Latest news with #Best&BrightestMBAs
Malaysian Reserve
03-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Poets&Quants™ Names Best & Brightest MBAs of 2025
Annual feature celebrates graduating business students for achievement and influence SAN FRANCISCO, May 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Poets&Quants, the leading news source for graduate business education, has released its 11th annual Best & Brightest MBAs feature, which honors 100 of the most accomplished full-time MBAs from the Class of 2025. 'This year's class could be described as more female and more international, with a stronger military presence,' says Jeff Schmitt, Poets&Quants' senior writer, who launched the series in 2015. 'What really distinguished Best & Brightest students this year was that they built things. They launched ventures early in their careers or started clubs or events at their business schools. They weren't trying to maintain what already existed or follow the usual paths. They were creating something new – and they provided others with enrichment and opportunities as a result.' This 2025 class features MBA graduates including Wharton School's Simi Shah, a successful entrepreneur who has been invited to the White House twice and made the 2025 Forbes '30 Under 30' in Media. Mark O'Connell, a graduate of the University of Michigan's Ross School, helped re-write the U.S. Maines combat training curriculum – and Ohio State's Kyle Schembechler did the same for the U.S. Field Artillery School. At the University of Virginia's Darden School, Amanda Golden has transitioned from covering the 2020 presidential election for NBC News to becoming a venture capitalist. By the same token, Evan Rizvi made the leap from opera singer to strategist at Boston University's Questrom School. To compile this year's Best & Brightest MBAs, Poets&Quants reached out to 82 top graduate business schools worldwide to nominate their best candidates for the honor. Responses were judged by P&Q editorial according to four criteria: extracurricular involvement, academic and professional achievements, insightful responses, and faculty recommendations. Ultimately, P&Q received 220 nominations, including submissions from elite institutions ranging from INSEAD to the University of Chicago's Booth School. By gender, Best & Brightest women outnumber men by a 60-to-40 margin, with 54 students hailing from outside the United States. The Boston Consulting Group also hired 8 Best & Brightest MBAs from the Class of 2025, the most of any employer. As part of this feature, each MBA receives an in-depth profile, which covers subjects ranging from their proudest achievement to their favorite business movie. Over the coming months, Best & Brightest will also spotlight the best student responses related topics like their favorite faculty members, biggest school myths, and most interesting school traditions. The 'Best & Brightest MBAs' is the second of a four-part series recognizing the world's top business students. In April, Poets&Quants For Undergrads unveiled its 100 Best & Brightest Undergraduate Business Majors of 2025. This summer, Poets&Quants will also recognize its 'Best & Brightest Executive MBAs' and 'Best & Brightest Online MBAs.' In the fall, P&Q will continue its 'Meet the Class' series that highlights the top incoming full-time MBA students at over 40 top business schools. To read about the '100 Best & Brightest MBAs: Class of 2025', CLICK HERE. Poets&Quants, a part of Times Higher Education, is the leading resource for complete coverage of graduate business education. We feature multiple tools and authoritative content, including consolidated business school rankings, news and in-depth features, videos, podcasts, searchable directories, and events, empowering our community with information needed to make decisions along their journey from pre- to post-MBA. Media Contact: Sat SharmaChief Revenue OfficerPoets & Quants(917) 763-4088 This press release was issued through For further information, visit
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Poets&Quants™ Names Best & Brightest MBAs of 2025
Annual feature celebrates graduating business students for achievement and influence SAN FRANCISCO, May 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Poets&Quants, the leading news source for graduate business education, has released its 11th annual Best & Brightest MBAs feature, which honors 100 of the most accomplished full-time MBAs from the Class of 2025. "This year's class could be described as more female and more international, with a stronger military presence," says Jeff Schmitt, Poets&Quants' senior writer, who launched the series in 2015. "What really distinguished Best & Brightest students this year was that they built things. They launched ventures early in their careers or started clubs or events at their business schools. They weren't trying to maintain what already existed or follow the usual paths. They were creating something new – and they provided others with enrichment and opportunities as a result." This 2025 class features MBA graduates including Wharton School's Simi Shah, a successful entrepreneur who has been invited to the White House twice and made the 2025 Forbes "30 Under 30" in Media. Mark O'Connell, a graduate of the University