Fall 2021 Issue

Explore the Fall 2021 issue of Stanford Business — and see how people from all corners of the Stanford GSB community are coming together to change lives, organizations, and the world.

Dean’s Letter

Leading in a New Era of Business

As challenges like climate change raise questions about the purpose of business, Stanford GSB has an opportunity and responsibility to lead.

Respond. Reflect. Rethink.

Nearly two years into the global pandemic, Stanford GSB faculty are helping us understand what’s changed and what’s ahead.

Editor’s Note

Tell Me a Story

“I’m a storyteller.” It’s the cliché that launched a thousand keynotes, elevator pitches, and social media bios, but there’s no denying the power of stories. They’re how we make sense of our experiences and express our hopes for the future. They let us explain ourselves to others and help us understand the world.

Stories are what brought me here. When I became editor of Stanford Business this spring, I had yet to lay eyes on the Change Wall or meet my new colleagues outside a Zoom screen. Yet even at a distance, it was clear that Stanford GSB was going to be a great place to look for meaningful stories.

The months since then haven’t disappointed. One of my first interviews was with George Jedenoff, MBA ’42, a 104-year-old with an enviable sense of perspective on his life. I’d soon learn that the optimism, curiosity, and sense of purpose he embodied are in abundance in the Stanford GSB community.

That spirit permeates this issue of Stanford Business. It’s in the stories of professors who are engaging head-on with life-and-death issues like vaccine distribution and kidney donation. It’s in the stories of the women of the Class of ’72 and in those of the students, alumni, and faculty members who are working to ensure that a wider range of stories are being heard. Because, as Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer sums it up “Everybody is telling a story.”

And that includes you. If you have an idea for a story you could imagine us telling in these pages, email us.

— Dave Gilson

A New Way to Solve Genetic Mysteries — While Protecting People’s DNA Data

Researchers propose a method to balance the power of genomic searches with privacy concerns.

Workplace Equality for All! (Unless They’re Old)

Prejudice against older coworkers persists even among those who openly oppose racism and sexism.

Peter Georgescu, MBA ’63: What Matters to Me Now and Why

“I owed this country and I wanted to pay it back in whatever role my future would hold.”

Peer to Peer: How Candidates from Nontraditional Backgrounds Can Break Through

Madhu Yalamarthi, MBA ’19, offers advice to other first-generation grads with audacious goals.

The Women of the Class of ’72 Look Back, Nearly 50 Years Later

Enrolling at Stanford GSB at the height of the women’s movement was an inflection point for both the students and the school.

Why a Plan to Encourage Search-Engine Competition Failed

Auctions intended to level the playing field for Google’s rivals have not reduced the search giant’s dominance, new research shows.

Marketing, Math, and Microseconds

The director of Stanford GSB’s Computational Marketing Lab talks about the “horrendously complex science” behind online advertising research.

A Beautiful Application: Using Economics to Make Kidney Exchanges More Efficient and Fair

Even modest improvements to organ exchange markets can save many lives. That’s where economists and operations experts come in.

The Trickle-Down Tragedy of Corporate Fraud

When companies shut down because of executive malfeasance, bottom-tier workers suffer most — especially when it comes to future earnings.

Back to Class: The Paths to Power

The basic lessons of this perennially popular class are simple. Putting them into practice is not.

Knight Management Center Marks 10-Year Anniversary

The state-of-the-art complex, designed for “structured serendipity,” prepares to open — again.

Office Artifact: Christian Wheeler’s Bronze Desktop Sculpture

A one-of-a-kind gift evokes lessons learned at an eclectic bookstore.

Leveling Up: Enabling More Students to See Themselves as PhDs

Stanford GSB’s predoctoral fellowship is helping the next generation of academics jumpstart their careers — and bringing needed diversity to the professorship pipeline.

Listen

Grit & Growth

Hear the stories of entrepreneurs from Africa and South Asia and get practical business tips and proven management strategies from some of the world’s leading thinkers.