McFarlan has served on the School’s faculty for over thirty years, is due to retire for the second time - from his post-retirement role as HBS Baker Foundation Professor - this year. He was speaking to an audience of Chief Information Officers at conference on the future of business and IT.
He said that the School is keen to find students who are not experienced in finance: out with the hedge fund managers and in with what he termed “real jobs” in services, manufacturing, supply chain, retail, transport and utilities.
The traditional MBA destinations, investment banks and management consulting firms, were struggling to maintain hiring in the downturn. Harvard’s response has been not only to direct more of its graduates to other sectors where they are more likely to get hired, but to admit more students with non-finance backgrounds too.
He mentioned ventures set up by his business students to take advantage of the specific opportunities that the recession offers, such as Renttherunway.com, Local-motors.com. McFarlan said he has invested his personal funds in some of them. He described his students as an “energised 20 to 29 year-old cohort”.
In his opinion the most exciting company in today's economy is “BYD”. He then asked whether anyone in the room knew what this company was, and no one could answer. BYD is a Chinese company that is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric cars.
RECAPTHA :
db
79
7e
0d
