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A view of a flag emblazoned with the HBS shield, Winter 2025. Image credit: Nicolas Ng (MBA'27) On belonging at Harvard: Trusting Yyur own pace Author's note: Originally written in April 2025 (RC year) and published in April 2026 (EC year), this piece is an unchanged excerpt from my personal journal dated April 26, 2025. A lot has happened since: classes, retreats, finals, and everything that comes with closing out two unforgettable years. Let’s talk about cliques. Yes, those tight-knit little clusters of people who seem to move through Spangler like an elite social club, brunching together, group-chatting constantly in class, somehow managed to coordinate Halloween costumes, and stayed in the same spring break hotels in Colombia. If you're an international student like me, watching these squads form with lightning speed can feel a little like High School Musical: Harvard edition. Watching them move through campus like a perfectly curated Instagram carousel can feel like everyone else cracked some secret code to friendship while I was still trying to figure out how to set up my HarvardKey. Let’s rewind the tape. How did we get here? It all started with “Yeah! Week” – You Earned A Harvard! Before the first case, before the first cold call, before we even touched foot on campus, there was Yeah! Week. The unofficial, sun-soaked, borderline chaotic “pre-HBS trip” where a bunch of strangers bonded in Croatia and created what looked like lifelong friendships overnight. I wasn’t at Yeah! Week, I was not even aware of Yeah! Week until like a month ago (I didn’t check those Slack channels, but it’s also not like I would have gotten a visa to Croatia that fast!). So I arrived at START Week already feeling like the party had started without me. Then came START Week, with its icebreakers, section reveals, and overly enthusiastic dance parties. And before I could even memorize my professors’ names, we were off to Section Retreats, Field Day, and the ever-glamorous Gatsby Party, where everyone looked like a vintage Vogue spread, and I on the other hand, didn’t read the line about the dress code in the Eventbrite email: “Dress to Impress: Channel your inner Gatsby and bring out your best 1920s fashion. Think flapper dresses, dapper suits, and all the glitz and glamour of the roaring twenties.” It’s been too long, and as I try to recall the details of the chaos that was those early days, I remember that somewhere in that blur of name games, group selfies, and awkward club fair conversations, cliques began to crystallize in front of my eyes. On to the mid-semester “Wait, do I belong?” moment It hit me around October. Maybe November. Mind you, I had been going to all the events such as Friendsgivings, small group dinners, club meetings but something still felt off. Like everyone else has a default crew, a go-to group chat, a table in Spangler that always saves them a seat. And there I was, just hovering with my food, pretending to be on a call with loved ones back home. So why was I, someone who usually finds connection with ease, suddenly struggling to fit in? I remember journaling about it almost every night last semester, trying to make sense of it all. So believe me, I’ve done the fieldwork, I’ve practically turned the HBS social scene into an anthropological case study. What I came to realize is that there are different cultural codes for how friendship forms and shows up. Back home, relationships often unfold slowly, built over time, through consistency, shared experiences, and quiet trust. Here, it felt like connections sparked fast and flourished publicly through group selfies, inside jokes, and weekend getaways happening before midterms. Neither approach is better or worse, just different. But navigating that difference was what was making me feel like I was always one step behind. Like I was still translating the signals while others were already fluent. Then came winter break A natural pause, a trip back home, and a little perspective. Coming back for the second semester, I made a quiet vow to myself: I would put myself out there. No more waiting for the perfect invitation or hoping to be swept into someone else’s plans. I started reaching out to people for coffee. I smiled back in the classroom. I said hello to people whose names I didn’t remember but I had seen them at recruiting events and I genuinely asked my seatmates about their weekend plans. I also got intentional about staying grounded. I made time to update my closest friends from back home about what was going on with me: the highs and lows, the funny classroom moments, the awkward conversations that happen on those long bathroom lines between classes. Just knowing they were in my corner gave me the confidence to be more open here too. Finally, it happened… I found my people. I became part of groups that eat lunch together, spend days in New York for Spring Break, grab