of Michigan's Ross School, helped re-write the U.S. Maines combat training curriculum – and Ohio State's Kyle Schembechler did the same for the U.S. Field Artillery School. At the University of Virginia's Darden School, Amanda Golden has transitioned from covering the 2020 presidential election for NBC News to becoming a venture capitalist. By the same token, Evan Rizvi made the leap from opera singer to strategist at Boston University's Questrom School. To compile this year's Best & Brightest MBAs, Poets&Quants reached out to 82 top graduate business schools worldwide to nominate their best candidates for the honor. Responses were judged by P&Q editorial according to four criteria: extracurricular involvement, academic and professional achievements, insightful responses, and faculty recommendations. Ultimately, P&Q received 220 nominations, including submissions from elite institutions ranging from INSEAD to the University of Chicago's Booth School. By gender, Best & Brightest women outnumber men by a 60-to-40 margin, with 54 students hailing from outside the United States. The Boston Consulting Group also hired 8 Best & Brightest MBAs from the Class of 2025, the most of any employer. As part of this feature, each MBA receives an in-depth profile, which covers subjects ranging from their proudest achievement to their favorite business movie. Over the coming months, Best & Brightest will also spotlight the best student responses related topics like their favorite faculty members, biggest school myths, and most interesting school traditions. The "Best & Brightest MBAs" is the second of a four-part series recognizing the world's top business students. In April, Poets&Quants For Undergrads unveiled its 100 Best & Brightest Undergraduate Business Majors of 2025. This summer, Poets&Quants will also recognize its "Best & Brightest Executive MBAs" and "Best & Brightest Online MBAs." In the fall, P&Q will continue its "Meet the Class" series that highlights the top incoming full-time MBA students at over 40 top business schools. To read about the "100 Best & Brightest MBAs: Class of 2025", CLICK HERE. Poets&Quants, a part of Times Higher Education, is the leading resource for complete coverage of graduate business education. We feature multiple tools and authoritative content, including consolidated business school rankings, news and in-depth features, videos, podcasts, searchable directories, and events, empowering our community with information needed to make decisions along their journey from pre- to post-MBA. Media Contact: Sat SharmaChief Revenue OfficerPoets & Quants(917) 763-4088 This press release was issued through For further information, visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Poets&Quants Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The 100 Best & Brightest MBAs: Class Of 2025
By any measure, Simi Shah is a success story. A Harvard undergrad and Wharton MBA, Shah boasts a resume that would land at the top of any company's stack. Before business school, she served as the chief of staff to Indra Nooyi, former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. At Wharton, she was tapped to mentor undergraduates by Adam Grant, best-selling author and organizational psychologist. Shah was named a Forbes '30 Under 30' in media this year. Before that, she rang the New York Stock Exchange opening bell. And she has even been invited to the White House – twice. Still, Shah didn't take her success for granted. She has found common cause with people looking to get their lives back on track. That's why she taught a weekly negotiations course at a Pennsylvania prison to over a dozen men. Leading a pilot program, Shah imparted the same principles that she'd learned as a first-year MBA student. All the while, Shah bonded with her students over TV shows like Shark Tank or their dreams after serving time. 'Walking into the prison every week – no phones, no professors, no paper, or pencils – I was completely outside my comfort zone,' Shah tells P&Q. 'But we created a special experience together. I found these men, their enthusiasm, and their desire to learn energizing. It reminded me of the power of paying my knowledge and opportunities forward. We changed lives in a tangible way.' Simi Shah, Wharton School NON-AMERICAN STUDENTS MAKE UP THE MAJORITY Shah is one of the 100 full-time graduates honored in Poets&Quants' Best & Brightest MBAs from the Class of 2025. Now in its 11th year, the Best & Brightest honors the top full-time MBA graduates at elite business schools across the globe. The story is designed to expose readers to the top student leaders. In the process, they can see where the Best & Brightest devoted their time and energy – and how they elevated their classmates and contributed to an unforgettable and transformative educational experience. At a time of great uncertainty, this group represents a vanguard of hope for the future. To compile the Best & Brightest list, P&Q invited 82 of the world's best business programs to participate. Like previous years, P&Q encouraged schools to nominate students for their 'academic prowess, extracurricular achievements, innate intangibles and potential, or unusual personal stories.' Overall, P&Q received 220 nominations from 78 business schools, with candidates judged on