HBS Leaders on HBS | Alumni on Leadership | Community Memories

Community Memories

A collection of poignant, humorous stories and reminiscences on the HBS experience from our community members, including alumni, staff, and MBA students.

1-51 of 51 listed alphabetically by storyteller's last name

CLASS OF1977

Lloyd Baroody Story VIDEO: 6 minutes

Story regarding his experience as a young graduate attending HBS in the 1970s, which he refers to as "my Vietnam." He notes that the "scary" first year started with the dean's welcome of the students; by the second year he had gained self-confidence that has seen him through 30 years as a businessman and entrepreneur. He discusses the derailment of a case study discussion during class, which later turned into a new case study. He also touches upon the sale of his business, early retirement and his current philanthropic work.

 

CLASS OF2009

Roman Belotserkovskiy Story VIDEO: RT: 07:51

Story regarding the personal impact of his learning experience at HBS. On a visit to the campus, he was captivated by the case method and the energy on campus, which he discovered as a student derives from the dynamic people at HBS. Having studied Prof. Robert Kaplan's balanced scorecard management system, he was thrilled to speak with him personally. From his first year, he has taken away the valuable skills of listening and keeping an open mind.

 

CLASS OF1997

Kal Bittianda Story VIDEO: RT: 05:57

Story regarding how his section bonded after the tragic death of a classmate. He describes co-writing a case study with Prof. Hugo Uyterhoeven. During the 1990s dot com boom, a group of his section mates formed F Corps to share entrepreneurial ideas, which came to fruition in many collaborations.

 

CLASS OF1972

Terry Bloomsburgh Story VIDEO: 11 minutes

Story regarding her experience attending HBS in the 1970s, when women on campus were few but the population was diverse. These independent women did not often "coalesce." She discusses a case study based upon her government employment, her years as a stay-at-home mother, and her return to work at a time when most of her classmates are retiring.

 

CLASS OF1972

Beverly Brandt Story VIDEO: 6.5 minutes

Story regarding her experience as a Southerner attending HBS in the 1970s. In a class of only 37 women, she was gratified to learn of women's natural advantage as managers--their socialization as collaborators--from a case taught by Professor Ted Levitt. The case study method of teaching engages collaborative "creative insight". This has given her a powerful problem-solving tool to understand and make decisions about anything--"the fine art of dissection."

 

CLASS OF1973

Ronald Brown Story VIDEO: RT: 04:22

Story regarding how he gained a lifelong education and companion from his HBS experience. He vividly describes two case discussions. In an exploration of the issue of whether management is a profession, he argued in the negative since there are no comparable certification requirements and oversight mechanisms as in the law and medicine. At the conclusion of the second case, the professor introduced the protagonist, E.J. Weaver, who had not been identified as a woman. A student revealed his sexism and she most effectively his refuted comments. He explains the origin of his student nickname, "Aesop", as his facility with alliteration in illustrating business principles. His original reason for attending HBS was to follow Geraldine Reed, MBA 1973, to the School, and they have shared their lives ever since.

 

CLASS OF2009

Omowale Casselle Story VIDEO: RT: 06:49

Story regarding the major components of his HBS experience. He decided to attend HBS as a means of answering God's call to service after visiting on Prospective Students' Day. As a child, school was an escape from the violence in his community. He is focusing on venture capital as a tool to help others. His Analytics professor and a student trek enabled him to realize that everyone can work to make the world better in their own way and that HBS students as future leaders will fulfill the duties of privilege.

 

CLASS OF2008

Prashanth Chandrasekar Story VIDEO: RT: 08:18

Story regarding his expectations of HBS and how the supportive network of the faculty and his classmates exceeded them; the demanding intensity of the case method, classroom discussion, and courses, such as Prof. Richard Vietor's Business, Government, and the International Economy, which pushed him to excel; the School's emphasis on thinking about the future and long-term career goals; the innumerable opportunities to forge lasting friendships, such as the South Africa trek; and the challenge of fulfilling the responsibility of making a difference in the world by means of his HBS education.