drinks on random Wednesdays, have WhatsApp groups with funny names, and even found someone crazy enough to sign up for Monday morning coffee catch-ups at Faro, the cafe in Cambridge. It turns out, those “cliques” that once felt so impenetrable? They’re often just groups of people who invested early, traveled together, shared rooms during Yeah!Week, or sat next to each other in Spangler on Day 1 and never moved. Chances are, they’re not trying to be exclusive. And even if they are, go ahead and start your own clique. After all, you got into HBS because of your amazing ability to connect with people. Your opportunity (promises high ROI!) As I write this, I just got back from the RC Gala (it was giving Met Gala, and this time I remembered to buy a gown). Group chats are full of section-wide selfies and inside jokes. There’s talk of summer plans and EC year course selection. You can almost hear the reflective piano music swelling in the background, like the final scene of a coming-of-age movie where everyone has grown just a little, cried just a bit, and somehow found their way. And in this very moment, I am feeling more settled, more seen; and to be fair, there is still a lot I am yet to figure out. So as you read this, wherever you are in that journey: you’re not alone. Because at the end of the day, belonging at HBS isn’t about cracking the clique code. It’s about being brave enough to connect. Whether you started doing that in Croatia or this winter semester, every Monday at 8 A.M., at Faro, or you just sent your first coffee chat invite to that section-mate you’ve been curious about from the very first day, it counts. It matters. The author (MBA '26) has requested to remain anonymous.

Following Morgan Hewett (MBA ‘26), a builder in the sex-tech space Being an amateur humour writer is a soul-killing job; in lieu of actual brilliance, one tends to pick apart every shred of one’s daily life for the speck of a premise. The AI vibrator began as a product of my somewhat perverse creativity, a tawdry gag “startup idea” I tossed into a parody play on Harvard Business School. Ha ha, let’s add AI to everything, right? That’s what Silicon Valley is all about! That particular joke, like many others I wrote, did not make the final cut of the show, but like a budget Simpsons writer, it would seem life imitates art—a few weeks later (November 2025), my roommate texted me that our batchmate at HBS, Morgan Hewett, had pitched her AI-vibrator startup, Devin Toys, in an entrepreneurship class. I met Morgan in my very first semester of business school, by the happenstance of being in the same section, one of ten in our batch. She had just sold her startup, an AI-powered telehealth platform for treatment-resistant depression, with a good outcome, clouded only by the dilution incurred through the ignorance of being a first-time fundraiser. All that came later; that first day, I remember a flawlessly made-up girl, dressed head-to-toe in pink, looking stunningly out of place at 7 a.m., breezing socially through the crowds as I attempted to hide behind my newly too-short hair and oversized HBS t-shirt. “What does it take?” I wondered, uneasily, scouring the periphery of this new place; I could not voice what for, exactly. About four days into classes, I would conclude that the all-pink outfits were a regular feature. “I love pink. I was FaceTiming my mom when she was in my childhood bedroom, where all the walls were bright pink; I’d forgotten how much I loved it. I thought to myself—wow, before Morgan started doing things for men, what had she loved? I’ve worn pink every day for the six years since.” What is an AI-powered vibrator? In my many conversations on this topic, it always surprises me how coyness defeats the logic and inquisitiveness of professional cross-questioners at business school. What does the AI in Devin Toys do, after all? Two things: it is covered with sensors which measure arousal and adapts the experience to make it more pleasurable, and it offers personalized fantasies communicated to you via earpiece, by either a male or female persona. AI has brought to the spotlight an industry where taboo has translated to issues with advertising, funding and even banking. Lovense, the interactive sex toy brand, debuted AI-powered toys and even a life-sized AI companion doll, Emily, at the 2025 and 2026 Consumer Electronics Show, respectively; just 6 years after Lora DiCarlo was banned from exhibiting their sex toy at the show, after being invited, in 2019, stirring up allegations of sexism. Why go from mental health to building in the sex toy space? A few weeks into school, at the tail-end of a warm September [2024] when it still seemed like the sunny days would last forever, I remember a desultory conversation lounging on the lawns on business school’s favourite topic: dating. In the most older sister fashion, Morgan interspersed affirmations with details on dating standards to adhere to, while