their extracurricular leadership, personal excellence, and the insightfulness of their responses and recommendations. As a whole, the Best & Brightest MBAs list profiles students from 61 business schools (with access to in-depth student profiles found on pages 3-4). These schools range from Alliance Manchester to the Yale School of Management and include 16 non-American programs. Like previous years, due to the top-to-bottom quality of the nominations, P&Q will run a separate 'MBAs To Watch' story over the summer to honor the remaining 120 nominees. Last year, the Best & Brightest MBAs deviated from precedent, as men outnumbered women by a 55-to-45 margin. The 2025 list, however, represents a return to the norm, as the ratio flipped to 60-to-40 in favor of women. Still, this year's class is far more global than past lists, as 54 members originally hailed from outside the United States. That's way up from the 41 non-American students who dotted the 2024 Best & Brightest list. In total, 79 members attended American business schools. At the same time, 29 hold graduate degrees beyond an MBA. Another eight graduates completed military service. Along with a greater presence of non-American students, this year's list also features a clear winner among employers. Eight Best & Brightest MBA students – so far – have accepted offers from the Boston Consulting Group. That's up from last year's total of three. In 2024, Deloitte tied for the lead with five hires. This year, it recruited six members. In contrast, McKinsey fell from five to two recruits over the past year. Bain and Amazon each landed five members from the ranks of the Best & Brightest, while Nike and Kearney each snagged two graduates. In addition, a quarter of the class was still undecided or mulling over offers. COVERING A HISTORIC ELECTION Nico Pedreira, Yale School of Managemlent Before starting business school, the Best & Brightest were already comfortable in big roles. As an architect, ESSEC Business School's Valentina Flora Angelucci has worked on high-profile projects like designing a branch of the Brooklyn Pubic Library and a whiskey distillery for DIAGEO. At Meta, Will Tan, a 2025 graduate of Northwestern University's Kellogg School, ran a Facebook fundraiser that generated $2.4 million in support of 90,000 families during COVID-19. Nico Pedreira, the student government president at the Yale School of Management, came to campus with plenty of political experience. He served as a deputy political director for Gavin Newsom for Governor and Kamala Harris for the People. Pedreira's classmate, Ioana Solomon, made assistant VP at Morgan Stanley, where she built a team that conducted due diligence across 16 workstreams and closed two deals that netted $130 billion in assets under advisement. At the same time, Amanda Golden leveraged her time in business school to transition from a Google communications manager to a venture capitalist. She points to covering the 2020 presidential campaign for NBC News as the highlight of her career (so far). 'Living out of a suitcase for two years, I reported across all of NBC News and MSNBC's platforms, covering every candidate who ran for president, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and racial and social justice movements. The experience pushed me to adapt quickly, navigate complex stories, and maintain journalistic integrity under immense pressure.' Some class members build their reputations in the public sector. Before enrolling at the Wharton School, Aarati Cohly served as chief of staff in the New York City Mayor's Office of Engagement, which helped to fuel the highest voter turnout in 30 years during the 2021 mayoral election. Alliance Manchester's Raymond Xiang Zheng started MBA classes after working as a senior trade and investment officer for the British Embassy in Beijing, where he was involved in raising capital. In China, Miya Huimin Ding, a snowboarding enthusiast, joined the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics. As part of her work, she helped to introduce Bing Dwen Dwen, the Olympic mascot, to the world. 'By integrating social media marketing strategies, we built widespread consumer impact,' explains the CEIBS MBA. 'The Weibo hashtag related to Bing Dwen Dwen garnered over 60 billion views. We also enhanced product production and distribution across various channels, resulting in a 650% YOY increase in licensed revenue. Through Bing Dwen Dwen, we were able to share the rich tapestry of Chinese culture with the world.' Seki Guan, Cambridge Judge Business School HELPING THE NEEDY FIND FINANCING, INSURANCE, AND JOBS Looking for scale? Cambridge Judge Business School's Seki Guan headed up the development of the KIMI APP, which she describes as 'an AI personal assistant with over 60 million monthly active users.' A decade ago, Vinicius Santos Avelar, an engineer by training, led the emergency water supply response during Brazil's Rio Doce mining disaster, where a dam failure unleashed millions of tons of toxins into the waters and farmland supporting over 100,000 people. 'Faced with an unprecedented crisis, I worked alongside a multidisciplinary team to develop a rapid response strategy—coordinating logistics, optimizing distribution routes, and ensuring that 2 million liters of potable water reached affected populations daily,' explains Santos Avelar, a 2025 grad of Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School. 