Fantastic Fall Forum - Life After Harvard Business School

The Harvard Club of the Research Triangle hosted an extraordinary panel discussion with four high-powered Triangle executives. These Harvard Business School graduates have shaped presidential policy, authored books and led innovation at companies that are the subject of HBS case studies. Their companies influence the way we communicate, think about sustainability and share technology.

Each one of these dynamic business leaders would merit a can't-afford-to-miss program on their own - BUT WE HAD ALL FOUR OF THEM AT ONCE. This was truly an evening we will remember and talk about for a long time.

Schedule: Monday, October 25, 2010, 5:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.: Mingling & Dinner
6:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.: Panel with Q&A

Cost: $20 for members, $25 for one member guest, $30 for nonmembers and additional guests.

Location: Cisco Campus, Building #5, 7025 Kit Creek Rd, Morrisville, North Carolina 27560-9741

Panelists:

  • Tony Frazier, Senior Director, Marketing & Product Management, Cisco, HBS ’97
  • Michael Jacobs, President/CEO, Jacobs Capital, HBS ’83
  • John Replogle, CEO, Burt’s Bees, HBS ’93
  • Jim Whitehurst, CEO, Red Hat, HBS ’94
  • Grace Ueng (Moderator), CEO Savvy Marketing Group, HBS ’91

Panelist Bios:

  • Tony Frazier, Cisco

    Tony Frazier joined Cisco in 2008, helping to found an internal start-up in Cisco’s Emerging Technology Group. He currently leads marketing and product management for Cisco’s Media Transformation portfolio. In this role he is focused on helping organizations leverage video and social networking technologies to transform how people work and learn.

    Prior to joining Cisco, Frazier spent 10 years leading marketing, business development, and product teams at a variety of software companies ranging from pre-revenue, venture-backed start-ups to multi-billion dollar companies. Frazier spent six years as a key member of the executive team at iPhrase Technologies, an MIT-based venture that was widely recognized as a key innovator in the enterprise search market. iPhrase was acquired by IBM in late 2005 and Frazier led the Search, Text Analytics, and Content Integration teams before leaving to lead Americas Marketing for Infor Global Solutions, a $2.3B provider of enterprise applications.

    Tony began his career at Bain & Company, a leading strategic consulting firm based in Boston. He went on to complete his MBA at Harvard Business School, graduating with honors.

  • Michael Jacobs, Jacobs Capital

    Michael Jacobs, the founder and CEO of Jacobs Capital, LLC, has an extensive background managing corporate finance practices for major firms. He began his investment banking career with Robinson Humphrey, the largest securities firm in the southeast. He subsequently managed the corporate finance practice for one of the twenty largest commercial banks in the United States and for a global consulting firm. He also served as Managing Director and head of the Atlanta office for the nation’s premier business valuation firm, Houlihan Lokey. Jacobs served as Director of Corporate Finance at the U.S. Treasury Department during the Bush (Sr.) Administration (1989-1991), where he was responsible for national policy in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, corporate governance, and certain banking and tax matters.

    Jacobs is the author of Short-Term America (Harvard Business School Press), named one of the ten best business books in 1991. He later published Break the Wall Street Rule: Outperform the Stock Market by Investing as an Owner (Addison Wesley) which was the main selection of the Fortune Book Club in spring 1993.

    He has served on several corporate boards and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Harvard Business School. He teaches part-time at the University of North Carolina MBA School and at Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA Program.

  • John Replogle, Burt’s Bees

    John Replogle joined Burt's Bees in 2006. Previously, he ran the skin care division at Unilever, where he helped to launch the Real Beauty campaign for Dove and establish the Dove Self-Esteem Fund for young girls.

    Replogle’s love for Burt’s Bees products and his family both played a role in his decision to join the company. He has four daughters and says, “Raising their awareness to environmental and natural product consciousness provides a very tangible benefit in my life. I just feel like this is a place where I can be my best, do great work and do some good in the process.”

    Replogle earned a BA in History from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. His upbringing in New England gave him a great appreciation for the ocean and mountains and helped him to become an avid outdoorsman. Put him on a bike, in a canoe or on a hiking trail and he couldn't be happier.

  • Jim Whitehurst, Red Hat

    Jim Whitehurst was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Hat in December 2007. Whitehurst joined Delta Air Lines in 2002, serving in various roles, most recently as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for Operations, Sales and Customer Service, Network and Revenue Management, Marketing and Corporate Strategy. Prior to joining Delta, Whitehurst served as Vice President and Director of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and held various leadership roles in their Chicago, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Atlanta offices.

    A native of Columbus, Ga., Whitehurst graduated from Rice University in Houston, Texas, with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Economics. He also attended Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, holds a general course degree from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

  • Moderator: Grace Ueng, Savvy Marketing Group

    Grace Ueng has more than 20 years of work experience that spans from consulting for global management consultancy firm Bain & Company to working for Fortune 500 brand leaders, Time Inc., General Mills, and Clorox. She contributed to five consumer and enterprise software ventures that had successful exits through public offerings or acquisition and has been a key member of executive teams that have delivered to investors a return of over $1 billion.

    Ueng serves as CEO of Savvy Marketing Group, which she founded in 2003. She has served on the adjunct faculty of the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School as well as at Fudan University’s International MBA program in Shanghai, a joint venture with MIT Sloan School. Ueng earned her undergraduate degree in management science from MIT and her MBA from Harvard Business School.