 

MBA2010

Shaohui Chen Story VIDEO: RT: 05:57

Story regarding his view of the Pre-MBA Program as an invaluable mini-MBA Program and his summation of the steps of preparing, studying, and discussing a case. Participating in the Pre-MBA Program acclimated him to life at HBS and in the United States in numerous ways, especially introducing him to the curriculum, methods, and faculty of the MBA Program. He analyzes the stages in the life cycle of a case: researching and investigating on your own; reviewing your findings with your learning team and exchanging feedback and ideas; presenting your interpretations in class and attempting to influence and convince your classmates; comprehending the professor's take-aways and absorbing the lessons of the case.

 

MBA2010

Kunal Chowdhry Story VIDEO: RT: 06:27

Story regarding his appreciation of the support and care provided by the School for him to fulfill his roles as father, husband, and student. Just as he was completing his MBA application, his wife gave birth to their daughter. He was very happy to be accepted but he was concerned about balancing his family and academic responsibilities. Despite feelings of anxiety about returning to school after a number of years working and expectations of student competitiveness, he has been gratified by the generous services available to students and their families. At Partners' Case Night, his wife shared studying and discussing a case with him, which gave her insight into the intensity of the student workload. He is confident that the School understands his considering his family as his top priority and an essential part of him as a student.

 

CLASS OF1988

Philip Hart Cullom Story VIDEO: RT: 03:32

Story regarding the major impact of the case method on his service in the U.S. Navy. Prof. Jack Gabarro's teaching style of interweaving case discussions with personal stories had an especially profound influence on his way of thinking. As he has called upon the lessons and methodologies learned through case analyses throughout his career, he initiated a program to sponsor one line officer to attend HBS every year.

 

CLASS OF1988

Arnold Dicke Story VIDEO: RT: 06:18

Story regarding his fond recollections of the intensive learning environment and lifelong friendships of his Advanced Management Program. As an actuary, he quickly completed the mathematical portions of a case but he admired the insightful summation of information which enabled other students to zero in on the crux of the matter and thus he gained a deeper understanding of his own capabilities. At the executive seminars he organized, Prof. Robert S. Kaplan was a big hit, especially his pin factory story. As a symbol of the indelible impressions of his AMP experience, he remembered the names and faces of all the classmates at his reunion, even those whom he had not seen for twenty years.

 

CLASS OF1977

Preston Ford and Candice Ford Story VIDEO: 10 minutes

Story regarding their shared experience of his attending HBS in the 1970s, as an engaged couple. Topics encompass her visits to the classroom, laughter during case study discussions, and the enduring "special camaraderie" of Section B.

 

CLASS OF2008

Taneka Francis Story VIDEO: 2 minutes

Story abouy her experience attending HBS in the 2000s, reflecting on the accessibility and inspiration of HBS alumna, Taran Swan.

 

CLASS OF1992

Angel Gallinal Story VIDEO: 4.5 minutes

Story regarding his experience attending HBS in the 1990s, from the perspective of being the first person in his family to enroll in business school, the sense of accomplishment of passing his first course, and the student section that became a community and later established a scholarship in memory of a deceased member.

 

MBA2010

Amit Garg Story VIDEO: RT: 07:16

Story regarding his trajectory from a small town in Brazil to one of the biggest high tech companies in the world to his introduction to HBS. His parents immigrated from India to Brazil, and their stress on education impelled to seek challenges beyond his circumstances. He was faced with the choice of either medical school or an irresistible offer from Google and took the latter path to pursue his vision of merging engineering and medicine to make his impact in the world. Previous to HBS, he had gained little experience in accounting or finance. In his first class, Prof. Warren McFarlan welcomed the students to the School with a story of one of his classmate who built a multi-billion dollar business. The professor thought it appropriate to open the first case of the year with the person in the seat of this successful entrepreneur, which was the very seat he occupied.

 

CLASS OF2008

Ciara Gary Story VIDEO: RT: 08:20

Story regarding her happiness that her family was so involved in her HBS experience and their pride in her achievements and confidence that she will continue her success into the next chapters of her life and career. She describes the sense of achievement and enjoyment she derived from her leadership role in the African American Student Union and its work, such as the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference and Sankofa presentation. She discusses how the School effectively blends course work and extracurricular activities, such as her trek to Pakistan and her performances with the singing group, the She-E-Os, and empowers students to reach their full potential.

