Last day of term (December 2006)

After completing our final exam of the fall term in Second Year, my room mate John and I decided to celebrate the occasion by drinking a bottle of champagne that BCG had sent me earlier in the year.

It was our breakfast as we packed to catch our early afternoon flights with Air Canada, on the eve of four glorious weeks off. The joy is clearly expressed in my face, I think.

Holidazzle 2006 (HBS Christmas Party)

Well after the actual event, I find myself posting a few pictures for posterity. Hollidazzle this time around was not unlike last year, though perhaps a little less cohesive from a section (90 person sub-class) perspective, since we all take seperate classes this year, as opposed to spending the year all together in the same room.

However it was a great chance to get back together with people and find out what's new...everyone is doing incredible things in terms of their job search, travel, and other sundry activities.

The combined space of the Boston Sheraton's 5 ballrooms all opened up for our event was a little overkill, and made the thing seem a little impersonal, but I won't split hairs. It was a fun time, and nice to see everyone dressed to kill.

Nicolas Comacho, Jayne Chng, and Sunaina Sinha

Chris Smith, Benjamin Stingle and Me, awaiting the main course

Jayne Chng, Sunaina Sinha, Rob Spina, Clemens Guth, Rohan Haldea

Dessert, courtesy of Sara McKinley

Edel O'Sullivan, Paula Ramos, Mac Grayson (III)

Chris Smith, Myself, Marc Weidner

Matt Powell and girlfriend Liz close down the dancefloor

In 1989, there was scandal in the Pap smear industry.

I don't have much more to say, that was just the opening sentence from a case I'm reading at the moment, and I found it funny.

Also funny are the boxes that John's new racing-bike wheels came in (pictured below). NAFTA in action.

Charity Auction Dinner

An annual tradition of the first year class of HBS students is that each section of 90 students hosts a lavish Charity Auction, to raise money for causes close to the hearts of our classmates. After a series of presentations from our section-mates, we decided upon a few charities to support, including: ALS (a student in our class was diagnosed with it in the first week of school and though completely fit and able on the first day of class...has suffered a shocking degeneration in the past year, and is wheelchair-bound now and can barely talk), a fund for promoting education on Native reserves that a section-mate worked on before HBS, and the degenerative disease unit at the Harvard teaching Hospitals.

Students donate to the auction, and many had a number of interesting things to offer. One of my classmates is the daughter of Michael Bloomberg (Mayor of New York) so she donated court-side seats to see the Knicks, many students donated time at their parents vacation homes in exotic locations, as well as more modest items like a dinner for six, a series of rides on-demand to the airport, bottles of wine etc.

Interestingly, our favourite professors also donate to the auction. Our negotiations prof. was the Chief Operatin Officer of the New England Patriots, so he offerred the chance to attend a game with him, with the implicit offer of meeting the players, the owners and other important folks around the organization.

Many profs offer dinners and wine tastings at their homes. One professor who offerred this was our Finance 2 professor Stuart Gilson...unanimously regarded as the best professor we've ever had. He's a Canadian guy from Winnipeg, so he picked on me regularly in class, ostensibly (I found out later) to ensure that the Canadian kid was getting the most out of his "Haaahhvaaad" education. I sort of appreciated it at the time, but my appreciation is growing with time.

Anyway, I made sure I won his wine-tasting/dinner offer. It was by far the highest priced item of the night, but with my coalition of 5 other bidders, we managed to come up with enough cash. Luckily (and as predicted) it was totally worth it. Stuart is one of the funniest people at HBS, as is his wife Susan (from Nova Scotia), and after a tremendous night we decided we need to make a tradition out of the dinner...perhaps once a year. I'm all for it.

Interesting details: He's got a cellar of thousands of bottles, and a commercial-quality kitchen. Our tasting was entirely of Bordeaux wines (with the exception of 2 bottles of champange as walked in--just to get things started), reds and whites.

We had a 5 course gourmet meal with 2 wines to taste with each. Stuart kept the bottles wrapped in brown paper during the tasting, then solicited our opinions on each, before revealing that one was often a $40 bottle, while the other was a 1975 classic vintage (of undisclosed cost) and contrasted what he feels to be the pro's and con's of each. Educational as well as shocking.

Happily for me, the differences between the egregiously expensive bottles and the more moderately priced ones was present, but sufficiently subtle for me to continue "sufferring" through the lower end of the range going forward. (Unless someone else--Like BCG--is paying, of course.)

