I have just returned from the Global Alumni Conference in Hong Kong, where over 800 HBS alumni and guests from 45 countries gathered on the eve of that region's historic political, social, and economic transformation. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Three days of lively discussions among alumni, twelve HBS professors, and a distinguished group of Asian business and government officials focused on the June 30 transfer of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China and the expected impact on business in the region.

Optional tours to Shanghai and Beijing gave participants a chance to see some of the traditional historic sites and provided a unique perspective on business issues. Our alumni had the opportunity, while in China, to participate in three case studies and to visit joint ventures between Western companies and their Chinese partners and learn how these operations have fared in the current business climate. (Please see below for a more complete report on the Hong Kong conference.)

These annual conferences are vitally important to our alumni community. Not only do they strengthen connections among our graduates, but they also provide an opportunity for alumni to share in the School's intellectual agenda. I urge you to make plans now for the next Global Alumni Conference in Chicago on June 17Ð19, 1998, which will focus on entrepreneurship, a topic of great interest to us all.

As we reach the end of another academic year, I reflect again on our efforts to improve the connectedness of alumni to the School and to each other. While the HBS alumni network is very good when utilized, our Board of Directors has been working toward strengthening ties between the School and two important alumni constituencies: young MBA alumni and Executive Education alumni.

To this end, the School has started several new outreach initiatives, beginning with an effort to supply more information about the Alumni Association, the activities of the 110 worldwide HBS clubs, and the HBS Global Electronic Network to MBA students and Executive Education participants as their graduation approaches. The MBA graduating class has also initiated Class Day activities on the day before graduation, an event that gives students a chance to share "the HBS experience" with family and friends who are invited to sample classes taught by HBS faculty and to attend a special address by a distinguished speaker and a celebratory reception.

In addition, the School has begun hosting some regional gatherings for young MBAs, including a well-attended session held in Hong Kong prior to the Global Alumni Conference. The objective of these meetings is to strengthen relationships among classmates and to extend ties between alumni in classes that graduated within about five years of each other. Efforts to expand on these connections will continue in the future.

The Board has also been looking into the issue of connectedness between the School and its Executive Education alumni. Since these graduates are typically at the School for a shorter time, they form a much stronger bond with their individual classes than with the extended HBS community. Efforts to inform these participants about the resources and opportunities available to them as HBS alumni have recently been enhanced. In several cities, Executive Education graduates, in particular the OPMers, have formed groups to focus on activities of particular interest. Last fall, the School hosted a combined reunion in Florida for all OPM graduates as a means of promoting networking across graduating classes. This spring, in addition to giving my traditional presentation to the MBA reunions as president of the HBS Alumni Association, I will also be addressing the Executive Education reunions about subjects of concern to all alumni.

Six of the forty members of the HBS Alumni Association Board are Executive Education graduates. We will continue to work together to address issues of special interest to this key constituency and to enhance their connectedness with the School.

I appreciate the feedback I have been receiving from you over the last few months. As always, please feel free to contact me or any of the other Board members with your thoughts.

Cathy Connett
May 1997

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