
Head of Product Management, Google Cloud Artificial Intelligence
Google
AI Regulation
Join us for a panel moderated by Mitchell Weiss, the Richard L. Menschel Professor of Management Practice at HBS, featuring insights from Anita Lynch, board member at Nasdaq US Exchanges; Jonathan Zittrain, the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School; and Noah Feldman, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. This session will tackle the many possible paths forward for AI regulation. Attendees will gain a sense of where it may be headed and how they can navigate this arena given evolving policy and technical landscapes.
Moderator
Mitchell Weiss (MBA 2004)
Richard L. Menschel Professor of Management Practice
Harvard Business School
Panelists
Noah Feldman
Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law
Harvard Business School
Anita Lynch (MBA 2008)
Board Member
Nasdaq US Exchanges
Jonathan Zittrain
George Bemis Professor of International Law
Harvard Law School
Creativity in AI with Music
Explore the transformative impact of AI on music in this session, which offers an inside look at the creative processes of a music artist and a sound engineer. Witness how Grammy-nominated artist Abbas "Bas" Hamad and Grammy Award–winning sound engineer and CEO of EngineEars, Derek Ali, collaborate in the studio to forge a new track. Participate in a live demonstration by Ali, who will highlight the revolutionary role of AI in music production. Then, a panel of our speakers will provide a comprehensive exploration of how AI is reshaping creativity within the music industry. Panelists will share their personal experiences and insights, underlining the significant implications of AI across various roles in music creation.
Moderator
Karim Lakhani
Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Co-Founder and Chair
Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard Panelists
Derek Ali
Founder & CEO
EngineEars
Abbas “Bas” Hamad
Recording Artist
Digital Data Design Innovation Prize Ceremony – “The Cubies”
Join us in honoring those who are shaping our digital future and innovating for a better tomorrow at the 2024 Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard Innovation Prizes ceremony. "The Cubies" will celebrate excellence and provide a beacon of inspiration, highlighting pioneering spirits and groundbreaking advancements in AI and digital transformation. Professor Sunil Gupta and Zain Verjee host this landmark event that will close the conference with energy and motivation to reinvent your digital future.
HostsSunil Gupta
Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Zain Verjee
Founder & CEO
theZVG
Closing Remarks
Karim Lakhani
Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Co-Founder and Chair
Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard - 2023 Fall Reunions—October 12-15, 2023
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On October 13 and 14, 2023, HBS faculty addressed a range of issues facing business and society, seen through the lens of their research and teaching, as part of the 2023 Fall Reunions.
Dean’s Welcome Address
Speaker: Dean Srikant Datar
Dean Datar kicked off Reunion Weekend by sharing his key priorities, which will strengthen and accelerate the School’s impact in the world.Competing in the Age of AI
Speaker: Karim Lakhani, Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
We have entered a new era in which artificial intelligence (AI) is challenging the very concept of how a company is put together. AI-centric organizations exhibit a new operating architecture, redefining how they create, capture, share, and deliver value. Professor Lakhani discusses how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have constrained business growth for hundreds of years. From Airbnb to Ant Financial, research shows how AI-driven processes are vastly more scalable than traditional processes, enable companies to straddle industry boundaries, and open up powerful opportunities for learning.Building the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier
Speaker: Arthur Brooks, Professor of Management Practice
Happiness levels are plummeting in the United States. People disagree about why this slump is happening — technology, polarized culture, the economy, politics, etc. — but we all know it’s happening. Journeying toward greater happiness is possible, no matter how challenging life’s circumstances may be, and getting there is an art and a science. In this session, Professor Brooks discusses his latest research on happiness, dispel the myths about finding unrealistic perfect bliss, and share ways to improve your life right now by making finding greater happiness a choice. - Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey in Conversation: Build the Life You Want
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Build the Life You Want
Arthur Brooks, Professor of Management Practice; Oprah Winfrey; Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic
Harvard Kennedy School and HBS Professor Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey share in a conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, about the pair’s new book, Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier. In this intimate, powerful conversation, you’ll hear them discuss what they’ve learned about happiness, how to build your blueprint for a more fulfilling future, the adventure that awaits you in the process, personal stories that didn’t make it into the book, and more. - 2023 Spring Reunions—June 1-4, 2023
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On June 2 and 3, 2023, HBS faculty addressed a range of issues facing business and society, seen through the lens of their research and teaching, as part of the 2023 Spring Reunions.