Professor Gilson (arms extended) with his wife and adoring students

Susan Gilson and Andrew enjoying an inter-course moment

Glenn and fellow bidder Stacie Rabinowitz (President of the Harvard Food & Cuisine Society)

Stuart clearing the Lobster tail course

My mental Happy Place: A 1975 Bordeaux white, with a caramalized pear in custard.

Our hosts enjoy a well-deserved moment of relaxation, before we pack off and leave them in peace.

US Thanksgiving

One of the great things about HBS is the amount of time you get off in order to celebrate holidays...even if they don't correspond to your holidays at home (there are usually holidays that correspond to those too!)

A great example is Canadian Thanksgiving...which is Columbus day in the US. So I obviously used that chance to come home, but the US thanksgiving (around November 25 or so) is a HUGE holiday here, which allowed me to perform a 5 day assault on Toronto & Waterloo before returning to Boston for more relaxation...though slightly more academic (and costly) in nature.

Had a great dinner with the family in Kitchener. Also managed to host a fun dinner party at my host's place (Tim...who was in the UK at the time--who with his room mate Mark [also my former room mate] provide me with a spare key) and had a bunch of old friends over. A few pictures follow.

The dinner table (1) The Dinner Table (2)
A frighteningly adorable (yet all-too-common) shot of Nida & Raif's daughter Madison

Alex dutifully tidies up after the festivities...as always (Bless him).

Fraser & Karen Visit

On the weekend of November 10, my brother and sister-in-law Fraser and Karen stuck my (willing) parents with my niece and nephew (Callum and Wren) and paid me a long-weekend visit here in Boston.

We did the typical Boston-Cambridge sight-seeing stuff, much like I did with Mom and Dad when they were here, plus a small dinner with my buddy Sam and room mate John, and a Harvard Square pub crawl. (Including a 'scorpion bowl' at the Hong Kong with my friend Ben Stingle...which is a classic Harvard experience, so I'm pleased they were up for it).

Following are a few photos.

A classic Beacon Hill shot

Dinner at Giacomo's...a famous North End (Little Italy) eatery

Karen at Boston Harbour

Fraser and Karen over dinner with my Rugby Team-mate Sam Gray (England)

Playoff Perseverance

HBS Rugby Club produces a strong showing in first Final Four appearance

By Glenn Parkinson (OH), Contributing writer in Sports

CANTON, MA – The HBS Rugby Club turned in a strong performance against the Boston Irish Wolfhounds Rugby Club Saturday, November 4th but came up short, losing by a score of 37-14 in the New England Rugby Football Union’s “Final Four” tournament.

Several factors weighed against the Harvard men: One unexpected disadvantage was a USA Rugby rule that permits only five non-American players on the roster—a restriction that cut deep into the highly international HBS side. Complicating matters further was an ill-timed keg party the night before the match, hosted by fly-half Mark “9-1-1” De Ambrosis (NF), which was (unfortunately) enthusiastically attended by the Harvard Rugby Club.

Though an intensely physical match, few serious injuries were recorded, save a shoulder dislocation that Mike “Utility Man” Fyall (ND) sustained while making a successful tackle on what might have been the last surviving Neanderthal, a somewhat serious cut to Craig “Keep the Party Goin’” Canton’s (NJ) forehead, and the usual scrapes and hard knocks that the lads have become used to during their challenging fall schedule.

The Wolfhounds came out strong in the first half, scoring 10 unanswered points and dominating the Harvard side in the early part of the half. HBS battled back however, maintaining play in the Wolfhounds end for the latter part of the half, but failing to score. On a penalty late in the first half it looked as though HBS would put their first points up, when Co-Captain “Sadistic” Stephane Heuze (OB) made it to within 1 meter of the try zone carrying three defenders on his back before being taken down.

The second half saw much more scoring, but alas not quite enough by Harvard. As usual, Heuze managed a try, and Liam “Clockwork” Patrick (NC) converted, to bring Harvard within a 10-7 margin. Unfortunately the ball bounced the way of the Wolfhounds a few too many times after that, giving them a 37-7 lead with seconds left in the match.

In a surprise move, on the final play of the game Rugby Club Co-President Jeff “Two-ton” Todd (Law School) threw a line out over the forwards directly to Heuze, who’s clever chip-kick took it up the field to the try zone, enabling Neil “Try and stop me” Campbell (ND) to score the final try of the match, which Liam Patrick converted to finalize the score at 37-14.

