MBA

Profiles

David Kang, MBA 2009

David Kang's passion for travel has taken him all over the world: London, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, Singapore, Russia and Japan. It also led him to a school where his global interests would continue to expand: HBS. "My three years with McKinsey gave me a chance to dig into the hotel industry and build industry connections," says David. "It also gave me something to bring to the table at HBS."

With a firm foundation in traditional business skills, David looked for something different from HBS. "What sold me was the combination of case method education with the diversity of backgrounds, cultures and experiences that come together in the classroom. Business is becoming more global; HBS forces you to think beyond an American mindset. International exposure forces you to think of yourself as a citizen of the world."

The world comes into the classroom

As an example of the power of international perspectives, David refers to a case that compared the way two Indian states are managed by the larger central authority. "That led to a conversation about how the European Union handles its participating nations, which in turn became a discussion about how the U.S. federal government relates to the states. Suddenly, we saw parallels that made India, a place most of us knew little about, a very relevant and important topic."

The HBS immersions reinforce a global perspective. Though David is Chinese-American and speaks Mandarin, he hadn't been to China before participating in the China/Vietnam immersion last winter break. "Everyone has an image of China's rapid growth and its side effects, but you have to see it to believe it," David says. "I talked to someone in Shanghai who pointed out that the city's population was once half what it is now – just ten years ago."

HBS has also opened up new vistas for David. "I used to think of entrepreneurship solely in terms of start-ups. But now I think of it in any setting where you see opportunity and risk – and a chance to make something of it. Meeting classmates who have started businesses has made the idea much more approachable to me."

Thinking many steps ahead

David's TEM (The Entrepreneurial Manager) class, part of the first year's Required Curriculum, has profoundly influenced the way he thinks about his future. "We read as many cases about failures as successes," David says. "The difference is that successful people think ten steps ahead – and can think objectively, outside of themselves." As an immediate step after graduation, David intends to expand his experience through consulting, then hone his industry expertise by working for an established hotel chain. "Ultimately, I want my own hotel property," he says. "And with success, develop more properties."