Competing in the Age of AI
Speaker: Karim Lakhani, Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
We have entered a new era in which artificial intelligence (AI) is challenging the very concept of how a company is put together. AI-centric organizations exhibit a new operating architecture, redefining how they create, capture, share, and deliver value. Professor Lakhani will discuss how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have constrained business growth for hundreds of years. From Airbnb to Ant Financial, research shows how AI-driven processes are vastly more scalable than traditional processes, enable companies to straddle industry boundaries, and open up powerful opportunities for learning.Dignity, the Populist Backlash, and the War in Ukraine: How to Imagine the Next Global Economy
Speaker: Rawi Abdelal, Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management at Harvard Business School and the Emma Bloomberg Co-Chair of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
The greatest challenge to the sustainability of our current era of globalization comes from within the US. Most Americans now reject globalization. What can we learn from parts of the developed world where the backlash is also profound—or more muted? One conclusion: It is not just about money. Those who feel left behind feel they have lost respect and dignity. The populist backlash also coincides with a shift in the global balance of power. We will explore the ways in which the disappointments with globalization in the West connect to the efforts of other great powers to rewrite the rules of the system.Moving from Strength to Strength in Work, Life, & Happiness
Speaker: Arthur Brooks, Professor of Management Practice
Our skills and interests naturally change as we age—a fact that can be difficult and frightening for many “strivers.” How can we prepare for the changes that come later in life, and how can we structure our lives in a way that uncovers new strengths and leads to lasting happiness? Blending the latest in behavioral social science research, ancient wisdom, and historical analysis, Professor Brooks will reveal how effectiveness and wellbeing at all stages of life come not from holding on to past achievements, but from cultivating new habits and a different understanding of success and fulfillment.The Portfolio Life: How to Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger Than Your Business Card
Speaker: Christina Wallace, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
If there's one thing that the pandemic and the resulting economic volatility has made painfully clear, it's that most people need—and want—a dramatically different relationship with work. Whether you are personally experiencing this shift, or you're seeing the transformation in the teams you manage, the demand for a new model is clear. Join Senior Lecturer Christina Wallace for a discussion of her new book, The Portfolio Life, which offers a framework for work and life. Participants will leave this session with a new model that upends the notion they should have ever been at odds. - Accelerating Climate Solutions—May 10, 2023
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Welcome Remarks
Srikant M. Datar, Dean of the Faculty; George F. Baker Professor of Administration
George Serafeim (DBA 2010), Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration
Lynn Schenk, Director, HBS Business & Environment Initiative
Beyond Business as Usual: Climate Disruptors
Faculty Moderator: Jim Matheson (MBA 2001), Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Speakers:
Danielle Colson (MBA 2022), Cofounder & Chief Operating Officer, Mantel
Richard Needham (MBA 2002), Chief Commercial Officer, Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Carmichael Roberts, Partner, Breakthrough Energy Ventures; Cofounder & Managing Partner, Material Impact
This session will allow the audience to draw inspiration from founders, innovators, and entrepreneurs in a range of businesses who are making real change. Short presentations from each disruptor will be followed by discussion focused on their examples of rethinking and disrupting business-as-usual to accelerate climate solutions.Competition or Collaboration? Navigating a Path for Successful Climate Alliances
Faculty Moderator: Peter Tufano (MBA 1984, PHDBE 1989), Baker Foundation Professor
Speakers:
Angela Barranco, Executive Director for North America, Climate Group
Mindy Lubber, President & CEO, Ceres
Curtis D. Ravenel, Senior Advisor, Co-Chair and Vice-Chair, Glasgow Alliance for Net Zero
Eric Usher, Head, UNEP Finance Initiative
