Coming to HBS was the final step for me in a journey that started ten years ago.
After finishing my army service in Israel, I enrolled at Stanford University. By
that time I knew I wanted to pursue a career in medicine and so I focused all my
attention on completing my undergraduate studies as quickly as possible. It was
during this period that I was first exposed to the business side of medicine. I
worked after-hours for one of my professor’s medical device companies. Up to
that point, I had always thought the sole province for a medical doctor was in a
hospital. I was now intrigued by the notion of helping a far larger number of
people, by changing the way medicine is administered.
While at Cornell Medical School, I worked during my free time for a
venture capital fund that focused on the life sciences. Working at this Fund
pooled all the factors I was looking for in a career-- I could help select
investments in companies that would change the face of medicine. Through my
experiences at the fund I realized the importance of having both a medical and
business background. By completing both degrees I could bridge the gap between
the scientific and business communities; two often inimical groups. Armed with
this plan, I graduated from medical school and applied to Harvard Business
School. I spent the time between the two schools working at Lehman Brothers in
their Global Healthcare Department.
My time at Harvard has been one of the most exciting, challenging and
rewarding of my life. Harvard has gone out of its way to create a unique
community of scholars, leaders and humanitarians, which I feel honored to learn
from, and contribute to. These past two years have broadened my horizons and
have changed the way I think.
Being in Boston has also given me the opportunity to interact with the
leading life science investors and entrepreneurs. For example, as part of my MBA
coursework I have been working on a field study project with a local
nanotechnology company. The exposure to the technology, scientists, manager, and
LPs has proven invaluable to my search for a venture capital position after
graduation.
As my time at HBS draws to an end, I know that my interactions with the
school will not end. I know that by graduating I begin a life-long relationship
with the HBS community at large.