'Navigating such a high-stakes crisis tested every aspect of leadership—from managing resources under pressure to making critical decisions with incomplete information.' Like Santos Avelar, the Class of 2025 often looked to serve the greater good. Working at Capital One, Tanner Morgan, a Duke Fuqua grad, developed a solution geared to help populations like students and immigrants prove credit worthiness. The Wharton School's Mallika Patkar shepherded a similar solution in the insurance industry for small farmers and independent laborers. Before becoming a 'Boothie' at the University of Chicago, Ilana Habib created an AI-run chatbot, Oli, that provided upbeat messages to over two-million college students. By the same token, Douglas Scandrett supported Ukrainian refugees in his native Canada by launching a nonprofit to help them better compete for jobs. Blake Blaze, MIT (Sloan) 'I led the development of our résumé writing and editing program, recruiting over 60 volunteers and creating Ukrainian-language resources to help job seekers craft résumés that would get noticed,' explains Scandrett, a graduate of Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School. 'The goal wasn't just formatting—it was about restoring confidence and giving people a real shot at employment in their new home. Though I had to step back when I started business school, I'm incredibly proud that continues to thrive. To date, the services and tools I have built have helped over 60,000 people take a critical step toward rebuilding their futures.' EMBRACING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT Scandrett is among the many entrepreneurs on this year's Best & Brightest list. At MIT's Sloan School, Blake Blaze, a veteran of the U.S. National Security Agency, launched Front Row Fantasy, which operates like fantasy football…only with 'up-and-coming musicians.' His classmate, Toritse David Maroh, once started a venture capital syndicate to support 44 African entrepreneurs. Not only did the University of Oxford's Surayyah Ahmad help launch a fund to support underserved markets in Central and West Africa, but she also co-founded an accelerator to nurture startups in northern Nigeria. In India, Vivek Yadav entered the ground floor of a blockchain venture that eventually became a unicorn! You'll find Best & Brightest entrepreneurs hailing from all walks of life. Look no further than Min Kyung Lee, a graduate of the National University of Singapore. A graduate of Cornell University and Columbia Law, Kyung Lee worked as a legal counsel for GlaxoSmithKline Korea. As an MBA student – and despite being a mother to a newborn – she co-founded BillDetail, a legal-tech solution, and Kinder, a platform that connects expats with local families. After graduation, Kyung Lee will remain in the startup space, heading up Korean business development for a different legal-tech startup. 'The achievement I am most proud of in my professional career is successfully pivoting from a traditional legal career to entrepreneurship and a business role. Rather than following the conventional path for lawyers, I sought out new challenges, immersing myself in the world of legal tech—an industry where I could bridge my legal expertise with my business school experience. Through my startup, BillDetail, and my new role at BoostDraft, I have been able to drive innovation in an industry that has been slow to adopt change.' MEDICAL MARVELS Elham Jamshidi, Johns Hopkins University (Carey) The Best & Brightest MBAs have been particularly active in medical startups. Exhibit A: Elham Jamshidi from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Here, she has been involved in accelerators ranging from Techstar to SPARK. In her native Iran, she opened up Riske Man, the nation's first approved digital health company. 'As a woman CEO in a male-dominated country, I worked tirelessly for a year to collect patient data to develop the app,' she writes. 'Our mobile application helped people check their COVID risk based on their health history. We grew to over one million users in just three months, and the project won the Most Innovative Product at the World Hospital Congress, which is an International Hospital Federation Award.' Another face of entrepreneurship would be Sanchaita Kohli, a graduate of the University of Toronto's Rotman School. In India, she opened a surgical practice, Face Surgery Delhi, that she was able to build into a global operation. IESE Business School also features an accomplished entrepreneur: Lili Chen. A decade ago, she co-founded Lifetech, which marketed solutions that enabled cardiologists to determine when patients needed a stent – and where. Eventually, Chen's startup employed 500 people and hit the market as an IPO. In the case of Deanna Portero, she spent her time at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School helping to build the Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator. At its core, the accelerator fills a gap by supporting clinical development of therapies for rare diseases that rarely attract substantive investment. After earning her MBA, Portero will be leading partnerships and innovation at the accelerator. And her efforts have earned her the respect of classmate and fellow entrepreneur Elham Jamshidi. 