BOSTON—Harvard Business School alumna Kathy Giusti , founder and CEO of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), will give Harvard Business School's (HBS) Class Day keynote address to graduating students on Wednesday, May 25, as part of a student-led ceremony traditionally held the day before Harvard University's Commencement exercises and the HBS diploma ceremony.

Giusti's work in cancer research has changed the lives of many patients, including her own. A former marketing executive at Merck, Gillette, and Searle, she was diagnosed with myeloma, a rare and incurable blood disease, in 1996 and given three years to live. She then decided to apply her business skills to the medical world. In 1998, she founded the MMRF to help break down barriers and speed the development of new treatments for myeloma patients.

MMRF and its sister organization, the MMRC, have won praise for their ability to accelerate research and drug development. Under Giusti's leadership, the two groups have revolutionized research focusing on this disease and helped prolong the life expectancy of thousands of patients by introducing four new treatments.

Giusti is a recipient of the 2009 HBS Alumni Achievement Award, the most important honor the School can bestow upon a graduate.

The Class Day program will also include a welcome from the co-presidents of the MBA Class of 2011, faculty teaching awards, and a student speaker.

The Class Day keynote speaker is selected each year by a student committee responsible for planning the ceremony, which is open to members of the graduating class, their guests, HBS alumni, and faculty and staff.

For more information on HBS Class Day and Harvard University Commencement, go to www.hbs.edu/commencement.