 

CLASS OF1943

Frederick Golden Story VIDEO: RT: 05:57

Story regarding how he applied the analytical and report writing skills he learned in his Business Problem Analysis course throughout his World War Two military service, professional career in the clothing industry, and personal life. He explains how he utilized his deductive reasoning and problem diagnosis techniques in his work developing pantyhose production at the Warner Brothers Corset Company.

 

STAFF

Susan Hamilton Story VIDEO: 12.5 minutes

Story regarding her experience working in the development department of HBS since 1992. She elaborates on her first business trip, the international travels of a "road warrior", getting to know alumni, and the solidarity of HBS staff.

 

CLASS OF1987

Mitch C. Hill Story VIDEO: 8 minutes

Story regarding his experience attending HBS in the 1980s, in terms of the bonds he made in Section F ("F Troup"). He discusses the diversity of the section, the importance of integrity of business leaders, and the necessity for today's business students to prepare for multiple careers.

 

CLASS OF2009

Shelly Kanhai-Trench Story VIDEO: RT: 06:36

Story regarding her family's focus on the power of education and her goal of applying her HBS education to making the world a better place. Her father's achievements with a technical school education inspired her to strive for the highest levels through her school and college years. After working in the petroleum industry, her husband, David Trench, MBA 2009, and she decided their long-term vision is to make a difference in the world and to do so through the skills and principles of the MBA Program. HBS has introduced her to many options for implementing her strategy. Being exposed to new cultural experiences, she has developed in a deeply personal way through her friendship with a gay classmate. She hopes to return to Trinidad and Tobago and to exert a large-scale impact on the life of her country and to bring about change in her nation's society.

 

CLASS OF1973

Masao Konomi Story VIDEO: RT: 07:16

Story regarding how he was attracted to HBS because of his design to attain English fluency through the verbal tussle of the case method. As part of an exchange program, he led a group students from France on a tour of Japan and he took umbrage at their reaction to his capacity to debate in French. The intensity of case discussions acted as an English immersion process, including a dispute about the viscosity of ketchup. He surmounted the impediments to acclimating himself to a new language and culture and he assures international students that they too can accomplish this.

 

CLASS OF1947

Donald B. Korb Story VIDEO: 6.5 minutes

Story regarding his experience as a V-12er attending HBS during World War II (the Navy Supply Corps school). He also talks about how his two years of graduate school were divided by service on a Navy tanker in Okinawa.

 

CLASS OF2009

Lisa Kostova Story VIDEO: RT: 07:49

Story regarding her perfect fit with the community spirit of HBS and the educational process of the case method. On a visit to the School, she was captivated by the intellectual engagement and excitement of the case discussion that synchronized with her learning style. In contrast to the educational method of presenting and applying discrete ideas and subjects, HBS courses complement each other as concepts analyzed in one class are synthesized with theories taught in others. At the end of each course, a student would impersonate the professor, and this mutual fun and respect are indicative of the faculty's sincere appreciation of their relationship with their students. One the great lessons of the HBS education is the realization that there is no single answer to business or life issues and that the key is to ask the right questions to reach an effective solution.

 

CLASS OF2009

Gina Liao Story VIDEO: RT: 07:49

Story regarding her pleasant surprise at the warm and supportive environment of the Pre-MBA Program and the caring and personal attention from the faculty and staff. The program supplied the academic preparation for the academic system of the MBA Program. The international students found numerous affinities among themselves that flourished into harmonious unity. She extends her heartfelt gratitude to program staff members for their concern for her well-being. The most memorable moment of her first year was the frank and candid discussion of a case on child labor in Southeast Asia in Prof. Sandra Sucher's Leadership and Corporate Accountability course.

 

CLASS OF1983

Bob Maginn Story VIDEO: RT: 04:27

Story regarding his long-term association with HBS and his abiding loyalty to and affection for the School. After writing cases with Prof. Joseph San Miguel, he entered the MBA Program and, even with his familiarity with the case method, was struck by its unique pedagogical dynamics and effectiveness in refining his communication skills. Completing the cycle of student through budding entrepreneur to established business leader, he returned to Prof. Quinn Mills's course on CEOs as a guest speaker with his wife, Ling Chai, MBA 1998. Pondering the changes in the School over the past twenty-five years, he is excited by the diversity and international character of the student body and their dedication to social enterprise and engagement in making the world a better place.

