The American Gem Society (AGS) is inviting two leading professors of the Harvard Business School (HBS) at its forthcoming 2010 Conclave in Boston. The AGS 2010 Conclave has been themed as ‘Revolution’ and as such the professors would conduct workshops that give participants not only a hands-on experience with the HBS curriculum, but will teach them bold new ways to conduct business.

“Conclave is the premier educational event in the industry, and with it being in Boston this year, we felt it fitting to invite educators from the premier business school not only in the area, but in the country,” said Ruth Batson, Executive Director and CEO of the American Gem Society. “These professors are at the top of their teaching profession and have tremendous insight into retailing and negotiations. The information and tools they will share with our retailers will offer an advantage that could otherwise only be found at Harvard.”

One of the professors, Professor Rajiv Lal, the Stanley Roth, Sr. Professor of Retailing at HBS will conduct his workshop on “Can You Compete with Blue Nile? Yes, We Can!”, elucidating the decisions facing jewellers competing with internet retailers, and strategies to address the challenges. Professor Lal supervises the retailing curriculum, and co-chairs the Senior Executive Seminar for Retailers and Suppliers and the programme on Building and Leading a Customer Centric Organization. He has authored on the impact of using the Internet as a channel of distribution on a retailer's pricing, merchandising and branding strategy.

The second personality, Professor Guhan Subramanian, the Joseph Flom Professor of Law and Business at the Harvard Law School (HLS) and the H. Douglas Weaver Professor of Business Law at the Harvard Business School, will conduct a workshop on “Effective Negotiations: How to Craft Win-Win Solutions”, exploring simple approaches to resolving customer disputes, building vendor alliances, negotiating salaries, and capturing value-creating opportunities, in order to craft mutually-beneficial, long-term relationships. He is the only person in the history of Harvard University to hold tenured appointments at both HLS and HBS.

The American Gem Society Conclave is slated to be held between April 21-24, 2010 in Boston.