American-born Philip W. Stern (MBA '82) moved to Australia in 1985, spending several years as a McKinsey consultant. He has been Down Under ever since. Now a self-proclaimed Sydney local, Stern is a partner at the management consulting firm of Port Jackson Partners Limited and serves as president of the Harvard Club of Australia (HCA). "When I came here I did what a lot of other alumni do," he says. "I sought out the Harvard Club and got involved." Stern was part of the HCA council for about ten years before taking over as president in 2000.

HCA members hail from all Harvard programs, although the majority of the club's 665 members are HBS alumni. The club is a well-rounded group, and Stern cites diversity as one of its attractions. "I think our members enjoy the breadth of membership," he remarks. "They meet a full range of alumni, from MBAs to those with undergraduate degrees to Ph.D.'s from the Divinity School."

During his term, Stern has worked to continue long-standing traditions and to initiate new ones. The Leadership Program, a top-notch executive course run by HBS professors, is now in its fifth year. This year's offering, Strategic & Entrepreneurial Management: Turning Today's Managers into Tomorrow's Leaders, will take place in Sydney May 26-31. The program is important, Stern notes, because it brings "a bit of Harvard down here"; no small feat considering the distance.

A portion of the fees from the Leadership Program also supports the Menzies Scholarship, long the centerpiece of the HCA's activities. The prestigious scholarship, founded by former HCA president and current World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn (MBA '59), awards U.S.$50,000 to students bound for any Harvard graduate program. The award's fiftieth recipient will be named by this April.

In establishing new events and traditions, Stern is in frequent contact with his Melbourne counterpart, Patrick G. O'Brien (MBA '94), president of the Harvard Club of Australia- Victoria (HCAV). O'Brien and Stern agree on the clubs' dual objectives: provide social networking occasions for its members and raise funds for worthy causes. In addition to the Menzies Scholarship, the clubs have recently initiated Nonprofit Fellowships that send CEOs, executive directors, and other top managers to HBS to attend the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program. (The weeklong course, led by HBS professors emeriti Stephen A. Greyser and James L. Heskett, explores strategic concepts in areas such as mission, organizational structure and alliances, and financial management and control.) "The fellowship really uses our Harvard links to contribute to the local community," says O'Brien, a native of Melbourne who is an associate director at Macquarie Bank Ltd. "The HCA and HCAV offer a great opportunity for Harvard alumni to get together and network, but we like to do that with a good cause in mind, too."

Under O'Brien's guidance, the HCAV was also part of a Summit on Nonprofit Leadership in Melbourne last fall. Over two hundred leaders of nonprofit institutions attended the event. Professor Greyser, slated as a speaker but unable to fly in the wake of September 11, led his sessions via videoconference.
Although Stern and O'Brien live a few hundred miles apart, they spearhead a coordinated effort to reach out to club members across Australia by publishing the Club News, a quarterly newsletter full of events listings such as cocktail parties, Leadership Luncheons, Monday Club discussions, and theater outings.
Both Stern and O'Brien are near the end of their terms as president; Stern notes that the HCA's founders "had a very intelligent design" in not allowing a president to serve more than two years. "I think that's one of the strengths of our club," he says. "We've had a series of very dedicated people who maintain a high level of energy and enthusiasm, both on the social side and on the scholarship side." New leadership will be chosen this year at each club's annual general meeting.

For further information on the Harvard Clubs of Australia, visit www.harvard.org.au.

Amy Burton

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