Typically, we think of firms as being in perpetual competition with each other. When it comes to topics like climate, we need to shift to a perspective of collaboration. But this becomes a delicate balance between anti-competitive legal territory and the benefits of the collective development of standards and crystallization of emerging demand signals, all paving the way for smart regulation. This session will focus on what (climate) alliances do, why individual firms/investors would find it difficult to act alone, the management and leadership challenges of running an alliance, and the uncertain legal status of some of the groups.Driving Climate Performance through Accountability and Governance
Faculty Moderator: George Serafeim (DBA 2010), Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration
Speakers:
Carter Roberts (MBA 1988), President & CEO, World Wildlife Fund
Debora L. Spar (PMD 62, 1991), Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration; Senior Associate Dean for Business and Global Society; Board Director, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Bonita Stewart (MBA 1983), Board Partner, Gradient Ventures
Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Cofounder & Managing Partner, Impactive Capital
This panel will highlight how we can effectively build the governance mechanisms for climate action. Thousands of companies have publicly announced targets for carbon reductions, aligned executive compensation with those targets, allocated resources to achieve those targets, and built board-level sustainability committees and structures to ensure the governance of their climate strategy. At the same time, investors are increasingly engaging with companies to drive climate action privately and by exercising their shareholder votes. Meanwhile, several NGOs have built certifications and other monitoring and assessment tools to understand how companies are progressing against their targets. This panel will explore the different mechanisms and ideas that have emerged on how to drive performance through accountability and governance.How Climate Is Central to Every Business
Faculty Moderator: George Serafeim (DBA 2010), Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration
Speakers:
Shirley Lu, Assistant Professor of Business Administration
John Macomber (MBA 1983), Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Mike Toffel, Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management; Faculty Chair, HBS Business & Environment Initiative
Gunnar Trumbull (PMD 76, 2001), Phillip Caldwell Professor of Business Administration
This session will underscore that climate is a central business issue that extends across all business disciplines. To achieve climate goals, we need business leaders to build skills across disciplines and to understand how climate change considerations are being infused into all areas of management. Faculty from different units at HBS will illustrate the connection between climate change and their discipline through examples of cases they have written or taught.Rebuilding Industry and Infrastructure: The Need for a New Climate Workforce
Faculty Moderator: Eleanor Laurans (MBA 2006), Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Speakers:
Evette Ellis, Cofounder & Chief Workforce Officer, ChargerHelp!
Kate Gordon, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, US Department of Energy
Gordon Jones, President, College of Western Idaho (CWI)
Building the workforce is critical to scaling climate ventures, to valuation, and to public uptake of climate technologies both existing and new. The current skills gap and workforce shortage could be one of the biggest obstacles to achieving our climate goals. This session will examine different approaches, from policy to trade schools to exciting new and incumbent companies putting the workforce at the core of their business models.Toward a Decarbonized Future: Who Pays? Who Profits?
Faculty Moderator: Peter Tufano (MBA 1984, PHDBE 1989), Baker Foundation Professor
Speakers:
Scott Jacobs (MBA 2007), CEO & Cofounder, Generate Capital
Girish Nadkarni (MBA 1988), Senior Advisor, OCGI Climate Investments
Jayant Sinha (MBA 1992), Member of the Indian Parliament and Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance
Dan Stephens Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
What money do we need and what skills do we need to finance a decarbonized future? How can we–and must we–reimagine our approaches to finance to accomplish our climate goals? This session will demonstrate how financiers along the capital stack are examining climate risk, return, and opportunity to seed, pilot, and scale a wide range of impactful projects, companies, and markets.Your Role in the Climate Future Peter Tufano (MBA 1984, PHDBE 1989)
Baker Foundation Professor - Entrepreneurship Summit—November 4-5, 2022
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Entrepreneurial Solutions to World Problems
Moderator: Professor Emeritus William A. Sahlman (MBA 1975, PHDBE 1982)
Panelists:
Colin Hill, GNS Healthcare
Evan Marwell (MBA 1992), Educational Superhighway
Chris McKown (MBA 1981), Iora Health
Shara Ticku (MBA 2017), C16 BiosciencesSolutions that Work: Increasing Diversity in Startups, VCs, and Tech
