In a snapshot of the PresenceLearning leadership team taken this spring, CEO Kate Eberle Walker (MBA 2005) stands, smiling, just right of center. She’s flanked by three other women and four men—the gender-balanced C-suite she had been determined to build when she took the reins of the online special-education company in early 2019. “You have to be very deliberate and proactive to achieve this,” says Eberle Walker, who set and accomplished the same goal in a previous CEO role. “But it is important. Business needs gender diversity.” [...]

An engineer by training, Stan Chang, MS/MBA 2020 candidate in the SEAS/HBS joint degree program, came to Harvard to “balance a business curriculum with an advanced engineering education. When I saw the curriculum here and the focus on ways to help people start companies, I knew that this was the best program for me.” [...]

It all started with a cold LinkedIn mail to Aaron Gailmor, the founder of Brass Roots, an early-stage startup that I happened upon while tracking Expo West 2019 (World's largest natural, organic and healthy products event) with a classmate. I had no expectation that I would hear back, since there was no MBA internship opening, so I was pleasantly surprised when Aaron replied and gave me a shot anyway! After going through multiple interviews and being asked for numerous references, I realized that no matter how resource constrained an early-stage startup might be, a founder will never under-invest in recruiting diligence. [...]

As founder of Prokanga, the innovative recruiting firm that connects companies with experienced, flexible marketing and finance expertise, Jamie Cheney (MBA 2007) understands the value of a fluid workforce. Together with Annie Davis (MBA 2007) and partner Lesley Finer, the Prokanga team is addressing today’s evolving workplace flexibility trend—offering high-caliber talent solutions that benefit employees, businesses, and the environment. [...]

This post is part of our Social Enterprise Initiative 25th anniversary blog series, which highlights some of the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have been a part of SEI throughout the years. In this post, Misan Rewane (MBA 2013, NVC 2013 Winner) shares her insights on founding and leading a social enterprise. Misan is the cofounder and CEO of WAVE (West Africa Vocational Education), an organization dedicated to tackling youth unemployment in West Africa. [...]