The meant HBS would play for 3rd place in the league the following Sunday, a remarkable improvement over prior years results in the competitive NERFU league play. The lads will take a well deserved break before resuming training in advance of the London Business School tournament in February. Congratulations on a fantastic fall season!

The Harvard Business School RFC wishes to thank team sponsors Anglo Irish Bank, APAX Partners, Tommy Doyle's, Sierra Nevada, Magners Original Irish Cider, and Lehman Brothers for their generosity and continued support.

Craig Canton (NJ) plays on through blood, sweat and tears.

Carter Gaffney (NB) slows the Wolfhounds attacker, while Quan Nguyen (OF) prepares to clean him out.

Tony Frangie (OB) and Owen Stockdale (OI) solemnly discuss tactics during half-time.

John Doran (OB), Neil Campbell (ND) and Stephane Heuze (OB) contemplate strategy at half-time.

Harvard Rugby vs. MIT

Rugby Club qualifies for “Final Four”

Convincing 14-0 win over MIT clinches historic playoff berth

By Glenn Parkinson (OH), Contributing Writer in Sports

BOSTON- In their final match of the regular season, the HBS Rugby Club took to a soggy, flooded field Saturday and promptly drowned the playoff hopes of local rivals MIT with a stunning shut-out victory, earning Harvard a spot in the league’s “Final Four” tournament.

HBS drew blood early in the first half, when Brendan “Boy Band” Whitworth (NJ) thrilled his teenage fan base by blowing past the entire MIT side with a powerful 60 yard run to open the scoring. Liam “The Freight Train” Patrick’s (NC) text-book kick converted the try to give Harvard an early 7-0 lead.

MIT came back with strong offensive play for much of the first half, though the HBS pack responded with several inspired try-line stands to keep them off the scoreboard.

Injuries plagued the Harvard side as they have all season. David “Family Man” Fielding (ND) made a welcome return from the disabled list after suffering a concussion early in the season. Unfortunately his return was rewarded with a broken nose (arguably a cosmetic improvement) early in the match, and reluctantly left for the hospital.

Co-captain “Fearless” Flint Macgregor (OE) was also sidelined partway through the first half with a deep gash over his right eye. He still managed to contribute however, barking incomprehensible orders and encouragement from the sidelines while nursing his ever- bleeding face. (Language experts from Harvard College are still attempting to determine whether Macgregor’s utterances were an obscure dialect of Afrikaans or, more excitingly, some hitherto undiscovered African tongue).

Mark “Ironside” De Ambrosis (NF) suffered a crippling ankle sprain, and eventually had to leave the game. Stephane “The Wizard of” Heuze (OB) suffered further damage to his already broken finger, but managed to apply enough tape to hide the bleeding and play on.

The second half saw HBS dominate an increasingly demoralized MIT side. Jeff “I wish I was a Back” Todd (Harvard Law) broke down positional stereotypes by joining the back line on several drives, even demonstrating an elegant chip-kick before joining the next scrum. Liam “The Freight Train” Patrick (NC) –who was personally responsible for 9 of the 14 Harvard points--took advantage of the momentum and performed a dazzling end-run around the MIT defense, somehow remaining inbounds while fending off several opponents. He converted his own try and increased the HBS lead to 14-0, the final score.

Strong contributions were also made by Mike “Ever-Ready” Fyall (ND), who stood in several times for injured players before settling into his position on the wing and providing clutch defense and an impressive offensive drive. Recent import Atsushi “Huge in Japan” Oshiba (NF) turned in the performance of his fledgling HBS career with stellar all-around play, inciting protectionist sentiments on the MIT campus unseen since the 1970’s.

After losing the first two matches of the season, Harvard has been undefeated in the past 4 contests. The win on Saturday clinches—for the first time in recent memory—a playoff berth in the New England Rugby Football Union’s “Final Four” tournament on November 4th & 5th. The squad is improving week after week, and regardless of how they place in the finals, the successful fall season positions them as the team to beat in their Spring MBA tournaments.

The Harvard Business School RFC wishes to thank team sponsors Anglo Irish Bank, APAX Partners, Tommy Doyle's, Sierra Nevada, Magners Original Irish Cider, and Lehman Brothers for their generosity and continued support.

Atsushi Oshiba (NF) uses an MIT player to demonstrate the Japanese word “Tsunami” as Brendan Whitworth (NJ) provides cover.

Scott Pasquini (OF) belatedly decides to open his umbrella.


Flint Macgregor (OE) swoons on the sidelines from the combined effects of an impressive HBS performance and excessive blood loss.

