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
Category: Opinion
Opinion content from Harbus editors, columnists, and HBS students.
True Accountability Requires Courage
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
Klarman’s First HBS Show Impresses
HBS Executive Education’s Nathaniel Koven reviews No Clue. The 46th HBS Show, No Clue: The Case You Can’t Prepare For, was always going to go down in HBS history as the first theatrical production in the recently-completed Klarman Hall, but what a smashing first it was. This production, which ran April 8–10, was an unalloyed… Continue reading Klarman’s First HBS Show Impresses
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
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
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
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
RC Feels: what RCs think of HBS so far
First month into the RC year, we gulped at Cranberry, admired Dell, decreased value of Netflix & chill, went nuts positioning (Planters), climbed Everest, all whilst missing Toby. But what do RCs think of HBS one month in? Through several direct / indirect conversations (and maybe a few Instagram stories), I have come to the… Continue reading RC Feels: what RCs think of HBS so far
Africa Is Not a Country
‘What would you do if you were Africa?’ This question said it all to me. I came to HBS excited to learn more about the role of business in a global context. After having worked and lived in a few different countries on the African continent, I expected to meet many classmates from the continent… Continue reading Africa Is Not a Country
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
Out of Office: HBS Spring Break Treks
What is the best way to spend Spring Break when there is plenty of work to catch up with, internships to find, exhaustion to recover from and when it would be absolutely unreasonable to go on an HBS trek? Going on an HBS trek, of course! That was indeed the decision made this March by… Continue reading Out of Office: HBS Spring Break Treks
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
Let’s talk about family wealth
To get into HBS, family money matters. It’s an uncomfortable truth. “At 38 colleges in America,” The New York Times provocatively declared earlier this year, “more students came from the top 1 percent of the income scale than from the entire bottom 60 percent.” Stated another way, a child born into the top 1 percent… Continue reading Let’s talk about family wealth
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
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?
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