Summer Spotlight—Gaming: Combining Art and Technology

Sathvik Sudireddy (MBA ’23) talks about a summer spent well at Activision Blizzard.  Tell us more about your background? After studying computer science at Harvard College, I worked at a large international education company, EF (Education First), before transitioning to a GameTech startup called Beamable, which is building a backend-as-a-service live operations platform for game… Continue reading Summer Spotlight—Gaming: Combining Art and Technology

True Accountability Requires Courage

Alterrell Mills, Contributor

Alterrell Mills (MBA ’16) reflects on the commitments and lessons learned in HBS’ Racial Equity Plan.  We have all witnessed, or had ourselves been subjected to, the dreaded cold call of a classmate that refused to acknowledge their lack of preparation, drawing out their monologue and digging a deeper hole with hubris-laden attempts to avoid… Continue reading True Accountability Requires Courage

A Couple’s Guide to HBS

With one semester of HBS under our belt, we can confidently say we’re now experts on #LifeatHBS. We thought it was about time someone asked us to share our words of wisdom with the HBS community. In recognition of Valentine’s day, we wanted to fill you in on some top tips, tricks, and observations to… Continue reading A Couple’s Guide to HBS

Published
Categorized as Opinion

The Model Minority Paradox

Exploring Asian identity and minority politics beyond the SFFA v. Harvard lawsuit On Lee’s first call with his MBA admissions coach, she told him, bluntly, that he’d drawn one of the worst hands for admission to HBS: Asian-American, heterosexual, male, with a background in finance and technology. There were simply far too many people “like… Continue reading The Model Minority Paradox

Being Diagnosed With Endometriosis Was One of the Best Moments of My Life

When it all started The first time I had my period I was in middle school. The end of classes was fast approaching and, after the initial shock of seeing my underwear full of blood, all I could think of was that my summer at the seaside would have been ruined. No more sea bathing,… Continue reading Being Diagnosed With Endometriosis Was One of the Best Moments of My Life

Driverless Vehicles and More

What traditional sector has experienced more recent change than the automotive industry? Witness the ubiquity of electric vehicles, the explosion of ride-sharing services and the introduction of autonomous vehicles. In fact, flying cars are being tested today and even jet propulsion packs are now for sale. “There are few, if any, longstanding segments of the… Continue reading Driverless Vehicles and More

Published
Categorized as Opinion

Boston Dreams of Sushi

Seeking refuge from the autumnal breeze, I was walking in Boston’s Leather District and, at first, had inadvertently walked past my destination. O Ya, one of Boston’s upscale sushi restaurants, was right on the corner of East Street with a small wooden door that made way into a narrow entrance, as if one were entering… Continue reading Boston Dreams of Sushi

From the Editors’ Desk: Don’t Boo, Vote

At campaign rallies and stump speeches, when allusions to political adversaries elicit boos from the audience, Barack Obama routinely turns to his classic response: “Don’t boo. Vote.” The line has assumed new meaning in the 2018 US midterm elections, when partisan animosity and political polarization are as severe as ever. Recent years have been characterized… Continue reading From the Editors’ Desk: Don’t Boo, Vote

Published
Categorized as Opinion

Simplifying Complexity

Beginnings are a good chance to think about objectives and plans, so let’s review what some of the big ideas here at HBS should be for you. For most of you those include learning to be a leader and critical thinker, meeting new friends, having new experiences, learning about yourself and perhaps positioning yourself for… Continue reading Simplifying Complexity

From the Editors’ Desk: To the Horizon

It’s May at Harvard, ostensibly the end of a long Boston winter with the season’s last snowfall still large in the rearview mirror. Warmth and sunshine have arrived at last, just in time for final exams, international travel for FIELD Global Immersion, and Commencement. Students seemingly inevitably find that time here slips away so quickly—from… Continue reading From the Editors’ Desk: To the Horizon

How Blockchain is Totally Changing Healthcare

The tech world can’t stop talking about blockchain, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the healthcare sector. As one HealthTech contributor put it, “it was impossible to ignore the growing buzz around blockchain at HIMSS 2018 in Las Vegas.” But behind the buzz and hype, what are the substantial ways that blockchain will… Continue reading How Blockchain is Totally Changing Healthcare

Practicing Leadership in Corporate Accountability

During RC year, I often wondered why in-class conversations about ethical leadership were so divorced from the rest of the HBS curriculum. Case method discussions, cropped to fit narrow topics to build a foundation of specific technical competencies, are an excellent pedagogical means for most RC topics. Leadership and Corporate Accountability (LCA), in my opinion,… Continue reading Practicing Leadership in Corporate Accountability

