Welcome to the HBSSA website! This is one small step for the Club as we look to raise our profile and impact in the South African HBS community and beyond.

2009 has been a strong year for HBSSA. We hosted the largest number of events in a decade. The highlight of the year was the recent visit by Drew Faust, the President of Harvard University, on her first trip - and the first trip of a sitting President of Harvard University– to Africa. As she well noted, there are many challenges that we face on the continent, but the University’s commitment to bringing its focused resources – faculty, students and alumni – to bear in the most effective areas is greatly appreciated.

As members of the Harvard Community in Africa, we are already working on many of these challenges in our own spheres of influence. What struck me about Drew’s visit, though, was how much more we can do as a Community of interested people. And in 2010, therefore, you will see HBSSA more engaged with the broader Harvard Community in South Africa, Southern Africa and Boston. Frankly, there are too many interesting people throughout our community doing many compelling things worth sharing. These activities and deep engagements deserve to be broadcast within our HBS community and across the University’s communities as a whole.

More importantly, however, we have a duty to share our sense of opportunity and enthusiasm for the continent. For too long, Africa has been perceived as a basket case, and, indeed, has held out a collective begging bowl. But within the HBS Community - in South Africa and other African nations - our most important challenge is to share the good news, if you’ll pardon a biblical allusion.

We will use this website to enhance this dialogue with the members of our community and beyond – to share the good news and spread the ideas worth spreading.  This is our first foray into the web, but it will certainly not be our last. Stay tuned for more services to be brought to you by the Club and I  encourage you to send your suggestions on improving the Club’s website and activities to me.

Regards,

Greg Durst (MBA 1998)
President
Harvard Business School Club of South Africa

List of 2010 Club Officers