'She's raising three kids while pursuing both her MBA and MPH degrees. That alone is incredible. But what really inspires me is how she's using her expertise in rare diseases to help patients who are often forgotten by the big pharma. She's not just a mom, just a student, or just a health care leader: she is excelling at all three.' See pages 3-4 for 100 in-depth profiles of this year's Best & Brightest MBAs. AN ACCOMPLISHED MILITARY COHORT Another group that excelled in business school was military veterans. And their experience deeply enriched their MBA classrooms and cultures. Looking for credentials? Nick Hagen, an Indiana University Kelley School grad, went from singing Sondheim tunes to serving as a U.S. Army Special Forces Officer. An ultramarathoner, Hagen oversaw logistical support for A-Teams during the Battle of Raqqah and Operation INHERENT RESOLVE in Syria. Carolyn Ballinger served as the director of offensive cyberspace operations for the Joint Cyberspace Operations Group before business school. Now an IT auditor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Ballinger commanded a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve unit during her first semester at Boston College's Carroll School, along with working part-time and commuting an hour-and-a-half each way. At the same time, Mark O'Connell worked alongside a small group of instructors to rewrite the U.S. Marines' combat training curriculum – something that hadn't been done in 50 years. How tough is O'Connell on his pupils? Picture a 130-kilometer hike over 96 hours with 2 a.m. barrages of simulated gunfire, artillery, and smoke grenades – all with little food or rest. 'What made me proud was the Marines' faces at the end of this hike – each of their faces had a look of determination on it that said, 'It doesn't matter what the world does to me anymore. It can't possibly break me. I've come this far, and I simply will not quit,' shares O'Connell, a Deloitte hire and graduate of the University of Michigan's Ross School. 'I realized at that moment that the curriculum rewrite I had completed was going to personally impact tens of thousands of Marines for years to come.' Mark O'Connell, University of Michigan (Ross) O'Connell wasn't alone in revamping the military curriculum. Kyle Schembechler, a graduate of Ohio State's Fisher College, completed an 'overhaul' of the Field Artillery School's training program. Staying in the Big 10, the University of Wisconsin's Aaron St. John Kindle was named the 2nd Airborne's Paratrooper of the Year in 2021. As an MBA student, he achieved a perfect GPA while he worked three jobs, bought a house, and welcomed his first child. Across the Atlantic at HEC Paris, Jean-Luc Thébert has made 130 parachute jumps in the French Army, where he was responsible for training a 1,200-member parachute infantry regiment over the summer. After graduating from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler School, Ashley Sperry will be joining the U.S. Army Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense. For Sperry, business school has been a family affair – a chance to impart life's big lessons on her daughters, who are 9 and 6 years in age. 'As a single mother, I wanted to show them firsthand that they can pursue their dreams, embrace challenges and achieve success through hard work, resilience, and a strong support system. By bringing them along on this experience—whether it was introducing them to my classmates, involving them in school events, or simply letting them see me tackle demanding coursework—I hope to have instilled in them a sense of confidence and possibility for their futures.' WHAT MAKES A BEST & BRIGHTEST MBA Ann C. Ukadike, UC Berkeley (Haas) That said, the Best & Brightest also brought some unconventional backgrounds to business school. Evan Rizvi spent 8 years as an opera singer. After graduating from Boston University's Questrom School, he'll return to his alma mater – the New England Conservatory of Music – in a strategy role. Duke University's Fern Imjairach earned a law degree while working full-time at Deloitte. In contrast, Babson College's Ruso Samunashvili taught financial and managerial accounting at the Business and Technology University in Georgia (the country). At UC Berkeley's Haas School, the resident celebrity is Ann Ukadike, who was named among this year's '100 Women Shaping the World' by Techeconomy and one of 'Africa's 100 Most Influential Women in Business' in 2024 by The Business Executive. The Class of 2025 carried this momentum into business school. As students, the Best & Brightest ran the biggest clubs and organized the most important events. They were ambassadors, tutors, volunteers, mentors, and coaches. In many ways, they were the spirit of their schools. They weren't just contributors; they were creators and catalysts: the go-to resources who got things done. Amid uncertainty, the Best & Brightest became the unsung heroes and inspiring figures who remained calm, strong, and kind. Among their peers, they were the ones who never needed to be asked – they saw a need and tackled the work. In the end, they were defined by their commitment, curiosity, creativity, and