Stories
Stories
Alex Popa, MBA 2007
Alex Popa laughs a bit at the suggestion that he is younger than many who establish HBS fellowship funds. “I’ve heard similar comments throughout my life,” says the genial Romanian native, who graduated at the top of his class at Stanford in 2002 and served as an economic adviser in the Romanian prime minister’s cabinet before coming to HBS.
“Giving shouldn’t be about age,” Popa insists. “It should be about capability and what really matters.” His fellowship gift—to support MBA students with a strong interest in genomic research, the life sciences, or engineering—was facilitated through the School’s Young Leaders Program, which encourages contributions from young alumni by lowering the giving threshold for certain funds.
Although his career path since HBS has been in investment management, Popa, a vice president at the Los Angeles–based Capital Group, confides that genomics is a long-held passion. “I was deeply involved in the sciences in high school and at Stanford, and I truly believe genomics is the business field that will lead to the fastest rate of innovation in my lifetime. As an investor too, I see it as an area where we will likely witness tremendous expansion.”
There is also a more heartfelt inspiration behind Popa’s gift. His late mother, Florina, a nuclear engineer in Romania, had always wanted him to be a geneticist. “This gift,” he says, “is a way I can begin to honor her dreams.”
Post a Comment
Related Stories
-
- 13 Feb 2023
- Harvard Medical School News
Alumnus Gift Will Nurture Basic, Therapeutic Science
Re: Ernesto Bertarelli (MBA 1993) -
- 01 Apr 2022
- New York Times
Nancy Lane Remembered
-
- 07 Oct 2021
- Contributors Report
Planning Ahead
Re: Steve Ketchum (MBA 1990) -
- 01 Oct 2021
- Contributors Report
Fueling the Faculty Pipeline
Re: Prakash Melwani (MBA 1986)