The Golden State

It is the season for the EC to close in on career choices and the RC to lock in internships. The realization is dawning that HBS is actually a twenty month experience that quickly is over. You must have questions. What industry? What functional area? What company? Compensation in the first few years? Experiences of… Continue reading The Golden State

From the Editors’ Desk: No More “Lost Einsteins”

For all the attention directed toward startups in an era of record venture capital financing, massive appetite for early-stage investments, and an ever-growing club of VC-backed “unicorns” crossing billion-dollar valuations, entrepreneurial activity by MBAs from leading programs has lagged far behind. Entrepreneurship among recent MBA graduates has reached its lowest level in eight years, falling… Continue reading From the Editors’ Desk: No More “Lost Einsteins”

How to Get or Refinance an International Student Loan

Securing educational financing as an international student is no easy feat. You might think getting into grad school is the tough part, but even securing a seat in a prestigious, competitive MBA program is likely to seem easier than finding the financing to accept it. And, it’s difficult to imagine affording an international MBA (or… Continue reading How to Get or Refinance an International Student Loan

Activist Investors: The Untold Story

Ask many HBS students about the perception of activist investors as perpetuated by the RC curriculum, and you’ll hear the words “short-term,” “meddlers,” “aggressive,” and a number of other pejoratives that are neither politically correct nor publishable by the Harbus.  Indeed, many of the cases taught throughout the RC curriculum (across disciplines – FIN, FRC,… Continue reading Activist Investors: The Untold Story

Chasing a Sense of Purpose: In Healthcare, and Beyond

On a brisk January day in San Francisco, California, 10,000 attendees from more than 450 companies spanning medical devices, healthcare service providers, and pharmaceuticals piled into the heart of the city to attend the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The days were filled by a rapid fire of ideas in innovation and investing—from how to… Continue reading Chasing a Sense of Purpose: In Healthcare, and Beyond

Over-Leveraging America’s Future: Business Leaders Must Do Better

Roaming the halls of Harvard Business School over the past few weeks, you would never know it, but the U.S. Senate just voted on one of the most consequential pieces of legislation of our time. Early Saturday morning, the Senate passed a tax “overhaul” that dramatically lowers corporate tax rates, balloons the federal deficit, reduces… Continue reading Over-Leveraging America’s Future: Business Leaders Must Do Better

Restaurant Review: Pagu

Fashion is a fickle industry—plaid gives way to paisley, herringbone to houndstooth. But in the spin cycle of styles, the one constant is also the most sumptuous, understated, and versatile. Make no mistake: black is always the new black. From the soft sheen of the plush leather banquettes, to the glossy lacquerware, to the mesmerizing… Continue reading Restaurant Review: Pagu

Dear Harby

  Dear Harby, I came in wanted a run-of-the-mill job in general management, but now I seemed to have caught the finance bug from all the company presentations put on by CPD. Should I be an investment banker? -Wondering in One Western Dear Wondering, Lots of people are attracted to Investment Banking. There are the… Continue reading Dear Harby

Choosing a Life Partner

Young couple standing by lake holding hands

Most likely you have spent many hours thinking about and preparing for your professional life.  In fact, for most of you, the core reason you came to HBS is to make a career pivot, to find a new, more attractive professional track. Once on that track, in the wider world, most of your time will… Continue reading Choosing a Life Partner

Where’s the Leadership?

Light/Power

Where’s the leadership regarding HBS, business leadership, and climate change? Please consider the quotes on the facing page, many of which will be recognizable, and all understandable, to the Harvard community. Surely the statements by President Faust and Dean Nohria can only be considered sincere, and can only be fulfilled, if the School takes a… Continue reading Where’s the Leadership?

Media Entrepreneurship In A Time Of Polarization

People at HBS have always tended to be politically and socially active. Many students speak about a desire to work in the public sector after a successful business career. Others hope to promote change from a position of corporate influence. However, during the 2016 election cycle, the social and political problems in our country began… Continue reading Media Entrepreneurship In A Time Of Polarization

DACA And The Economics Of Immigration

President Trump defended his decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as an effort to promote “safe communities, a robust middle class, and economic fairness for all Americans.” In his statement, the President painted his stance as simultaneously shrewd and compassionate. He pointed a finger at roughly 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought… Continue reading DACA And The Economics Of Immigration

Manning Didn’t Deserve Rescinded Harvard Visiting Fellowship

Manning Invite Widened the Civilian-Military Divide at Harvard In honoring former US Army Specialist Chelsea Manning by naming her a Visiting Fellow, the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School opened wide a wound that leaders at Harvard have diligently worked to close in recent years: the civilian-military divide. There are few Rorschach Tests more… Continue reading Manning Didn’t Deserve Rescinded Harvard Visiting Fellowship