I squirmed in my chair, unsure of what to do with the blinding force of her full attention. Sitting with her again for this article, I was reminded of that day; us leaning together conspirationally whispering, feeling less like an interview and more like my hostel days where conversations with girlfriends filled in for the lack of any actual sex education. “The best period of my sex life is now [with my current partner]; the second best period was actually when I was single. I think being single is better than a bad relationship with a man, one that’s detrimental for you, and that should be true for self-pleasure too.” Morgan speaks openly about surviving domestic abuse—her college boyfriend, behind the facade of a good-looking star football player, concealed manipulative tendencies escalating into violent rage. “In our last fight, he completely blacked out; he saw red and beat me up until I was unconscious. In that moment I realized he was truly losing himself; if I stayed, one day he would black out and accidentally kill me,” she shared, on the podcast I Know a Girl. “The fear of leaving him was less than the fear of staying with him and dying.” In the aftermath, she struggled with her mental health. She remained caught between coping with PTSD symptoms and willfully looking past them, not wanting to lose more time to this episode; until her brother, who was battling depression, spoke to her about it. “It wasn’t until [he] started having conversations with me about going on anti-depressants, that I started prioritizing mental health. That began my long journey, which inspired my first startup. Medication really helped when I first started my recovery journey; eventually I was able to taper off it, and I’ve been medication free for many years now.” OptionsMD, Morgan’s first startup, uses AI to predict which treatments and medications individuals with treatment-resistant illnesses are most likely to respond to; inspired by her brother, who tried twelve different treatments before finding one which worked for him. “This is an odd company for an HBS person to start.” Morgan admits, about Devin; “No investor comes to HBS thinking they’re going to find a sex tech brand.” “This isn’t about money for me.” Morgan, who still works with victims of domestic violence, makes no delineation ring-fencing the deeply personal in how she expunges her efforts in life. If OptionsMD arose from her experiences with mental health, Devin Toys comes from the years Morgan spent single, after an abusive relationship, asking herself what the bar for partnership should be, and how to live a fulfilling life alone. “People talk so much about the male loneliness epidemic, but I see something quieter and more interesting happening with women. So many of my friends are single, and successful, in their 30s, 40s or even just getting married later in life, like a mentor of mine who recently tied the knot at 50. I think historically, the institution of marriage did not really benefit women.” “Of course, that means people misinterpret me as being anti-relationship. I’m not! I just think being single is better than a relationship which is holding you back, so we should be less afraid of it.” Marketing a Sex Toy in Behind Your Name May 2025, the end of the first year of the MBA; I was on a school trip, when I was sent a reel on Instagram, with a refrain I would continue to hear socially over the next few months: “Did you see Morgan’s latest video?” Curiosity won over my struggling roaming network connection, as I attempted to watch it in as many pixels as were available. Prior to starting the brand, she was already building up an online presence which was, in itself, not unusual—podcasts, Tiktoks, blogs proliferated around increasingly niche aspects of the business school experience, produced by, and catering to, the transitory student population, and seldom reaching beyond it. The novelty Morgan brought to this oversubscribed space was a whiff of controversy. The video I’d been sent was about being lonely at HBS; an early attempt at the critical honesty which would become a core pillar of her online persona. “I thought it was interesting that none of your marketing materials refer to your product as a vibrator; but as AI-powered women’s wellness.” I’d spent the evening so extensively stalking her Instagram and her website that her assistant Steph reached out to check if I was interested in a vibrator. “Steph’s not a bot,” she laughed “She’s a real person.” “You have a keen eye, noticing that. Instagram and TikTok have advertising restrictions on vibrators; earlier, it used to be enough for just my videos to not mention the word vibrator, but now with AI, if you run ads, they'll also have bots crawl your website. In America, in 2026!” In part to circumvent this, and in part to create more depth to product than just a sex toy, she hopes to create the Xerox or Google of sex tech; to create a product category out of