causes. Each possessed something unforgettable. Maybe it was Rice University's Angelica Janette Amaya Zendejas bringing her cohort gifts on Valentine's Day or Dartmouth Tuck's Magdala Díaz de Rávago Zevallos holding cupcake decoration workshops for her classmates. Without the Best & Brightest, there would have been something fundamental missing in each school's experience. BRINGING EVENTS TO LIFE Many times, the Best & Brightest created programming in their MBA programs. At London Business School, for example, Zhen Ren Teo launched a Southeast Asia (SEA) Club to provide cultural events and networking events. Even more, Ren Teo fostered collaborations with Cambridge Judge Business School and the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School – all while growing the club from 30 to 250 members in one year. Austin Cai performed a similar feat at the Yale School of Management. Here, he partnered with a dozen blockchain clubs for schools ranging from Oxford to Harvard to Stanford to hold a summit. Arjun Shivach organized HEC Paris's first LGBTQIA+ conference, Beyond Borders. At the UC Berkeley Haas School, Ann Ukadike built a team from 14 countries to produce the Africa Gate to Growth Forum. '[It was] a first-of-its-kind platform connecting African startups with Silicon Valley's tech and venture capital ecosystem,' she tells P&Q. 'I curated 60 high-potential startups, provided 25 companies with pitch assessment sessions, and ultimately enabled 14 African startups from Cote d'Ivoire to travel to California for a final immersion program. These founders engaged directly with investors, industry leaders and business mentors, gaining funding insights, strategic guidance, and access to global market opportunities. The programming addressed key sectors including education, healthcare, banking and tourism through fintech solutions, ensuring that innovation was solving real-world problems.' Raghav Mahajan, USC (Marshall) Not only did USC Marshall's Raghav Mahajan launch the first 'India-focused conference at a West Coast university,' but he also attracted over 250 attendees. As co-president of Yale SOM's Private Equity & Venture Capital Club, Ioana Solomon spearheaded the annual symposium, which drew 300 attendees (not to mention founding members of Sonamu Capital and Tinicum Enterprises as speakers). At Columbia Business School, where Natalie Friel served as co-president of the Retail and Luxury Goods Club, the club's annual conference brought 350 people together. Her efforts led Samantha Shapses, the school's senior associate dean, to describe Friel as a 'transformative leader.' 'With a unique blend of creative vision and strategic leadership, Natalie redefined the club's identity, reviving its branding with vintage-inspired elements that honored Columbia and RLG's history while establishing a polished, forward-looking aesthetic. Her thoughtful approach elevated not only the club's visual presence but also its professionalism, setting a new standard that resonates deeply in the retail and luxury space.' DOING RIGHT AND DOING WELL It wasn't just in producing informative conferences where the Class of 2025 shone. As a student at the University of Florida's Warrington College, April Rowland collected an array of team and individual 1st place finishes in case competitions. Boston University's Maria Rafaella Guerrero Romero made such a strong impression during her summer internship at Biogen that the company later awarded her the Biogen Award for excellence. In terms of impact, it would be hard to top Camila Costa, who graduated from Brigham Young University's Marriott School. As an MBA summer intern at Warner Bros. Discovery, she helped bundle Disney+, Hulu, and Max – a streaming industry 'milestone.' 'What made this experience especially meaningful was seeing the direct impact of our work,' Costa tells P&Q. 'Watching the bundle go live and knowing it was improving the streaming experience for millions of customers was incredibly rewarding. Even more so, it was amazing to see friends and family enjoy this product firsthand. I had friends get ads for the bundle on social media and text me, saying, 'Hey, it's your bundle!' It was a great reminder of why I love working at the intersection of media, technology, and strategy.' More than anything, the Best & Brightest MBAs were there for each other. At Vanderbilt University's Owen School, Robert Rickard produced over 200 PowerPoint slides to help aspiring consultants with 'case fundamentals and networking strategies.' Duke University's Tanner Morgan landed a job with the Boston Consulting Group – and then helped over a hundred classmates prep for interviews. As co-president of the Tuck School's Consulting Club, Berk Atillasoy developed two case prep workshops for first-year students. And he didn't stop there… Danielle Sarraf, Washington University (Olin) 'Perhaps my proudest contribution was leading the 'Second-Year Case Match' process, where I managed the complex logistics of pairing of second-year volunteers with first-year students to conduct cases,' he explains. 