Harvard debate
Second surprise: Harvard is a monastery. Wake up at 5.30 am, exercise; breakfast at 7 am, classes from 8 am to 4/5 pm. Dinner at 6.30 pm. Then, living-group homework between 8-11 pm. Later, revise next day's case-studies. To sleep five hours, was a pure aspiration. Weekends involved incremental classes, meetings, working-dinners. We read cases during mealtimes, in taxis, even at the barbers.
The Professors were brilliant. Professor Yoffie taught us to encompass the strategy of corporations, in one simple line. Nobel Prize laureate Robert Merton explicated causes leading to financial meltdowns. Prof. Vietor reduced country budgets to ordinary balance sheets. 'Identifying a consumer need is the seed of successful businesses,' opined Prof. Quelch. It was an intravenous injection of concentrated knowledge.
Prof. Kotter lectured a whole day on leadership. Then counselled, even though we may learn 7,000 new ideas at the course, on return we should focus on just two. His ultimate warning was, 'If I meet you at some airport, five years hence, I will only ask you, 'What are you doing in your life?''
Rajendra Aneja,
Mumbai, India
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Gulf Today
6 days ago
- Gulf Today
Harvard debate
This is referring to the ongoing debate on the relevance of Harvard. Harvard is not glamour. It is sheer hard work. I landed at Harvard Business School, with over 100 managers, directors, army leaders, bureaucrats, from 55 countries to school for eight weeks. First surprise: Clergyman John Harvard, whose name the University bears, bequeathed only £779 (50% of his estate), but also 400 books. Thus, the Harvard monogram proclaims, 'Books tell the truth.' Second surprise: Harvard is a monastery. Wake up at 5.30 am, exercise; breakfast at 7 am, classes from 8 am to 4/5 pm. Dinner at 6.30 pm. Then, living-group homework between 8-11 pm. Later, revise next day's case-studies. To sleep five hours, was a pure aspiration. Weekends involved incremental classes, meetings, working-dinners. We read cases during mealtimes, in taxis, even at the barbers. The Professors were brilliant. Professor Yoffie taught us to encompass the strategy of corporations, in one simple line. Nobel Prize laureate Robert Merton explicated causes leading to financial meltdowns. Prof. Vietor reduced country budgets to ordinary balance sheets. 'Identifying a consumer need is the seed of successful businesses,' opined Prof. Quelch. It was an intravenous injection of concentrated knowledge. Prof. Kotter lectured a whole day on leadership. Then counselled, even though we may learn 7,000 new ideas at the course, on return we should focus on just two. His ultimate warning was, 'If I meet you at some airport, five years hence, I will only ask you, 'What are you doing in your life?'' Rajendra Aneja, Mumbai, India
The National
21-07-2025
- The National
IMF's Gita Gopinath to leave fund and rejoin Harvard University
Gita Gopinath, the second-highest ranking official at the International Monetary Fund, will be leaving her role next month to rejoin Harvard University, the IMF said on Monday. The IMF said Ms Gopinath will return to the Ivy League university, where she will be the inaugural Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics. She first joined Harvard in 2005 before being appointed to the IMF as its first female chief economist in 2019. Ms Gopinath was promoted to first deputy managing director in 2022. 'She came to the Fund as a highly respected academic in macroeconomics and international finance,' IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement. Ms Gopinath served as the fund's chief economist during the Covid-19 pandemic, which Ms Georgieva said was an 'unprecedented challenge to our membership'. Ms Gopinath also co-authored the fund's pandemic plan on how to end the Covid-19 crisis, which the fund touted as a key contribution in setting global vaccination targets at a doable cost. As first deputy managing director, Ms Gopinath oversaw the fund's surveillance and analysis on fiscal and monetary policy, debt and international trade. She most recently represented the IMF at the G-20 summit in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. There, she warned that economic uncertainty remains high due to downside risks dominating the global outlook. The fund is due to release its updated global economic forecast later this month. She also laid out multiple priorities for policymakers, including building resilience and boosting medium-term growth. The fund said Ms Georgieva will name Ms Gopinath's replacement 'in due course'. 'I am truly grateful for my time at the IMF, first as Chief Economist and then as First Deputy Managing Director,' Ms Gopinath said in a statement. 'I now return to my roots in academia, where, I look forward to continuing to push the research frontier in international finance and macroeconomics to address global challenges, and to training the next generation of economists.'
Sharjah 24
30-06-2025
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Cabinet appoints Saeed Al Hajeri as Chairman of Emirates Drug Est.
Al Hajeri brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this critical role. Currently the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic and Trade Affairs, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Lewis & Clark College and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He has also completed the Executive Education Programme at Harvard Business School. Throughout his distinguished career, Al Hajeri has served in senior leadership positions within various UAE and Abu Dhabi government entities. His experience includes: Executive Director at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA); Chairman of the Board of the CFA Institute; Chairman of the Board of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank; Chairman of the Board of Salama Insurance Company; Board member of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA); and Board member of the Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination. Recognised for his exceptional contributions to the UAE's public and financial sectors, Al Hajeri was named one of the World Economic Forum's Top 250 Young Global Leaders in 2007. He actively participates in numerous national-level economic and investment committees and councils and serves as the UAE's Sherpa to the BRICS group.