the brand—consumers will be buying “a Devin”, not an AI vibrator of the brand Devin Toys. In aid of this, Morgan had put up a post to hear from her followers on what they thought the device should be called. “So many men responded to that!” she recalled, amused. She often uses social media as a focus group, believing that it gives her engaged viewers a stake in the product—a feeling of co-creation. When asked about how she filtered the feedback she received online, she explained that the people who were interacting with her page enough to see her posts and polls regularly were a part of the community she was trying to build. “Sometimes I do believe in God or a higher power; who puts obstacles in your way to help you. The fact I can’t refer to it as a vibrator forces me to connect with people emotionally. Now it’s not about a vibrator—it’s about a lifestyle; a woman who is selfish in a healthy way, prioritizing her own joy.” “And of course, I ignore all comments on the page from men. They’re not the target audience.” A significant portion of the reels on Morgan’s page, rather than pertaining to her startup specifically, talks about different aspects of women’s romantic relationships and self-love—“Beware of Men who take you for trips”; “Over half of women in relationships regularly fake an orgasm.” She even brings in her own partner as a foil or a contrast to her product: “I’ve been neglecting my boyfriend to build this product for you.” This bipartisan move involving her boyfriend confuses both parties who frequent her page; those who accuse her of subversion of a typical relationship norm, and the single women who are her target audience. “It’s like Nike: I love Nike; I’m wearing Nike right now. There are better shoes, but I appreciate everything that Nike has done for civil rights, for standing by black athletes like Colin Kaepernick.” “In sending a message about women's independence and empowerment, I’m building a brand; people switch products, but stick to brands.” I open up the comments on one of Morgan’s reels; although many are dotted with positive wishes by friends and acquaintances, some attract the negativity faceless internet interactions breed. “The cynical and jaded perspective, the lack of confidence in men… it’s understandable and it’s sad” read a line from a tirade by a self-designated well-wisher, a woman who even opened her comment with “I like you”. “I thought all women knew this, are you only just realizing this?” says another, on a video warning women about men who pay for your trips early on. “Don’t you need to pay people for this?” on one of her customer research reels, asking for sexual fantasy ideas for the AI companion. Beyond positive or negative comments, it was the silence that echoed. I scroll; Morgan is sitting at her dressing table, describing her product as a perfume in a husky, sensual voice. 8 likes, and no comments. I wondered what it felt like to open up about such a vulnerable topic, so regularly, that it might even feel commoditized to your viewers; not driving their engagement. Whether it started feeling rote to yourself, too. “I think sometimes with marketing, you tend to think of people as a group; but if I want to be seen as somebody that matters, I have to see every single person watching that video as someone who matters. So even if the video only got a reach of 20 people, maybe those 20 are really interested in my product; I should be appreciative of that.” Who’s Funding This? [February 2026] Devin Toys. For friends who want to try it (I’ll be making a loss on these): $99; Retail Price: $299; For those who want to support me with a little more!: $399. A three-tier pricing model for Devin Toys' first presales campaign (which has now been replaced by an early-bird price is $184). I switch back from the website to the girl’s group chat where this was shared; I felt unable to rise to the task of discussing the vibrator as a potential purchase. “Did you know Good Vibrations [the sex shop prominently windowed at Harvard Square, next to a popular bagel spot] is on Doordash?” I text back. Candy Heart Dildo Pleasure Works. $69.99. Morgan believed in her community to be able to fund this; she believed if she could do $500K in pre-sales of Devin, she might consider not raising at all. “My first company, I needed the money. It's a tough position to be in because, yes, you're fundraising, but you also kind of feel like you're begging a little bit. I just don't want to be in that position again. It's really anti my whole ethos.” Like many other early-stage investors, Morgan was burned playing the valuation game, with her stake significantly diluted—when she sold, she was shocked by how small her final payout was, despite having driven the business for years. “Everyone else got paid before me,” she said. The sex tech industry struggles with falling on the wrong side of vice clauses, restrictions set by limited partners (typically the large institutional