For the first time ever, HBS alumni around the world gathered online and across time zones on October 20 to kick off the HBS Global Networking Night (GNN 2020). Hosted by HBS Alumni Clubs and Associations worldwide, the two-day event opened with a special interactive presentation by HBS professors Joseph Fuller and William Kerr called The Future of Work—And Managing the Impact of COVID-19. Fuller and Kerr serve as co-directors of the School’s Managing the Future of Work Project.

Professors Bill Kerr and Joseph Fuller

The live, virtual presentation—offered twice to accommodate alumni across the globe—explored how companies can address three forces that are changing how and where we work: the rise of the gig economy; the growing polarization between middle-skills and high-skills workers; and the evolution in the contract between employees and employers. The conversation also considered how the post-COVID workplace will be different, as technology and work modes continue to evolve.

The next day, on October 21, HBS clubs around the world used The Future of Work Project as a central theme of their own virtual GNN events.

More than 100 alumni attended the HBS Club of the Philippines GNN event, which focused on the “Future Lifestyle of Work” and featured panelists Donnie Tantoco, president, Rustan Commercial Corporation; Josie Natori, CEO, Natori Company; and Zaim Kamal, creative director, Montblanc. The conversation looked at the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and how fashion and lifestyle retail companies can adapt creatively, technologically, and organizationally. Attendees also participated in smaller breakout sessions to delve into deeper conversations.

GNN London

The HBS Club of London and HBS Women’s Association of New York, led by Charles Lazarevic (AMP 161, 2001) and Kathy Murray (AMP 112, 1993), held a joint virtual Global Networking Event, featuring a review of the Future of Work presentation for the 44 participants, who then moved to several breakout sessions for networking.

For their first virtual GNN, the HBS Club of Southern California decided to go with a speed-dating style event. “Our alumni had indicated that they really wanted to meet new HBS alums in the area and it’s been hard to do in the virtual environment,” says club president Alexa McCulloch (MBA 1999). She adds that three attendees at a time went to virtual breakout rooms for 10 minutes and then returned to main group for larger discussion. “This was repeated three times and everyone agreed for us to share contact information so they could follow up after the event. Overall, they were happy with the event. We will definitely be hosting more networking events in this format, as it looks like we’ll be virtual into 2021.”

The HBS Club of South Florida welcomed 10 alumni to a virtual discussion about the Future of Work, sharing their insights from their specific industries before spending some time networking.

Nearly 2.3 million individuals are currently locked up in U.S. prisons, jails, and detention centers. Of these, 60% are Black or Latinx. Why the mass incarceration, and why such disparities by race? Are they responses to recent political and economic shifts or part of a deeper social and cultural history? What can be done to address this crisis in our criminal justice system?

The HBS Association of Boston (HBSAB), in partnership with the HBS African-American Alumni Association (HBSAAA) invited alumni to grapple with these questions in a virtual case-method style discussion on October 22. The 160 attendees had the option to be observers only, or participate in the live video class and be prepared to be called upon to engage in the conversation.

HBS Assistant Professor Reshmaan N. Hussam

HBS Assistant Professor Reshmaan N. Hussam

HBS Assistant Professor Reshmaan N. Hussam led the discussion based on her case, “Race and Mass Incarceration in the U.S.” which she has also deployed in her MBA course “Business, Government and the International Economy.”

Hussam led the webinar with case co-authors Holly Fetter (MBA 2020), and Alexis Jackson (MBA 2021), a second-year HBS student whose college-educated father had been incarcerated during her childhood.

Hussam’s current research focuses on the processes and consequences of dehumanization and policies to counter its effects, while Fetter is the Assistant Vice President on the Asset Stewardship Team at State Street Global Advisor, focusing on social investing.

“When we talk about mass incarceration, there’s not necessarily a clear picture of who is impacted by it,” says Ivy Jack (MBA 2004), a board member for both clubs. “In the Black community, we all know someone in prison. We felt it was important for Alexis to be involved. Her voice and her story can help people here at HBS to better understand, when they can put a face and a name on the issue. It’s the idea that she can say, ‘now you have a relationship with me and this is happening to me.’”

While the case was written and first taught last spring, the events over the summer sparked by George Floyd’s murder have given the topic more urgency. The presentation of Hussam’s webinar for alumni is part of a larger effort by HBS to become an antiracist organization.

“People couldn’t believe what happened to George Floyd,” says Jack. “But in the Black community there are many stories like his that don’t get attention. It’s not new and it’s still happening. We need to bring these critical stories to the attention of people who will be leaders. This is going on all around us, and you cannot be a leader if you’re not aware.”

One way that mass incarceration can impact big businesses, says Jack, is when prison labor is part of a company’s portfolio. In her role at Head of Equity Research at NorthStar Asset Management, Inc., Jack holds clients accountable and urges them to reject prison labor, calling it “a reputational risk to the company that’s not just, and not fair.”

Before coming to HBS, Alexis Jackson was an oil and gas industry engineer. Now, she is co-president of the HBS African-American Student Union (AASU), and a member of the Dean's Anti-Racism Task Force.

“In presenting this case, I shared the impact that mass incarceration had on my life, and how it targets one community over another,” she says. “I’ve been a part of so many different socioeconomic backgrounds. I have seen that the lower your income is, the more punitive the legal system, but as income increases, that interaction with the legal system changes.”

Jackson says Hussam posed the big questions about “how we got here and what should we do.” Virtual breakout rooms facilitated discussion about how business leaders can find solutions. “My role was to shed light on my personal experience and the difficulty of life for my father after incarceration.”

She adds that the webinar was well-received and many attendees thanked her for sharing her story. “People who have never been involved with the incarcerated see me as brave. The beauty of my firsthand experience is that people at HBS wouldn’t have expected a daughter of a felon to be their classmate. There’s a lot of work to be done, but slowly mindsets are changing.”

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