 

CLASS OF2009

Demaris Mills Story VIDEO: RT: 07:45

Story regarding the joint decision of Jon Sallade and DeMaris Mills to come to HBS, she as an MBA student and he as a staff member, her concerns about how they would fit in as married people, how her section has bonded with him, and how he is a support for her. She speaks of the importance felt by students that their loved ones share the intensity of the HBS experience, particularly case discussion.

 

CLASS OF2003

Euvin Naidoo Story VIDEO: RT: 07:34

Story regarding his excitement at being accepted to HBS. He discusses co-writing a case study on Nelson Mandela with Prof. Rosabeth Kanter. As the Social Enterprise Club president, he met John Whitehead, who inspired him to lead a nonprofit organization. He recalls a saying of Dean Kim Clark's mother, "remember who you are," to the effect that we are members of a global community.

 

CLASS OF2009

Bernardo Novick Story VIDEO: RT: 07:26

Story regarding his endorsement of the Pre-MBA Program to prospective students and his recommendation to all students to manage their time wisely and to regard their HBS years as a cornerstone of their lives and not just a career stepping-stone. The Pre-MBA environment was the setting for developing tight bonds that have carried on into the MBA Program and was a productive introduction to the case method. The India Immersion program was a unique platform for learning deeply about a country and its people. With the multitude of options at HBS, he exhorts students to steer their HBS course prudently and efficiently.

 

CLASS OF2009

Bernardo Novick Story VIDEO: RT: 07:26

Story regarding his endorsement of the Pre-MBA Program to prospective students and his recommendation to all students to manage their time wisely and to regard their HBS years as a cornerstone of their lives and not just a career stepping-stone. The Pre-MBA environment was the setting for developing tight bonds that have carried on into the MBA Program and was a productive introduction to the case method. The India Immersion program was a unique platform for learning deeply about a country and its people. With the multitude of options at HBS, he exhorts students to steer their HBS course prudently and efficiently.

 

CLASS OF1992

Joe O'Brien Story VIDEO: 13 minutes

Story regarding his experience attending HBS in the 1990s, including the strong friendships he made at school, and the understanding of human behavior integral to conducting business, which he learned from the case study method. He also gives an account of influential professors and courses.

 

CLASS OF2009

Marc Oman Story VIDEO: RT: 09:30

Story regarding his reaction to the contrasts in educational methods from his upbringing in France and his confidence in the strength of his connections to the School. Although he harbored concerns about the efficacy of the case method, his direct participation terminated any doubts and he discusses one of his favorite cases. He illustrates the entrepreneurial spirit of the students and the School. One highlight of his first year was assisting with the planning of the European Immersion trip. He details the differences between the first and second years of the MBA Program. Perusing his grandfather's student records reinforced his sense of membership in the HBS community which he is certain will remain vibrant throughout his life.

 

CLASS OF1983

Sergio Perez Story VIDEO: RT: 07:51

Story regarding how he felt predestined to go to HBS and how his graduation helped to fulfill his mother's educational dreams for him. In response to a case in Prof. Ray Goldberg's Agribusiness course about Mexico, he proposed a revolutionary economic and social structuring with which the professor agreed. After learning that he was from the Coachella Valley in California, Prof. Manfred Kets de Vries sent him a case to review about negotiations between the United Farm Workers and a local grower. He realized that the story involved many of his own family members. When he was a child growing up in Mexico, his mother gave him a second-hand Harvard sweatshirt that he wore till it fell apart. Returning to HBS for his reunion seems like a fulfillment of his destiny and to realize his mother's hopes for him.

 

CLASS OF2009

Anh Pham-Vu Story VIDEO: RT: 04:30

Story regarding his reflections on the first year of the MBA program, which has provided him with a framework to ponder his long-term interests and to take risks, such as in his choice of a summer job in Asia. HBS learning will serve him throughout his career. In the HBS whirlwind, he advises others to involve one's spouse or partner and take care of one's health.

 

CLASS OF2008

Nima Pourshasb Story VIDEO: RT: 06:04

Story regarding his astonishment at the energy of the case method discussions. The sharing of ideas, mutual assistance, and social activities created close bonds in his section. The intensity of the HBS experience will make the pace of the real world seem slow. He has discovered a great deal about himself through the HBS experience.

