ANTHONY KITTEL

Anthony Kittel was awarded a grant in 2010 to attend Harvard Business School. After he attended the course he wrote:

I am most appreciative of the INDUSTRY LEADERS FUND  for the opportunity to attend the HARVARD Business School Owners Presidents Management Program (OPM43).  The first module which I attended in May/June 2011 was everything I expected plus more.  I was stretched over the three week program and certainly did more reading than I have done in a long time.  The course was great and they did have quite a number of manufacturing case studies which featured entrepreneurship, sales, product costing, marketing, negotiation and leadership.  The group work which occurred every day certainly gave me an opportunity to understand the thoughts and ideas from a diverse group of business owners and reinforce my own thinking.  I was nominated group leader for our living group ( by management before our arrival) and this also provided me with a further opportunity to develop my leadership skills with a group of people whom are individual leaders themselves.

The program consisted of approximately 150 people from all over the world including 50 American, 30 Brazilian, 20+ Indian, 7 Australian and other business owners from Mexico, Denmark, Iceland, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, South America and Russia.  I have been able to develop excellent connections with many of the group present.  The diversity of businesses present was amazing with a strong presence of Internet based businesses, clean tech, private equity, manufacturing and professional services.

The academic staff (Professors) are incredibly knowledgeable and they ensure that each lecture, based on the famous Harvard case study method,  is interesting and memorable.  Our Strategy Professor, David Yoffie () is on the Board of Directors of Intel Corporation, HTC Corporation, Financial Engines Inc. and MindTree Ltd  and Leadership lecturer, Scott Snook, (http://drfd.hbs.edu/fit/public/facultyInfo.do?facInfo=bio&facId=164841), is an ex West Point Army graduate whose military decorations are the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Master Parachutist badge.  During the program we were privileged to enjoy cocktails at Professor Yoffie’s house on a Sunday evening in Boston.

The HARVARD facilities are truly amazing and we have continued access to the Harvard library and research databases for the three year duration of our program.  The accommodation on campus whilst small, was comfortable with a large living area for group work and the meals and service were first class.

I managed to get a few runs in along the Charles River to relax and to look around the beautiful and historic Boston on a Sunday afternoon