Alex Smith, Editor-in-Chief
Last month, HBS students left campus for winter break and traveled to all parts of the globe. Many were visiting family or vacationing with friends. What strikes me is how vast this community becomes once we leave campus, how we built friendships that can endure thousands of miles, and how lucky we are to get to spend this brief time together.
This is my first issue as Editor-in-Chief of The Harbus. I am excited to take on the new role, and I am thankful for the leaders that came before me and built this engaging and contemplative newspaper. The caliber of work brought this month by this impressive team of editors and collaborators is inspiring, thought provoking, and often evokes a bit of laughter. To start, our talented Entertainment Editor, Felipe Cerón, shares his brush with Covid-19 and how he did not let it keep him down over the holidays. Daniel Tong, an RC, writes about his experience and takeaways from The Spiritual Lives of Leaders short intensive program, inspiring us all to self-reflect and reframe what it means to be a leader.
We also learn of a few announcements for the HBS community. TJ Olojede and Katalina Bock highlight the upcoming HBS Tech Conference, a platform to understand the complexities and challenges faced by digital-native leaders. Arpit Gupta, an EC and Leader Investment Partner, provides an overview of activity of The MBA Fund, a venture fund dedicated to early-stage ideas within the MBA community. Further emphasizing the successes of the HBS startup community, alumni Keith Bender, an investor at Pear VC, details the impressive $3.4B in venture capital funding that has gone to HBS alumni since September.
Two exhilarating examples of purpose-driven innovation are shared in the Entrepreneurship section this month. HBS RC Karan Khimji is tackling climate change with his startup, 44.01, a company making strides in progressing permanent carbon storage. Mike Kelly, the Entrepreneurship Editor, speaks with Daniel Schmid, an EC, about his family’s winery and his goal of sustainably scaling through a program called “CEO for a Year.” We also hear from Professor Ranjay Gulati on his new book Deep Purpose, giving us an opportunity to learn about the hearts of high-performance companies. To spark a dialogue, Martín Rodríguez Rodríguez engages in a debate about Don’t Look Up and its hidden message. Finally, as a reminder to see the world around us, Professor Arthur Brooks shares why “Art Should Be a Habit, Not a Luxury.”
Reading these articles and being a part of this team is a gift. It has reminded me to take a break from the case preparation and the career search to appreciate this incredible community. I hope you will join me.
Alex Smith (MBA ’23) is a dog mom from Texas. She previously worked for Chevron Technology Ventures helping startups to scale. Skiing with friends, listening to podcasts on long walks, and singing Billy Joel on road trips are some of her favorite pastimes.