 

CLASS OF2009

Thomas Rajan Story VIDEO: 4 minutes

Story regarding his experience attending HBS in the 2000s. The weighty sense of history and responsibility that accompanies an HBS education inspires one to accomplish great things that change the world.

 

MBA2010

Mohinder Rajput Story VIDEO: RT: 09:46

Story regarding how he was inspired to apply to HBS by the graduates who have excelled in his country of India and how he converts the burdens of responsibilities as an HBS student into the energy to develop into a world leader. Major figures in the commercial and political spheres of India, such as Naina Lal Kidwai MBA 1982, have established a record of achievement to which he aspires. Prof. Jan Hammond furnished a lesson on leadership which he will never forget. During his introduction on the first day of class, he spoke of the basic premise of the Stoic School of Philosophy that everything happens for a reason. He applied this principle to their section by voicing his confidence that they will help teach each other for the next two years and this struck a chord with his classmates and earned their applause.

 

CLASS OF2006

Sanjay Razdan Story VIDEO: RT: 05:47

Story regarding how his life-changing educational experience in the Advanced Management Program was crowned by the joyous occasion of the birth of his first child. He enumerates the steps in the process of directly applying business principles from AMP courses in his company and the consequential benefits. Prof. David Yoffie's single slide of how to research, understand, and meet the needs of your customers stands out as the most indelible memory of his program. His defining moment was the realization of the power of HBS as a center of knowledge creation and his participation as both sharer and contributor.

 

CLASS OF2009

Esther Rodriguez-Fernandez Story VIDEO: RT: 04:13

Story regarding how the Pre-MBA Program provided her with an invaluable head start before being immersed in the HBS experience. At her MBA interview, she met a number of fellow Spaniards who wholeheartedly endorsed the program as an avenue to creating her first HBS family. She availed herself of the profusion of services to prepare herself academically and to arrange the everyday details of residence in a new country. Faculty members explicated the mechanics and nuances of the case method in classroom scenarios without the stress of close observation of her performance, and this introduction has been priceless to her. Her classmates and she have coalesced into a supportive group on which they can rely throughout their MBA years.

 

MBA2010

Gordon Ross Story VIDEO: RT: 05:22

Story regarding his skepticism about the concept of HBS as a transformational experience and his rapid realization that just the first stage of the program had already substantially changed him. He was very happy to be accepted to the School but he had early doubts concerning the likelihood that he would become a different person at HBS. Now he believes that it is not a question of "whether I've changed but how haven't I changed." He ascribes this process to the amazing array of academic, social, and professional opportunities at the School. During "thunderbolt moments," he is struck with the degree of impact on him, such as the twenty-four hours from watching the presidential election to discussing with Jack Welch in class a case in which he is the protagonist. To anyone pondering applying to HBS, he urges them to go forward.

 

CLASS OF1998

Mary Teichert Rotelli Story VIDEO: RT: 06:51

Story regarding the educational and personal highlights of her HBS experience. She describes her defining academic moment when she opened a class discussion of a case which she had prepared thoroughly with her study group. She recommends making the MBA curriculum more flexible to facilitate completing the program for women with families. On an HBS High Tech Fellowship, she worked with Prof. Myra Hart and Prof. Lynda Applegate to research and write cases on the transformations wrought by the new Internet economy and the future of business.

 

STAFF

Jon Sallade Story VIDEO: RT: 07:45

Story regarding the joint decision of Jon Sallade and DeMaris Mills to come to HBS, she as an MBA student and he as a staff member, her concerns about how they would fit in as married people, how her section has bonded with him, and how he is a support for her. She speaks of the importance felt by students that their loved ones share the intensity of the HBS experience, particularly case discussion.

 

MBA2010

Wilfred Segovia Story VIDEO: RT: 08:13

Story regarding his resolution to come to HBS following a campus visit and his itemization of the School's facilitation of his goals to make a difference on his return to Asia. While he was definite about obtaining a business education, he was doubtful of his potential academic success at HBS because of the case method. His friend, Karen Ong MBA 2008, urged him to see the School for himself, and when he witnessed the debate over a case, he gravitated to that quintessential nature of the HBS educational process, and through his meetings with students and faculty members, he felt an affinity with the School's sense of community and shared sense of commitment to tackling today's major issues and questions. The inspirational examples and encouragement of his classmates and professors will galvanize him into actualizing his entrepreneurial dreams.