'Over a busy four-week period, the effort rallied second-year students to generously deliver over 550 cases, or 550 hours of their own time, to support first-year students in their consulting recruitment preparation – a true reflection of Tuck's unique 'pay-it-forward' culture. UNEXPECTED TALENTS Looking for some interesting tidbits about this year's Best & Brightest? NYU Stern's Margaret Zhang is a ballet dancer, an avocation she picked up when she was 33. Sebastian Esselens, a UCLA Anderson grad, earned a pilot's license before his driver's license. Queen's University's Sydney McLennan is a competitive jump roper, while Elham Jamshidi is a self-described 'adrenaline seeker' who indulges in activities ranging from skydiving to scuba diving. In the medical field, the University of Minnesota's Via Rao co-authored a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine. Not to be outdone, Danielle Sarraf made the list of 'Students Who Rocked Public Health 2024' published by the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice (JPHMP). Before earning an MBA at the University of Michigan's Ross School, Brysan Porterfield modeled for L'Oréal, while IESE Business School's Sergi Rivera Morcillo competed for the Spanish National Sailing Team. And let's just say Rice University's Angelica Janette Amaya Zendejas takes care of the most beloved member of her MBA class. 'My MBA journey wouldn't be the same without my four-legged sidekick, Scout,' she tells P&Q. 'I moved to Houston with him shortly after adopting him, and he's since become an honorary member of my MBA class. In fact, he even took home the 2023 Halloween Pet Costume Contest trophy. I dressed him as an investment banker (blue suit, tie and all). He definitely looked the part, minus the spreadsheets and 80-hour workweeks. Scout is my kindest reminder that there's a time to be an MBA executive and a time to pause, play and just enjoy life with the ones who matter most.' LOOKING AHEAD Magdala Díaz de Rávago Zevallos, Dartmouth College (Tuck) What's next for the Best & Brightest? Elham Jamshidi pictures herself making the Forbes '40 Under 40' list, while the University of Michigan's Mark O'Connell hopes to be involved in the Salt Lake City 2034 Olympics. At the same time, Ruben Antonio Quesada plans to stay involved and give back to his MBA alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School. As Annette Knell starts her career at Delta Air Lines, she is focused on being a servant leader – someone who leads 'with empathy, active listening, and a deep commitment to the growth of others.' More than that, she intends to continue the growth she experienced in business school. 'I see lifelong learning as a priority, always seeking to expand my knowledge and refine my skills. I believe that staying curious and embracing new ideas will help me adapt to new challenges, innovate in my field, and continue evolving both personally and professionally.' In the meantime, as graduation approaches, the Class of 2025 is beginning to say their goodbyes. At Vanderbilt University's Owen School, Brian T. McCann, professor of strategic management, is already lamenting the departure of Robert Rickard. He describes Rickard as a man of 'quiet influence,' the 'kind of leader whose impact isn't measured in decibels, but in depth.' The same could be said for the Tuck School's Magdala Díaz de Rávago Zevallos. For Sally O. Jaeger, the school's associate dean, Díaz de Rávago Zevallos personifies the best in business – and the Best & Brightest as a whole. 'She is a wonderful example that leadership is not just about achievement but about uplifting others along the way. Magdala's legacy at Tuck is not just in the programs she has led or the initiatives she has started, but in the hearts of those she has inspired to lead with courage, generosity, and a deep commitment to community. I will miss her!' See pages 3-4 for 100 in-depth profiles of this year's Best & Brightest MBAs. DON'T MISS: MBA Student MBA Program Hometown Pre-MBA Employer Internship Post-MBA Employer Tieling, China British Embassy Beijing Eli Lilly Eli Lilly Rustavi, Georgia IDS Borjomi Georgia Artemis Carbon Futures Undecided Campinas, Brazil Aurica EnergySage Undecided South San Francisco, CA Joint Cyberspace Operations Group Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Bogota, Colombia Edelman Biogen Biogen Brookline, MA Opera Singer New England Conservatory of Music in Boston New England Conservatory of Music in Boston Buenos Aires, Argentina Medidata Solutions Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery Medford, OR Jackson County Physical Therapy Copeland Copeland Wuhan, China Moonshot AI Moonshot AI Moonshot AI Santo Antônio do Amparo, Brazil Vale Amazon Amazon Uniontown, PA U.S. Navy McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company San Jose, Costa Rica ZGF Architects Sabana Sabana Miya Huimin DINGAnhui, China Amazon Danaher Undecided Cincinnati, OH Mainstay Impellent Ventures Undecided Washington, DC TA Associates Radiant Logic Undecided Houston, TX Adobe Nike Nike Palo Alto, CA Burlington Stores Alvarez and Marsal Alvarez and Marsal Oro-Medonte, Canada Sklar Wilton & Associates Kearney Kearney Seattle, WA Le Monde French Immersion Public Charter School Deloitte Deloitte Bryn Mawr, PA Deloitte Consulting Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group Lima, Peru Magdala Patisserie Bain & Company Bain & Company Littleton, MA Fifth Wall Ventures Powerhouse Ventures Undecided Bangkok, Thailand Deloitte