The Harvard Crimson Business Board

Our Structure

On the Harvard Crimson Business Board, our organization is run by an executive board consisting of the Business Manager, two Associate Business Managers, and two Directors of Staff Development.

This executive board oversees the managers and associates of the Business Board's three distinct departments: Advertising, Programs, and Strategy.

Our Departments

Advertising

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The Advertising department plays a pivotal role in driving business success, contributing 80% of The Crimson’s total revenue. Our team specializes in building strong client relationships and pitching high-value contracts with a diverse range of advertisers, including national brands, local businesses, student recruiters, and advertising agencies.

By offering innovative advertising solutions, we ensure our clients stay ahead of the curve and achieve impactful results. Our advertising products span various platforms, including print newspaper placements, online digital ads, social media campaigns, sponsored content, and digital billboards. In 2024, the department negotiated contracts totaling $800,000 in value.

Key initiatives include facilitating strategic meetings and developing sponsored content tailored to campaign goals, engaging directly with clients through calls and emails to pitch and sell our products, and collaborating with clients to design targeted marketing campaigns. Through these efforts, we foster lasting partnerships and consistently deliver value to our clients. 

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​Global Programs

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The Programs branch of The Harvard Crimson runs educational offerings for high school and middle school students centered on both journalism and business. Our events, open to students of all experience levels, aim to provide the high-quality resources and mentorship that students need to recognize their full potential. Our team hosts more than eight annual offerings, ranging from the Crimson Journalism Summit to the Harvard Crimson Global Case Competition. Many of our programs feature guest speakers from leading publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, offering real-world insights to participants.

Our department is divided into distinct teams to ensure smooth workflows and maximum efficiency. Our Pitching team secures partnerships and revenue from corporate advertisers and sponsors. Our Marketing team manages outreach and promotional campaigns to attract participants to our conferences. Our Project Teams oversee partner communications, logistics, content, and execution of our offerings.

By joining Programs, you’ll collaborate with a dedicated group of people across multiple disciplines, gaining exposure to the fastest growing part of the business board—come help us make a global impact! 
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Strategy

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The Strategy Department of The Harvard Crimson is the creative incubator for projects and products that structure the growth of The Business Board. In other words, we like to say: We market. We optimize. We innovate. Strategy associates delve into a wide range of projects, touching on design, analytics, and business development skill sets. 

Design-wise, The Strategy team is the workforce behind The Crimson Brand Studio – the sponsored content branch that creates the nationally winning advertisement products pitched and sold by the Advertising team. Under the analytics hat, the Strategy team operates as an internal consultant for The Business Board. We dive into platforms like Salesforce and Google Analytics to make informed decisions that optimize our pitching processes, the value of our advertisement product suite, and Programs’ conference workflows.

Marrying the core skills of Strategy, our department launches new, unique sources of revenue. Such initiatives have included personalized Sponsored Content campaigns, event sponsorships, merchandise store projects, and Successful Essay Book series.

Testimonials

Allison Mi '27, Strategy Manager

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It’s no doubt that my time on the Business Board has been a highlight of my college experience. More specifically, I have adored my time on Strategy — the work we do is like a choose your own adventure. Any idea I have, no matter how small or sudden, the team supports me to make it happen.

For me, I first witnessed this open mindedness, “yes, and” supportive energy when I wanted to sign our first event sponsor and create a new advertisement product through event opportunities. Every year, The Crimson hosts a party to celebrate St. Paddy’s — one of our biggest events of the year, where 500-700 students attend throughout the course of the night. In other words, this was the perfect event for high visibility, an attractive trait for advertisement products. Though I had no experience with event sponsors and was amongst the newest members of the team, the Strategy team showed me that would not be an obstacle in letting me lead this project — all I needed was an idea.

In the thick of finals, an upperclassman kindly took me under her wing to create a timeline for reaching out and provided guidance on how and who to pitch to. In the New Year, I began pitching for an event sponsor product. During the hiccups along the way or when the project was stagnating, another Strategy team member would always be present to share takeaways and advice. In the end, we signed a $2K deal with a beverage company. Not only was the product successful at the event, the company expressed curiosity about future event sponsoring opportunities with us. Strategy’s flexibility, support, and innovative structure allowed me to not only sign an event sponsor, but also set the tone for a new product to grow over the coming years.

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Nigel Savage '27, Programs Manager

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When I joined The Crimson, I was surprised by how quickly I was able to dive in and contribute meaningfully. My first project involved establishing a new partnership with Asdan to create a joint conference. We handled everything from drafting the contract to curating the content and managing every detail in between. This experience of collaborating with a strong, fun, and capable team to tackle real-world business challenges was exactly what I sought from The Crimson Business Board.

It wasn't always easy, but I can confidently say that I have grown tremendously in less than a year. This project was particularly special to me because I not only helped plan it, but I also stayed over the summer to help run it. To me, this embodies what The Crimson is all about: creating and executing. These two skills are crucial in business and are precisely what you develop most on The Business Board.

Overall, I’ve loved my time with this organization and look forward to growing even more in the future.

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Eric Li '25, Social Chair

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The social committee of the Crimson Business Board plays a vital role in fostering community, engagement, and morale within the organization. As a social chair, I am responsible for organizing opportunities to uplift the Crimson Business community and thinking outside the box to introduce new social events. This can be anything from weekly “Happy Hours” where people can come and debrief about their week, to BBQs on the rooftop!

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Other key responsibilities include coordinating logistics such as running errands, arranging transportation, managing budgets, and making sure we always have snacks and beverages in stock. The social committee often collaborates with other members and listens to what they want to see more of in order to host events that are inclusive and fun for everyone on the Business Board. 

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Janna Habibulla '27, Advertising Manager

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My experience in the advertising department has improved my overall professional skills while providing me with one of the best communities on campus.

Joining this department during my freshman fall allowed me to gain tangible business experience right from the start. Within my first few weeks of being in the department, I was already able to get on advertising calls with business professionals and negotiate deals with large companies.

As a member of the advertising department, I find my work to be extremely rewarding as our hard work is directly tangible to the success of the business. I take pride in knowing that I am able to play a major role in overall success for the business.

However, the most rewarding part is the community. Everyone in the advertising department is constantly supporting and uplifting each other to achieve a common goal. Each week during meetings whenever someone rings the bell, which symbolizes closing a deal, there is a shared sense of community and support from everyone in the room celebrating each other's accomplishments. This positive atmosphere is evident in the hard work that goes into the advertising department. We are not only passionate about the work we are doing, but the people we are doing it with.