investors like pension funds or university endowments) on where an investor can deploy their money. Despite this, it seems Morgan’s startup is attracting investor interest. In the course Founder’s Launch, HBS’s flagship entrepreneurship workshop, students pitch the investors of week one-on-one; following which their performance is dissected in front of the class. At the time I spoke to Morgan, she’d spoken to 20 investors over the semester. “So basically my experience is that if an investor just sees my deck, they're like no, I'll never invest in this company. If I can get a one-on-one conversation though, they’re often converts.” Morgan reflected. This course culminated in a grand finale, Demo Day, with the battleground of choice upgraded to HBS’s auditorium Klarman Hall, with a full panel of investors, pitching to an audience in the area. I overheard a reference to Morgan’s performance at this finale, at a friend’s backyard event celebrating the first signs of summer—beheading boiled crawfish under the cloudless blue sky. “Investors loved her. She has so much charisma, they were fascinated by the pitch.” my friend said, reflectively peering at the crawfish shell sinking into my now-abandoned beer. “She didn’t use the word vibrator even once though, I wouldn’t have realized what she was talking about had I not known!” Morgan won the Investor Vote, an award for the company investors were most excited about. “Frankly it was because of the traction I received on pre-sales; we’re at $45K of revenue this month just 3 months after starting, without even having launched a product. That’s something investors can’t ignore.” I first interviewed Morgan about this article early March; by April end, she saw her prescient bet on pre-sales pay off, giving her enough leverage to consider raising money. “The confidence around how well I was received by investors led me to launch my pre-seed round, which I did, the night of Demo Day; so now I’m racing to close my round,” she says, on a voice note—unable to make our last rendezvous before the publication of this article, rushing to the airport to make a flight for an investor meeting instead. Is HBS Ready for the Business of Sex? I’m staring at the Partiful for an event titled “The Business of Sex with Ari Kytsya,” a famous OnlyFans creator and internet personality who talks about the negatives of the industry. It was hosted by the Cannabis Business Association of HBS and sponsored by Julie Care, a company selling morning-after pills, offering both pizza and their products to attendees. It seemed almost amusing to me how trite it was for these different avenues of business, which all existed slightly outside conventional conversation to varying degrees, to come together, as though for support. I scroll down and see all 120 seats for this talk filled. Harvard Business School is not new to discussions around reproductive health—Cofertility, which provides egg-freezing services, spoke on campus during the Woman’s Health Conference; a startup to assess the quality of male sperm is being worked on by an HBS student. However Devin Toys might be the first HBS startup in the adjacent sex tech space. There were two anonymous complaints to the HBS Student and Academic Services team about the talk, both focused mainly on concerns that OnlyFans’ business model may be exploitative toward its creators. “I wish I could have invited them for the event, because they would have realized that that’s a big part of what she talks about!” Morgan exclaimed. The event did not happen as planned, victim to a Boston snowstorm; it was rescheduled to April, when 80 people—mostly women—attended. I went to an undergraduate college whose administration believed they had the right to search students’ dorm rooms and dole out disciplinary hearings if they found condoms. Coming from a range of backgrounds, I wondered whether people approached Morgan for debate simply because it fell outside their worldview. “Two of my close friends did speak to me about their concerns about the event, which I thought were valid. Maybe there are more people who aren’t that supportive of me; but given that everyone here is trying to optimize for being liked, no one is going to say anything to my face.” Despite my voyeuristic journalist probing, Morgan maintained her optimistic poise; although several of her videos open with the fiery take “Harvard Business School hates my startup” she remains neutral and understanding about criticism she receives, unwilling to delve into details, redirecting with quiet effectiveness towards more positive threads of discussion. Earlier in our conversation, I had asked her if she received uncomfortable messages on social media. “Oh, totally. It just isn’t personally something I lose sleep over.” she said, dismissing my probing concern confidently, going on to talk about the messages she receives from women in abusive relationships, and how fulfilling it was to help