The Social Enterprise Initiative of the Harvard Business School Club of Philadelphia hosted its fifth annual conference for nonprofit executives on Thursday, November 13 at Comcast Center in Philadelphia. 60 CEOs, Executive Directors, and other senior leaders from major nonprofit organizations attended the conference, titled “Implementation – Translating Strategy into Results.”  The goal of the conference was to provide nonprofit leaders with leading edge thinking on executing strategy in nonprofit organizations as well as a forum for high-level networking and the sharing of best practices.

The conference moderator was Stacey Childress, Lecturer in General Management at the Harvard Business School and a co-founder of the Public Education Leadership Project at Harvard University. Childress led a stimulating, interactive case discussion and facilitated a session summarizing the participants’ insights. Through the example of the Fulton County School System in Georgia, Childress illustrated the importance of selecting the right management tools that enable managers to execute strategy, and ensuring they do not become ends in themselves. She pushed attendees to evaluate the tools in their own organizations and how they might use them better.

Comcast Corporation Chief Operating Officer Stephen Burke delivered the keynote address. Mr. Burke highlighted the importance of leadership in difficult times, and emphasized how organizations can emerge stronger from a crisis.

In addition to HBSCP and alumni funding, partnership support of the conference came from leading corporations and foundations based in the region, including the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Comcast, Liberty Property Trust, The Philadelphia Foundation, TL Ventures, The William Penn Foundation, SEI Investments, Levenger, Pitney Bowes, and an investment management firm that wishes to remain anonymous.

The Harvard Business School Club of Philadelphia Social Enterprise Initiative began in 1993. The Social Enterprise Initiative focuses on executive education – finance, operations, marketing and strategy – of the Philadelphia Region’s nonprofit leaders. In 2001, the HBSCP began sponsoring and sending nonprofit CEOs to the Harvard Business School’s one-week nonprofit management course. 16 local leaders have now attended the course. The success of this program led to the annual locally based conference focused on nonprofit leadership development.