What is your role in the Club and how long have you been involved in the Club?
I am serving in the second year as President of the HBS Health Industry Alumni Association, after I have been involved in the build-up of the Association over the past decade as Director on the Board, Chair and Co-Chair for many Healthcare Conferences in Boston and Washington, DC, and as Vice President for several years. Our Association differs from the traditional Clubs, since it was the first HBS alumni grouping that was not serving as a geographical center for our alumni, but expressively conceived to coordinate the professional interests of all alumni with a working in the healthcare industry that now comprises 17.3% of our GDP. We therefore have a national and international membership and actually 10 percent of our members come from overseas. Over the past decade we successfully created a forum for the national and international healthcare debate covering many facets of this growing industry of great economic, political, and social relevance. Every first week in November we organize an Annual Healthcare Conference in Boston, the last one entitled Driving Healthcare Reform: Policy, Innovation, and Finance. We are always featuring industry leaders and politicians who are recognized decision makers. Our next event on March 04, 2010 covers: Switzerland’s Healthcare System, featuring Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland. (http://www.hbshealthalumni.org/). We are closely collaborating with the Healthcare Initiative (HI) of HBS.

What is your present job/career?
I am a Clinical Pathologist and Medical Microbiologist and an appointed Lecturer on Pathology at Harvard Medical School. I received my executive education at HBS through OPM12. As a medical entrepreneur with an academic career my philosophy was strongly influenced through the HBS experience. I am involved as a consultant in national and international healthcare projects. I am a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists and serve on the Board of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce.

What is your most memorable Club experience so far?
Last November we celebrated our 10th Annual HBS Health Industry Alumni Conference. When I gave the Opening Address and was looking into the eyes of more than 300 attendees I was proud that we together achieved building successfully this Association over a decade.

Why do you volunteer your time as a Club officer?
Serving as a club officer in a leading role indeed costs time and dedication. However, there exist this magic attraction to be part of an organization and a venture that is greater than we as members. There exists this forum that brings us together with decision makers and world leaders. I know that I want to hand over this Association to my successor in a blossoming condition.

How have HBS alumni benefited from the Club?
Our alumni members join the Association and attend our events to stay connected with HBS, the faculty, students, their peers, industry leaders, and opinion leaders. There is access to and sharing of relevant information, but above all there are valuable net-working opportunities. Amazingly, over a decade we have amalgamated like a ‘healthcare class’ with new friendships and developed a new esprit de corps. Our events reconnect all participants directly with HBS, the HI, the faculty and the students. We are a global HBS alliance.

What do you miss most about HBS?
Here is the direct benefit. What I missed before joining our Association is near and accessible. The strong link and interaction with HBS, the Faculty, the Students, the Administration grant an involvement with many activities of the life at HBS. The emotionally loaded memories of attending HBS and undergoing this educational transformation do not remain a dream of a time gone by, but become realty quite frequently through serving in this capacity. This is indeed a rewarding and rejuvenating experience.