them. I sensed a strict discipline. When your everyday involves sharing the deeply personal, sparking debates usually had in whispers behind closed doors, there is a line. One does not veer into the unproductively personal, a provocateur for no cause; one must only draw as much attention or ire as is necessary. In the earlier days of figuring out her public persona, it is possible that Morgan did not draw this line as clearly. One of her more contentious reels is a response to another girl, discussing how the men of Harvard Business School fall short as dating partners. At 3,500+ likes and 300+ comments, this is her highest engagement reel; with the first comment on the reel being “Does she know she’s a 3.5 on 10?” from a man, as a response to her calling out men at Harvard Business School as 4/10 on looks. I brought up this topic in response to her answer to the question: “What would you like to tell people that you usually don’t get a chance to?” “I think people position me as more anti-man than I am. I’m in a happy relationship, and so many of my male classmates have been supportive and helpful.” Ultimately, I think she’s figured out how to hold her own. I was touched to see a response to the above comment from our classmate, and her close friend: “She’s a 10.” Recently, at one of our last section events, a humorous roast (which is a tradition at the school), Morgan’s startup came up. Warm cheers for her filling the hall, as she posed in front of the meme on a projector. When something enters the realm of good-hearted humour, you can be assured it is favourably cemented in public perception. The Confidence to Keep Showing Up I was lucky to have many readers and critics for this article, pre-publication; I remember a surprising comment I received from one—“She cuts a lone figure.” I’d never thought of her that way; the booming laugh echoing from the centre of a party, the focus of an intense conversation in the breaks between classes. Perhaps the loneliness was in holding on to the conviction, the confidence—to cut into conversation, to make that joke at a party, to endorse what you believe in, without looking left or right for reassurance. It’s the end of our two years at HBS; my hair’s grown out, tempered with a spontaneous dye-job in Lima. I’d found my outlet, writing for our school newsletter throughout—and this is to be my last article. I look over to Morgan, sitting across the table, looking fabulous even under the harsh overhead light. I’d spent the last hour with her, pulling at the ill-defined thread: “What does it take?” “It’s hard work though, girl. It’s really hard work to be so confident that if people diss you, you really are just like, ‘You’re missing out’.” Ramya Vijayram (MBA ‘26) is originally from Chennai, India. She graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Biotechnology. Prior to the Harvard MBA, Ramya worked at Warburg Pincus in Mumbai, India, and McKinsey and Co. in India.

A pensive editorial from 2003 Editor’s Note: This issue’s From the Archives piece originally ran in May 2003. The Class of 2003 witnessed, from the start of their time at HBS to commencement, the terrorist attacks on 9/11, then massive corporate fraud at Enron, then the collapse of the dot com tech bubble, and then the beginning of the Iraq War a month before finals. Crisis has a habit of forcing perspective. Before leaving Allston behind, a member of the class wrote the following editorial for The Harbus. The HBS experience has often whimsically been referred to as “life in a bubble,” where we are protected from the outside world for two blissful years of frolic, cross-dressing and networking. An honest view, however, reveals that to be a tragic myth. Soon after we enrolled we were busy practicing the finer points of the vaunted case method during the breezy, intellectually-lite program known as Foundations. On one of those fanciful Fall mornings, a dozen or so terrorists decided to murder several thousand people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. We lost friends and family, and perhaps our innocence. Our bubble, so to speak, burst. I borrow that line, of course, from the tech crash that dramatically changed our employment landscape, not to mention the economy as a whole. Gone are the days of dot.com dreams and quick millions. And even the investment banks and consulting firms that those who came before us perhaps naively eschewed for Silicon Valley are shrinking their classes if not closing their doors. Then came Enron, and those who came before us (long before us) again weakened our job prospects through their deceitful and HBS brand-damaging shenanigans. As if 9/11 and failures of corporate governance had not done enough to hurt the marketplace for our varied talents, another HBS alum waged a war to free a people, and sent the markets back on their uneasy course. The markets be damned, however. For if we have learned anything at HBS, it is that