Consulting Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group Raleigh, NC Capital One Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group Washington, DC Tiffany and Company Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group Bordeaux, France Schindler Group Infosys Undecided Johannesburg, South Africa Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects Undecided Melbourne, FL ABA Technologies Bain & Company Bain & Company Pennsauken, NJ MedStar Medical Halcyon Venture Partners Undecided Gurnee, IL BCD International Jefferies Financial Group Jefferies Financial Group Ibadan, Nigeria Schlumberger Bain & Company Bain & Company Lima, Peru Miranda & Amado Abogados Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines Johannesburg, South Africa First Rand Group NA Ph.D. Program Nairobi, Kenya Unilever Google Google Meerut, India Nautilus Labs Danelec Marine Undecided Castres, France French Army French Army French Army Hardoi, India Stakefish Stakefish Undecided Weihai, China Insight Lifetech VB Devices Undecided Sharjah, U.A.E. Oliver Wyman Best11 Group Oliver Wyman Barcelona, Spain Quer Professional Boats Astilleros de Santander, ALIMIA Group Whale Dock Tiruchirappalli, India PA Consulting École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Soil Mechanics Laboratory HexagonIndiana University (Kelley) Gwalior, India KPMG Ernst & Young Ernst & YoungIndiana University (Kelley) Fort Worth, TX U.S. Army Direct Supply Avient Sugar Land, TX Irruption NA IrruptionJohns Hopkins Carey Business School Tehran, Iran Riske Man Johns Hopkins Hospital AstraZenecaJohns Hopkins Carey Business School Queens, NY National Institutes of Health Dark Horse Consulting Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator Curvelo, Brazil Red Ventures Google SECCL (Octopus) Singapore Boston Consulting Group Chiron Sports Group Boston Consulting Group Harrison, NY Gusto Intuit Undecided Park City, UT U.S. Marine Corps Deloitte Deloitte MBA Student MBA Program Hometown Pre-MBA Employer Internship Post-MBA Employer Branchburg, NJ Rakuten Advertising Mars Wrigley Mars Wrigley Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee Public Schools Deloitte Deloitte Indianapolis, IN University of Minnesota Medical School Deloitte Deloitte Barnstable, MA DataClassroom Tyton Partners Front Row Fantasy Delta, Nigeria Standard Bank Group JPMorgan Chase Bain & Company Winchester, VA Metron, Inc. Rivian Nike Neyveli, India Valeo NA Undecided Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Vietcap Securities JSC NA Undecided Seoul, South Korea GlaxoSmithKline Korea BillDetail and Kinder BoostDraft New Orleans, LA Deloitte Consulting National Basketball Association (NBA) Deloitte Consulting Luoyang, China Google Nvidia Nvidia Ghaziabad, India JPMorgan Chase L.E.K. Consulting L.E.K. Consulting Springfield, OH U.S. Army U.S. Army U.S. Army Ile-Ife, Nigeria African Development Bank EY-Parthenon EY-Parthenon Stony Brook, NY Accenture DaVita DaVita Manila, Philippines Meta TikTok (ByteDance) Amazon Crystal Lake, IL College of American Pathologists Pella Pella Dunstable, MA U.S. Army Scotts Miracle Gro Cognizant Katsina State, Nigeria Sabou Capital NA Sabou Capital Akwa-Ibom, Nigeria First Bank Plc University of Pittsburgh Amazon Grimsby, Canada ArcelorMittal Dofasco NA Boston Consulting Group Morelia, Mexico Hewlett Packard Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston Amazon Santa Ana, El Salvador Banco Agricola, S.A. El Salvador ServiceNow, Inc. ServiceNow, Inc. Pune, India StreamzAI NVIDIA NVIDIA Frisco, TX Amazon Kearney Kearney Mckinney, TX Shora Foundation Shora Foundation Undecided Tokyo, Japan Hitachi Hitachi Ventures Hitachi Houston, TX OxyChem ExxonMobil ExxonMobil New Delhi, India Face Surgery Delhi Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group Willowbrook, IL Eli Lilly Pfizer Dual Degree (December Graduation) Lagos, Nigeria Terragon Limited Amazon Web Services Amazon Web Services Lindenhurst, NY U.S. Army Nike Undecided Chapel Hill, NC Skyline Renewables Echo River Capital Undecided Orange, CA Brillstein Creative Partners Mattel Mattel Antwerp, Belgium Live Nation Entertainment Apple Apple Seoul, South Korea Samsung Electronics Analysis Group Analysis Group Hong Kong Novaria Group Deloitte Consulting Deloitte Consulting Punjab, India Ultimate Kronos Group Paramount Pictures Undecided Austin, TX Emerson McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company San Francisco, CA Google Sands Capital Sands Capital Buffalo, NY Baltimore City Public Schools Bain & Company Bain & Company Khemkaran, India Alstom Transport Tesla Undecided Los Angeles, CA Brown School at Washington University Brown School at Washington University Dual Degree (December Graduation) New York City, NY NYC Mayor's Office of Engagement DemocracyWorks Undecided Fairfax, VA AXA Circle Undecided Atlanta, GA Indra Nooyi (Chief of Staff) South Asian Trailblazers South Asian Trailblazers West De Pere, WI U.S. Army Hendricks Commercial Properties Undecided Fremont, CA Scandit 53 Stations Morphic Buenos Aires, Argentina Hilltop Public Solutions Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group Bacau, Romania Morgan Stanley Closed Loop Partners Undecided The post The 100 Best & Brightest MBAs: Class Of 2025 appeared first on Poets&Quants.