Moderator: Colleen Ammerman, Director, HBS Race, Gender, and Equity Initiative
Panelists: Gil Addo (MBA 2011), RubiconMD
Professor Jeffrey J. Bussgang (MBA 1995), on behalf of Hack Diversity, Flybridge VC
Sarah Fay, Glasswing Ventures, All Raise
Leslie Feinzaig (MBA 2007), Graham & Walker Venture Fund, Female Founders Alliance - 2022 Fall Reunions—October 14-15, 2022
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Competing in the Age of AI
Speaker: Karim Lakhani, Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
We have entered a new era in which artificial intelligence (AI) is challenging the very concept of how a company is put together. AI-centric organizations exhibit a new operating architecture, redefining how they create, capture, share, and deliver value. Professor Lakhani will discuss how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have constrained business growth for hundreds of years. From Airbnb to Ant Financial, research shows how AI-driven processes are vastly more scalable than traditional processes, enable companies to straddle industry boundaries, and open up powerful opportunities for learning.Dignity, the Populist Backlash, and the War in Ukraine: How to Imagine the Next Global Economy
Speaker: Rawi Abdelal, Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management at Harvard Business School and the Emma Bloomberg Co-Chair of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
The greatest challenge to the sustainability of our current era of globalization comes from within the US. Most Americans now reject globalization. What can we learn from parts of the developed world where the backlash is also profound—or more muted? One conclusion: It is not just about money. Those who feel left behind feel they have lost respect and dignity. The populist backlash also coincides with a shift in the global balance of power. We will explore the ways in which the disappointments with globalization in the West connect to the efforts of other great powers to rewrite the rules of the system. - 2022 Spring Reunions—June 17-18, 2022
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Accounting for Change – A Conversation with Professor George Serafeim
Speakers: Debora Spar, Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration; Senior Associate Dean, Business in Global Society; Unit Head, General Management
George Serafeim, Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration
As faculty cochair of the Impact-Weighed Accounts Project, Professor Serafeim heads a growing effort to affect corporate behavior through the tools of accounting, and to develop rigorous methodologies for assessing areas—such as carbon emissions generated, decarbonization efforts, or commitment to social justice—that are too often seen as either intangible or immeasurable. In this session, Professor Debora Spar, the Senior Associate Dean for Business and Global Society, will interview Professor Serafeim about his work, his goals, and the role that measurement and the construction of a new global accountability infrastructure can play in truly changing the world.From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
Speaker: Arthur Brooks, Professor of Management Practice
It is an almost inevitable—and, to many of us, frightening—fact that our professional abilities decline as we age. As leaders, how can we prepare for the changes that come later in life, and how can we structure our lives in a way that uncovers new strengths and leads to lasting happiness? Blending the latest in behavioral social science research, ancient wisdom, and historical analysis, Professor Brooks will reveal how effectiveness and wellbeing at all stages of life come not from holding on to past achievements, but from cultivating new habits and a different understanding of success and fulfillment.Using Our Business Leadership to Advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Speakers: Archie Jones (MBA 1998), Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
Karen Stanley (MBA 1991)
Panelists will discuss using business leadership to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in business and in society. HBS Class of 1991 alumni will share their experiences, first as students, then employees, and now as executives, educators, and researchers. Attendees will gain an understanding of past actions and current plans to improve DEI at HBS, as well as new insights on advancing DEI beyond color and gender lines, and will leave with a broader understanding of the impact of DEI as well as actionable measures they can take to advance DEI in their workplaces and in their communities. Panelists include: Susan Harmeling (virtual), Charles Henderson (virtual), Glenn Fox (virtual), Nina Henderson-Moore (MBA 1991), Lewis Long (MBA 1991), Jeff Perry (MBA 1991); Terrill I. Drake (HBS Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer).