people matter and that the human spirit perseveres. And lest we be incredibly narcissistic, we must recognize that the events of the last two years affected the world, not simply the HBS Class of 2003. So as we prepare to leave, we should not regret our number of job offers or our looming student loans. Instead we should celebrate our good fortune in having this singular opportunity to be educated and armed with the tools we will need to survive in a world gone mad. We will not only have the opportunity, but the undeniable obligation, to share our blessings with the world. Yes, the world. It may sound trite to speak in such lofty tones, but, and this is not arrogance speaking, graduates of this particular MBA program have been known to find themselves on quite lofty perches. CEO. Head of the World Bank. President of the United States. Parent. Teacher. In each of these roles, the first included, our ability to dramatically and profoundly improve or destroy the lives of others will depend, to quote Dr. King, on the quality of our character. So please, let the lessons, trials and tribulations of the last two years not discourage you, but instead inspire you. There are hundreds of millions of people worldwide who live on less than $2 a day. There are homeless people less than a mile from HBS. There are children on your street who need a mentor. Reach out. Touch. Give. Let the world know that you appreciate this wonderful opportunity and experience that we have shared.

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About The Harbus Mission For over 80 years, The Harbus has served as Harvard Business School's student-run newspaper. Since our founding in 1937, we have strived to provide quality news that informs, educates, and provokes thought on campus. About The Harbus News Corporation is an independent, self-funded non-profit news organization run by students. We publish The Harbus , a publication that brings free news to the Harvard community available both in print and online. Distributed free of charge to members of the Harvard Business School community, The Harbus includes interviews with CEOs, features on HBS companies from startups to established corporations, perspectives on pressing issues worldwide, as well as various content by the HBS community. Readers include Harvard faculty, staff, students, alumni, as well as other affiliates worldwide. Team Editor-in-Chief Alex Qi Alex Qi (MBA '27) is from Irvine, California. He studied philosophy, politics, and physics at New York University. Prior to HBS, he worked in corporate strategy and M&A at Northrop Grumman in Virginia. Chief Executive Officer Pranav Bharadwaj Pranav Bharadwaj (MBA '27) is from London, UK. He studied Economics & Management at the University of Oxford before beginning his career in consulting at OC&C. He then moved into healthcare operations, most recently serving as Head of Strategy & Operations at Cera, one of Europe’s fastest-growing health tech companies. He is passionate about health policy, economics, and the role of technology in transforming public services. Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Michelle Yu Michelle Yu (MBA '26) is originally from Cresskill, New Jersey. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Film and Media Studies and worked for CNBC, NBC News, and CNN prior to HBS, along with projects for HBO, Showtime, Oxygen, and Spectrum. Outside of work, she is a 2x marathon runner, American Songwriting Awards winner, and filmmaker whose work has screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and AMC's Empire Theaters in Times Square. Editor, Entrepreneurship Katerina Gan Katerina Gan (MBA '27) is originally from Riverside, California. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Economics. Prior to HBS, she worked at Linden Capital Partners, a healthcare private equity firm based in Chicago. Editor, Industry Insights Santi Gil Santiago Gil (MBA '26) is originally from Mexico City. He graduated from Tecnológico de Monterrey with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Before HBS, he worked in venture capital at IGNIA and investment banking at a boutique firm in Mexico City. Editor, Community Ramya Vijayram Ramya Vijayram (MBA '26) is originally from Chennai, India. She graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Biotechnology. Prior to the Harvard MBA, Ramya worked at Warburg Pincus in Mumbai, India, and McKinsey and Co. in India. Editor, Humor & Satire Jake Goodman Jake Goodman (MBA '26) is originally from Davie, Florida. He graduated from Brown University with an honors degree in English and Economics in 2019. Prior to HBS, Jake worked in corporate development, strategic finance, and retail strategy and operations at Gopuff, a rapid convenience app, in Miami, and for Barclays in New York City. He is an avid banjo and guitar player and misses the Florida sun dearly. Editor, Arts & Entertainment Folu Ogunyeye Folu Ogunyeye (MBA '27) grew up in Milton Keynes in the UK. She graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Human, Social and Political Sciences. Prior to HBS, Folu worked in HR at BlackRock in Atlanta and in social impact consulting in New York and London. Beyond work, Folu loves to write, explore art galleries or catch a live jazz gig. Editor, Sports John Mahoney John Mahoney (MBA '26) is a native of West Des Moines, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2021 with a degree in Finance. While in college, he was a walk-on defensive back for the Fighting Irish and wrote a book about his experience, titled History Through The Headsets . Prior to coming to HBS, John worked in consulting and strategy in Minneapolis and Chicago. Editor, Community Palak Raheja Palak Raheja (MBA '26) is originally from Lucknow, India. She graduated from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi, with degrees in Statistics and Economics. Prior to HBS, she worked at Bain India, and in the Indian consumer and health-tech start-up ecosystem. In her free time, she can be found reading, running, or watching movies. Editor, Between Two Classes Peter Sykes Peter Sykes (MBA '26) is originally from Calgary, Canada. He graduated from Georgetown University in 2015 with a degree in Economics. Prior to HBS, Peter worked in strategic ops at Reservoir Media, an independent music company in New York, and for Morgan Stanley. Photographer Hoyt Gong Hoyt Gong (MBA '27) is from Los Angeles, California. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in computational biology and economics. Prior to HBS, Hoyt worked as a product manager at Sequel Med Tech, a medical device and digital health startup, and for BCG in San Francisco. He enjoys kombucha, street photography, and drones. Photographer Nikole Naloy Nikole Naloy (MBA '26) is originally from Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Harvard University in 2021 with a degree in art history and economics. Prior to HBS, Nikole worked as an investment banking analyst at The Sage Group in Los Angeles and in strategy for TikTok in New York. Board of Advisors Trevor Fetter Trevor Fetter is a Senior Lecturer and Henry B. Arthur Fellow at Harvard Business School, where he has taught since 2019, focusing on MBA courses in financial reporting, leadership, and corporate accountability. A graduate of Stanford and HBS, he began his career in investment banking before holding senior leadership roles at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Tenet Healthcare, where he served as CFO and later CEO, growing the company into a $20 billion enterprise and launching major healthcare businesses like Conifer Health Solutions and United Surgical Partners International. He also founded Broadlane, a successful healthcare supply chain company. Since retiring from Tenet in 2017, Fetter has remained active as a corporate director, investor, and advisor, serving on boards of major companies and nonprofit organizations. Recognized as a top corporate director by the Wall Street Journal, he is also engaged in philanthropic efforts and shares community involvement with his wife, Melissa Fetter, with whom he received a humanitarian award in 2017. Allison Murphy Allison Murphy is the Chief Operating Officer at Axios, where she leads operations and helps scale the company’s fast-growing digital media and local journalism initiatives. A Harvard Business School graduate, she is a digital media executive with a strong focus on product strategy, innovation, and organizational transformation, known for building high-performing teams. Prior to Axios, she held senior leadership roles at The New York Times across product, ad innovation, and commercial operations, and also worked at Capital One in fraud prevention. Earlier in her career, she was a consultant at The Bridgespan Group. Murphy is actively engaged in shaping the future of journalism, particularly through the use of AI to expand high-quality local news, and is recognized as a forward-thinking leader in the evolving media landscape. Gabriel Handel Assistant Dean for Administrative and Educational Affairs at Harvard Business School, where he focuses on school-wide strategy, planning, and cross-functional initiatives, working closely with leaders across HBS and Harvard University to drive major projects and institutional priorities. His responsibilities span strategic and financial planning, technology and campus development, major events, community engagement, and alumni relations. He also plays key governance roles across multiple Harvard initiatives, including the Harvard Innovation Lab and Advanced Leadership Initiative, and serves on various boards and committees related to technology, policy, and academic programs. Handel has been instrumental in key efforts such as digital transformation initiatives, campus planning, the launch of the D^3 Institute, and leading aspects of the school’s COVID-19 response.