Matthias Boyer-Chammard (KSG) wins another line-out for Harvard.

Post-game celebrations: John Doran (OB), Scott Pasquini (OF), Liam Patrick (NC) and Sam Gray (OI)

McGill Rugby Tour

There's a lot to say about this trip that we did over the weekend of October 20-22. It's a McGill-Harvard tradition that dates back to the 1800's. Had a great time. One of the unique things about this trip is that the McGill guys each billet one (or more) of the Harvard guys, so we spend the weekend enjoying their hospitality, crashing in their apartment, getting to know their life in Montreal etc. Really a nice touch to the weekend.

We won the match, as we always do, but it was REALLY close this time. Had some great social times as well, Friday night we arrived late (11pm or so) but McGill had a huge reception waiting (for hours) for us, but were great sports. Took us out on St. Catherine that night, then again to Crecent St. Saturday for dinner after the game, and finally "Tokyo Bar" for the Saturday night festivities, where I managed to arrange a meeting with my friend Raif's sister Duygu (whom I travelled in Turkey with this past summer) and a few of her friends who have come to our rooftop parties in the past.

I've been writing for the school newspaper this year for some of our rugby matches, so I'll include material from that endevour to describe the game itself. All in all though, a fantastic time.


Rugby … a la Montreal

HBS Rugby defends title in annual match versus McGill MBAs

By Glenn Parkinson (OH)
Contributing Writer

MONTREAL - Renowned for their flair and irrepressible joie de vivre, the inhabitants of Canada’s French-speaking province (Quebec) were dealt a melancholy blow on October 21st as the HBS Rugby Club defeated McGill’s MBA students 10-7 in their annual fall classic.

The trip to Montreal is a highlight of the fall season and an enduring tradition, celebrating North America’s first ever intercollegiate rugby match played between McGill University and Harvard College back in 1874.

While the HBS side has a deeper bench and arguably more experienced players than McGill, these advantages were all but nullified by the water-logged pitch which seemed to have recently been covered in a fresh layer of topsoil. The tour would again be known as “the dirtiest weekend of the season.”

With a thick layer of mud providing some welcome cover for the dubious personal hygiene of the forwards, HBS dominated the first half of play. However, some questionable refereeing robbed the Harvard men of scoring opportunities, most notoriously the disallowed try by Craig “Cannon Ball” Canton (NJ), and the half closed with neither side managing to put points on the board.

The second half started with Harvard scoring early on a beautiful try from Carter “Diehard” Gaffney (NB), giving the boys from Boston a 5-0 lead. McGill answered back quickly with a try of their own however, which was converted successfully to give the Canadians a 7-5 advantage.

Back-and-forth play continued, with the forwards crashing hard up the field while trying to control a slippery ball. Play was made more challenging as the uniforms became completely covered in mud and at times indistinguishable.

As the clock wound down and John "Anger Management" Doran’s (OB) feedback to the referee became less and less constructive, it looked as though McGill might win their first match in the long and storied tradition of the October classic. HBS still had some fight in them however, and after a strong push in the dying minutes brought them to within meters of the try zone, Neil “Green Giant” Campbell (ND) picked up a loose ball out of the maul and scored the winning try on what turned out to the be final play of the game, to give Harvard the 10-7 victory.

Rookie sensation (and Paul Hogan understudy) Mark “Iron Ribs” De Ambrosis (NF) was awarded “Man of the Match” honours by McGill for his outstanding play at Fly Half.

After several hours of cleaning up, HBS and their gracious McGill hosts explored the bountiful nightlife of Montreal. Academic considerations were never far from their minds however, and after meeting several friendly locals at the Montreal nightclub “Tokyo Bar,” a lively discussion ensued as to how one might model the numerous encounters as a portfolio of real options.

After a long drive home and with their French phrasebooks safely stowed away for another year, the lads can now focus on the final match of the regular season, versus MIT on Sunday October 29th, 1:00pm. A victory will ensure a playoff berth for the team, the first in several years.

In an unrelated story, Sam Gray (OI) recently participated in the Men’s Health Urbanathalon, finishing third in his age category. The Harbus first broke the story three weeks ago, and internet traffic accessing the MBA Class Card application surged 12% on the news. Gray was unavailable for comment.

The Harvard Business School RFC wishes to thank team sponsor Anglo Irish Bank, APAX Partners, Tommy Doyle's, Sierra Nevada, and Magners Original Irish Cider for their generosity and continued support.

