Pinay entrepreneur among Harvard's outstanding alumni

MANILA, Philippines — Harvard Business School recently honored Filipino businesswoman Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder and CEO of Care.com, among its outstanding alumni.

The school said in a statement Tuesday that Marcelo, whose firm which connects families around the world to caregivers, and four other male awardees "contributed significantly to their companies and communities, while upholding the highest standards and values in everything they do."

Joining Marcelo as recipients of this year's Alumni Achievement Award are Year Up founder Gerald Chertavian, Altiostar co-founder Ashraf Dahod, Providence Equity Partners founder Jonathan Nelson and Corning Inc. founder Jonathan Nelson.

Nitin Noria, the school dean, said that the honored graduates set a very high standard for students "in terms of integrity, personal and professional achievement, and contributions to both business and society."

Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Gerald Chertavian, Wendell P. Weeks, Jonathan M. Nelson, Ashraf M. Dahod . Harvard Business School/Released

Nohria also praised Marcelo and the rest of the group for showing how Harvard Business School graduates can aspire to achieve.

"They are prime examples of what our students can accomplish in their lives and careers. They epitomize our mission of educating leaders who make a difference in the world," Nohria said.

Marcelo graduated from the prestigious institution in 1998 with a Juris Doctor-Masters in Business Administration after graduating magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College with an economics degree.

At Harvard, Marcelo received the Dean's Award as among the top students in her class.

Marcelo launched Care.com in the United States in 2007 with a simple business model--help families find caregivers, babysitters or nannies.

The site quickly became the world's largest online marketplace for finding and managing family care, with 11.8 million members in 16 countries.

In 2012, Marcelo's business expanded to the United Kingdom and Canada and eventually acquired Europe's largest care portal, the Berlin-based Besser Betreut.

Back in her hometown, Marcelo sits as a trustee of the Philippine Development Foundation, a non-profit that works with the government to advance science and technology through education, research and entrepreneurship.