The 2021 HBS Global Networking Night (GNN), held on October 20, celebrated 55 global alumni events from 45 clubs, associations, and shared interest groups. This year, 26 of those alumni groups were able to host events in person by following COVID safety protocols. Another 16 groups hosted virtual events, while three groups offered hybrid events of small gatherings with a virtual participation option.

The HBS Club of India hosted in-person events in four cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.The HBS Club of Nigeria held their first in-person event since before COVID, with attendees declaring how great it was to finally meet and connect with each other. The HBS Club of Austin welcomed approximately 35 attendees—about half of whom were new to the club—to its in-person social and networking event.

The HBS African-American Alumni Association (HBSAAA) saw this year’s GNN as an opportunity to introduce its membership to Terrill L. Drake, the inaugural Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at HBS, through a virtual fireside chat. Building on the school’s Racial Equity Plan, Drake is leading a comprehensive strategy for inclusive excellence throughout the HBS community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other constituents.

Organized by HBSAAA copresidents Sara Clarke (MBA 1997) and Lewis Long (MBA 1991), the event attracted a multigenerational audience of 56 alumni who were highly engaged in the conversation.

Drake brings deep experience in leading diversity initiatives for higher education organizations, and started his talk by sharing his initial observations of HBS. “People here are humble, welcoming, open, and excited to be having the conversation,” he said. “It pulled me in. I felt this is a place I can work, where I can see myself and I can have a big impact, and that we together can have a bigger impact on the larger community.”

Drake outlined a six-step plan for the work ahead, saying that consensus-building will be key, as will engaging the entire school personally (educate yourself), interpersonally (work across differences), and institutionally (work together for structural change).

“In some ways, I think DEI work needs to be top-down, but I also want folks at every level of the institution to engage in the work,” he said. “At HBS we have a unique way of getting things done by building support for things. It’s going to prove beneficial because it will require people be involved, provide input into the work, and then go out and do it as well.”

According to Clarke, the HBSAAA is ready and eager to collaborate on these efforts.

“It is already evident that Terrill has been on a very thoughtful listening tour and has invested energy to understand the context around the Racial Equity Plan and the important body of work he has been hired to lead,” she says. “We appreciated his summary of six key themes and areas of focus (increased representation, data collection, shared language, communication, learning development, accountability, and measures) and see several opportunities to collaborate, as the HBSAAA and Black alumni can lend expertise. We look forward to continuing to facilitate connections to an expanded profile of successful Black HBS alumni—as case protagonists, lecturers, advisors, thought partners, and change agents—in partnership with Terrill and HBS to achieve more equitable outcomes. As our Global Networking Night audience experienced, Terrill is ready to engage and HBS is lucky to have him!”

On November 4 and 5, the HBS Healthcare Alumni Association (HBSHAA) held its 2021 Virtual Annual Conference, featuring innovative panels, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities.

“The goal of the conference is to cover all four pillars of health care in terms of the sectors, so we had pharma and biotech as one group, digital and IT, Investment, and then care providers,” says HBSHAA copresident Nicki MacManus (MBA 2009). “And there’s more and more interest in technology and digital health, both among participants and speakers.”

The event attracted 600 registered participants, and some of the 16 sessions had as many as 250 attendees at a time. This year, the conference featured a hybrid approach where 50% of virtual sessions were prerecorded, and the rest were live. Networking opportunities during breaks included virtual chats as well as a few small, COVID-safe in-person gatherings, primarily located in the Boston area.

During the event, the association honored Kenneth C. Frazier, Executive Chairman of the Board of Merck & Co., Inc. with the 2021 HBSHAA Ellerin Award. The HBSHAA created the Ellerin Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of Bunny Ellerin (MBA 1995), who launched the HBS Healthcare Alumni Association 1999 and has held many leadership roles in the health care sector. It is awarded to an outstanding leader in the industry annually.

In his inspiring keynote address on leadership and responsibility, Frazier spoke about co-founding OneTen, a coalition of leading organizations committed to “upskilling, hiring, and promoting one million Black Americans into family-sustaining jobs” over the next 10 years. OneTen is committed to facilitating a meaningful, measurable, and lasting impact on racial and economic justice.

Interest in health care—especially in public health following the pandemic—is greater than ever, according to MacManus. “And people are asking, ‘how can we bring health care to the next level?’”

The conference kicked off with a talk on valued-based care, by Liz Fowler, Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Each session that followed featured top leaders, experts, and practitioners in the industry.

Other featured panel topics included virtual health care, the behavioral health crisis, venture/philanthropy in biotech, the future of telehealth in disease management, overcoming inequality in the US health care system, and a conversation about how one startup—Denali Therapeutics—became a $6.4 billion company.

The HBSHAA currently has 800 active members, and is looking to grow. Its annual conference, now in its 21^st year, is one opportunity to reach the more than 8,000 HBS alumni globally whose work intersects with healthcare. This year’s conference co-chairs were Ian Chiang (MBA 2011) and Katherine Cheng (MBA 2018), who worked closely with Executive Director Cameron LaHaise and Director Susan Calcio to organize the event.

HBSHAA members can access the conference recordings here.

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