Spring greetings to all HBS alumni! The arrival of April signals the start of intense planning for spring events at HBS. The MBA spring reunions are fast approaching, and plans for the annual Club Officers Roundtable and spring Alumni Board meeting are coming together.

Normally in this letter we would be reflecting on the success of another sold-out Global Alumni Conference (GAC), but as many of you already know, we made a very difficult decision to cancel the conference scheduled for March in Buenos Aires. We extend our deepest thanks to the conference organizing committee in Argentina for the enormous effort they put into arranging this event. We hope that the difficult situation in their country is successfully and peacefully resolved, and we look forward to going to Argentina at a future time. We are now turning our attention to supporting our alumni organizers for the next GACs. Be sure to mark your calendars for June 17-19, 2003, in Shanghai, China, and March 9-12, 2004, in Washington, D.C.

As I mentioned in my last letter, the Alumni Board is a working board, and I want to give you a quick status report on the important projects that our committees are undertaking this year. These efforts directly affect you as a graduate.

The Communications Committee, chaired by Paul Stewart (MBA '87), has already made enormous progress this year. Over the last few months, committee members have been working with the School to develop an informative and interesting "road show" presentation that outlines the major initiatives currently under way at HBS. The presentation is being designed so that a club officer or a member of the board can deliver it with ease at club sessions and other meetings. In addition, the committee has supported the School's efforts to inaugurate a new electronic newsletter for alumni as well as to revamp the Web site, a project that has already begun. Finally, the committee has offered critical feedback in the area of targeted marketing that will help the School identify the needs of specific segments of alumni and decide how best to address them.

The Lifelong Learning Committee, chaired by Perry Driggs (MBA '61), is helping the School fulfill its commitment to enhancing its educational opportunities for alumni. The committee is developing recommendations for how best to market current learning programs to alumni, suggesting where to modify existing programs to add value for an alumni audience, and offering possible topics for new programs. In particular, the committee is focused on building attendance at The Entrepreneur's Tool Kit, Strengthening Your Role as a Nonprofit Board Leader, and Charting Your Course: Women Reentering the Workforce. In addition, the committee is actively assisting Executive Education as it launches Breakthrough Insights, an exciting new program designed exclusively for alumni, scheduled for May 5-8. Members of the committee are also examining the current reunion model and making suggestions for improvements.

The Recent Graduates Committee, chaired by Eric Turner (MBA '82), is addressing the School's relationship with current MBA students and Executive Education participants and the best way to inform them about the services and programs available when they graduate. The group is soliciting input from current students as well as recent graduates to determine the most effective way to reach them. Enormous progress has been made thanks to the commitment of Donella Rapier, associate dean of External Relations, and Professor Howard Stevenson, senior associate dean and director of External Relations, to visit each of the eleven first-year section classrooms and deliver an interactive presentation about the School's financial structure as well as an overview of alumni benefits and services.

The Global Alumni Conference Committee provides a critical oversight function to the conferences. This committee, led by Joan McCabe (MBA '81), offered sound advice and counsel as we grappled with the difficulty of canceling the conference in Buenos Aires and is monitoring the progress of the Shanghai and Washington, D.C., conferences as they begin to come together. Subcommittees will continue to work on refining best practices for future conference hosts, including how to identify sponsors and define their role and how to provide consistency in the areas of marketing and promotion. They will also work on developing financial guidelines for future conferences.

The Nominating Committee, chaired by Ed Hajim (MBA '64), continued its important work and has identified and interviewed a number of impressive candidates for nomination to the board for next year. These have been busy months for the Alumni Board, and I am extremely grateful to all board members for their contagious
enthusiasm, creative ideas, and endless support. The Alumni Board exists to represent you and your interests, and I encourage you to contact any of us to share your thoughts and ideas. In this year of difficult events, we are reminded of the importance of the sense of community among HBS alumni. On behalf of the board, I want to offer my sincere appreciation for all you do to keep that network so strong and vibrant.

Susan Luick Good (MBA '71)
March 2002

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