- 2022 Spring Reunions—June 10-11, 2022
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Building an AI-First Biotech Company
Speakers: Stéphane Bancel, CEO, Moderna Therapeutics
Karim Lakhani, Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
Join Professor Karim Lakhani and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel (MBA 2000, AMP 170) on a discussion about building an AI-First Biotech company. They will explore how to leverage artificial intelligence and other digital resources to speed operations, manage processes, and ensure quality across research, testing, and manufacturing.Competing in the Age of AI
Speaker: Karim Lakhani, Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration
We have entered a new era in which artificial intelligence (AI) is challenging the very concept of how a company is put together. AI-centric organizations exhibit a new operating architecture, redefining how they create, capture, share, and deliver value. Professor Lakhani will discuss how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have constrained business growth for hundreds of years. From Airbnb to Ant Financial, research shows how AI-driven processes are vastly more scalable than traditional processes, enable companies to straddle industry boundaries, and open up powerful opportunities for learning.Dignity, the Populist Backlash, and the War in Ukraine: How to Imagine the Next Global Economy
Speaker: Rawi Abdelal, Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management at Harvard Business School and the Emma Bloomberg Co-Chair of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
The greatest challenge to the sustainability of our current era of globalization comes from within the US. Most Americans now reject globalization. What can we learn from parts of the developed world where the backlash is also profound—or more muted? One conclusion: It is not just about money. Those who feel left behind feel they have lost respect and dignity. The populist backlash also coincides with a shift in the global balance of power. We will explore the ways in which the disappointments with globalization in the West connect to the efforts of other great powers to rewrite the rules of the system.Managing in Turbulence
Speaker: Herman ("Dutch") Leonard, Eliot I. Snider and Family Baker Foundation Professor; Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus; George F. Baker, Jr. Professor of Public Management
In this session, we will consider the implications of living in a permanent state of elevated turbulence. COVID has been an object lesson in having to continuously reassess changing conditions and adapt both strategy and operations to the emerging environment. But there is further turbulence ahead. We will look at an example—a company that is optimized to operate in a differentially turbulent environment and is thriving in part by virtue of its ability to handle elevated levels of risk. We will then consider other ideas about how firms can operate more effectively in the increasingly volatile world we all inhabit.
- 2022 Spring Reunions—June 7-8, 2022
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11 Essential Lessons for Strategy, Leadership, and Deal-Making: Re-examining Chamberlain’s Negotiations with Hitler
Speaker: Deepak Malhotra, Eli Goldston Professor of Business Administration
Chamberlain’s negotiations with Hitler, and the resulting “Munich Agreement” of 1938, are often considered among the greatest strategic and moral failures in history. Is this a fair characterization of what transpired in the lead-up to World War II? What could have been done differently? Would your preferred approach have been feasible or effective? We can’t afford to ignore the lessons of the past—nor can we afford to learn the wrong lessons. In this session, we will do a deep dive into what led to Munich, as well as the details of the negotiations themselves, with the goal of extracting lessons for leaders, strategists, and negotiators of all kinds.Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies
Speaker: Ranjay Gulati, Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration
Drawing upon my recent book, I will offer a compelling reassessment of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms get purpose right. Based on extensive field research, I will show how deep-purpose companies energize their enterprise by inspiring employees and fostering greater loyalty and trust with customers and partners. Purpose is also a compass with which these firms effectively navigate the inevitable tradeoffs across stakeholders and balance their short- and long-term goals. Ultimately, a deeper engagement with purpose holds the key not merely to the well-being of individual companies but also to humanity’s future.Risks, Threats, and Preparing for the Worst
Speakers: Juliette Kayyem, Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security
Adi Ignatius
With war, a pandemic, cyberattacks, and natural disasters, the world can seem overwhelming. The Kennedy School and CNN’s Juliette Kayyem, in conversation with Harvard Business Review Editor in Chief Adi Ignatius, will draw on lessons from her new book, The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters, on how we can reframe our thinking about disasters and prepare for the unknown. - 2022 Spring Reunions—June 3-4, 2022
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Managing a Polarized Workforce
Speaker: Francesca Gino, Professor of Business Administration (Administrative Leave)
One of the toughest challenges leaders face is managing diverse perspectives. At the same time, productive disagreement and engagement with opposing views are crucial to high-functioning teams and organizations. Drawing from my research I will discuss how leaders can approach disagreements productively and help employees at all levels do so. Tactics include training that defuses fears of disagreeing; encourages people to cultivate a receptive mindset; teaches people to choose words carefully, hedge claims, and emphasize areas of agreement; and fosters a culture of tolerance. Honing these skills can decrease frustration and negativity and is well worth the effort.
Managing in Turbulence
Speaker: Herman ("Dutch") Leonard, Eliot I. Snider and Family Baker Foundation Professor; Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus; George F. Baker, Jr. Professor of Public Management
In this session, we will consider the implications of living in a permanent state of elevated turbulence. COVID has been an object lesson in having to continuously reassess changing conditions and adapt both strategy and operations to the emerging environment. But there is further turbulence ahead. We will look at an example—a company that is optimized to operate in a differentially turbulent environment and is thriving in part by virtue of its ability to handle elevated levels of risk. We will then consider other ideas about how firms can operate more effectively in the increasingly volatile world we all inhabit.