 

CLASS OF1982

Pedro Simko Story VIDEO: 7 minutes

Story regarding his experience attending HBS in the 1980s, as a student with no work experience, learning through sheer panic at the beginning of the term. He discusses the case study method of teaching as the introduction to a career he loves, consumer products. He exhorts today's students, when deciding upon a career, to "choose with your heart."

 

CLASS OF1982

James Sinclair Story VIDEO: 5 minutes

Story regarding his experience attending HBS in the 1980s, after working on farms in Latin America. He discusses how being "put in a pressure cooker" is excellent preparation for working in business. He notes that the case study method defines the common ground he has with all HBS graduates: developing a way of thinking; and the emergence of Brazil as a business economy, which is reflected in the establishment of an HBS alumni club in Brazil, and in the number of case studies which emanate from there today.

 

CLASS OF2009

Andrew Styperek Story VIDEO: RT: 07:55

Story regarding his vision of combining his medical and business educations to exert an impact on society and the enrichment of the educational process from his classmates' inputs. Born into a family of physicians, his expression of interest in the business world diverted somewhat from that line, but he feels his plan to weld the two disciplines together will yield the most effective results. As a graduate of Harvard College, he is pleased to take part in the same diversity of students and viewpoints, which is a hallmark of the university tradition. He has learned a great deal from disagreements with classmates and the case analysis of business mistakes and failures. Equipped with his medical and business knowledge, he will be prepared to bring about major change in the world.

 

CLASS OF2009

Aduke Thelwell Story VIDEO: RT: 04:16

Story regarding the two major surprises of her first year. By putting herself in the professor's role, she has drawn from the case method the lessons of asking the right questions and framing a dialogue effectively in the context of decision making, which she has put into effect in her work with the Board Fellows Program. She describes how she has utilized an exercise in her Leadership and Organizational Behavior course about career-life balance to manage her feelings of stress.

 

CLASS OF1998

Tony Tjan Story VIDEO: RT: 03:54

Story regarding how HBS created a risk-free platform for him to pursue his passion for entrepreneurship. In his first year, he started an Internet company, Zefer, with two classmates, Matthew Burkley and Alexandre Scherer, with the encouragement of several professors, who remain his mentors till today. Despite the vagaries of the business cycle, his courage to search for and grow fresh innovations has persisted through the pleasure of collaboration with close associates.

 

CLASS OF2007

David Tudehope Story VIDEO: RT: 05:49

Story regarding how he reached the half-time break in his career and the Advanced Management Program served as a spring training for recharging his entrepreneurial skill set. The broad range of cases exposed him to the issues and perspectives of other business sectors, nations, and regions and thus has enabled him to study his own field and country from a new angle. With a group of students from around the globe, he assembled a rowing team that defeated the Kennedy School of Government but more importantly renewed his fondness for teamwork and collaboration. In terms of the AMP mission, he exhorts the School to continue to innovate and to evolve as the world changes.

 

MBA2010

Sofia Valdivia Story VIDEO: RT: 06:12

Story regarding her sharing academic and cultural learning and idealistic goals with her classmates. Originally from Peru, she earned an engineering degree at Stanford University and worked in supply chain operations until she determined that she needed a "broader perspective" and applied to HBS. Expanding on the joy of cultural exchange at the School, she is organizing a student trek to Peru with a classmate. At first she was skeptical about the effectiveness of the case method. Having observed the faculty's preparation of case materials and engaged in case discussions, she admires the invaluable interplay of multiple viewpoints and the mutual learning of the case method. She intends to employ her HBS education in the service of improving the lives and opportunities of the people of Latin America.

 

CLASS OF2009

Ziquan Zhang Story VIDEO: RT: 03:51

Story regarding his motivation for coming to HBS from China as the desire to contribute his business acumen to his country's development. Organizing the Asia Business Conference supplied him with the platform for cross-cultural leadership. To relate how inspirational the HBS community is for him, he tells how two Class of 1961 Section C members presented flags and sang a song of their own composition to wish success on his Section C.