The critical pre-game breakfast

Trading grooming secrets created a special bond between Craig Canton (NJ) and Carter Gaffney (NB).

A dirty job indeed.

Rafael Sotta (NF) and Alan Ricks (Design School) know there’s dignity in a hard days work

The not-so-functional but brilliantly located field in the heart of Montreal

John Doran (OB) reluctantly shares old tennis stories with a spell-bound audience.

Editor's Note: He actually wasn't, but it's hilarious to claim that he was...and I got tons of kudos on campus for this joke. John was actually a legitimate Tennis Pro (Davis Cup showings & all) and he may be prone to mentioning it from time to time...

The sweet taste of victory, chased down with good Canadian beer

Gratuitous shot of the author (not included in the newspaper)

"Casanova" Screening

The importance of context can sometimes go unappreciated, until you find yourself rushing to put something into context to avoid embarrassment. I found myself in this situation on the Tuesday after Canadian thanksgiving, at the Canadian Club dinner.

I was telling the story of how, once I'd arrived back from Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, I walked into the apartment to find John about to sit down to a salmon dinner. He'd made enough for the both of us, so I sat down to join him in front of the TV, and grabbed a bottle of chardonnay out of the fridge. John also had a scented candle burning.

As we were eating & watching PBS, "Masterpiece Theatre" came on, showing a new BBC production of "Casanova"--which is positively classic--so we tuned in. Now the floor lamp in my living room is touch activated, so in passing by at one point, one of us turned it off inadvertently.

So we found ourselves sitting by candle-light, sipping chardonnay on the couch together and watching "Casanova". Tough one to explain, and when you start from the end without context around a table of 8 people, you generally don't get the chance to provide the context after the fact.

That night, we decided we needed to share the movie with our critics. We got on the PBS website and rush ordered the DVD for our "Casanova" screening. Just to play up on the misunderstanding and embellish it further, the program for the night was:

- Champagne & creme brulee
- Candle-lit screening of The Work
- Cosmopolitan's and conversation afterwards (and during)

John and I decorated the place with roses, candy hearts and candles. It was hilarious. In fact, guests could be heard laughing in the hallway on their way to our apartment when they saw the petals and single rose on our door. Classic.

The Approach

The Hosts enjoy a solitary sip of Champagne before the festivities commence
Another bottle of good times uncorked
The crowd is growing, and having a great time doing it
Candle light compliments the flicker of the film
The cosmo creation-station...
The last cosmo of the night awaits for me to finish cleaning up

Rugby Club - Old Boys Weekend

The HBS RFC has a rich Alumni tradition. Each year Rugby alumni get together for a winter tournament in the Carribean, and often a summer match in elsewhere in the world. Another tradition is the Old Boys Weekend each October, whereby 40-50 alumni come to Boston from around the world (though mainly the U.S. and Western Europe) for a cocktail party, a match versus the current HBS team, a post-match BBQ on the field, and evening festivities at a local bar.

Truely a great community of people and I feel lucky to be a part of it. A lot of these guys graduated in the 1970's as well, so they have some pretty interesting stories in general, and about their careers specifically. An influential group.

I took full advantage of the weekend, starting with the catered cocktail party in one of the players houses in Brookline (basically the Forsest Hill of Boston), had a great match on Saturday, and went all out at the BBQ (or "Cookout" as it's called here) finishing up with a late night at the bar. As Match Coordinator Great times, some pictures follow.

Recent grads. Not what springs to mind when you think of "Old Boys", and they certainly dampened our spirits on the pitch (though we won in the end).

Cocktail Party at home of Bob Mast and Linda Carlisle
More Old Boys at the cocktail party
Humility lives on well into your 50's, mending gear for the match later in the day
Here I am reacting to my opponent's approach to the try zone. I go in for the tackle to prevent a try...
...and while it may not make a pretty picture, the point is he went down and turned over posession. (You're welcome).
Three pillars of the Old Boys Club: Chuck, Jerry, and Mike Rush (President of Old Boys).

Aside: Chuck is 69 years old, graduated in 1968. I was chatting with him late Sunday afternoon after our league game and said "Now, should I have another beer with you guys or go home and finally get some homework done?" His reply: "What year are you in, first or second?"

"Second" I reply. He then responds: "Then let me pour you a tall one...I know a lot has changed since 1968, but I know that hasn't." And he's right. Great.

The HBS RFC Diversity Initiative hasn't produced fantastic results.

Fellow Torontonian awaits the pass

Both teams in for the post-match photo.