The Top MBAs Name Their Favorite Business School Professors

Johnson's Risa Mish

Johnson’s Risa Mish

Inspire and Energize Students

Risa Mish has been one of the most influential and engaging professors I have had in my life. Her energy imparts a unique perspective to the MBA curriculum by encouraging students to bring critical thinking, leadership, and culture to the forefront. Not only is she talented, but she truly cares about her students. A perfect example of her dedication to students was when she led a unique culture workshop for our class. As the inaugural MBA class at Cornell Tech, we knew it was important for us to define and share our vision for the program. Risa’s guidance was invaluable in stimulating self-reflection through challenging discussion among classmates. As Airbnb CEO and Co-founder Brian Chesky said, “Culture is simply a shared way of doing something with passion.” – Miwa Takaki / Cornell University, Johnson Graduate School of Management

“I had a wonderful Leadership professor in our first year named Jia Lin Xie.  She brought a dynamism, passion, and authenticity to our classroom like I have never seen before from any educator in my entire career.  She wore a “Britney Spears-style” microphone every class and a matching colored pantsuit.  She danced around our class with her words and feet, engaging every student.  For an 8 a.m. class, she made it tremendously fun.” – Amy Bi / University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management

Sloan's Roberto Rigobon

Sloan’s Roberto Rigobon

Roberto Rigobon, because not only is he a world-leading economist, but he also truly cares about teaching. His classes are always relevant, impactful, and memorable. He inspires me to action and to leverage the privileged position that I am in to build a better world.” – Elena Mendez Escobar / MIT, Sloan School of Management

Make Content Real (And Entertaining)

“Carlson Supply Chain & Operations Associate Professor Enno Siemsen deeply cares about relaying concepts to students in unforgettable ways by bringing the classroom to life. He once held class in a concert hall and had a concert pianist play two different Steinway pianos to illustrate/discuss what the optimal level of variability should be in a manufacturing process. This and other lessons I have learned in his classes will surely stick with me throughout my career.” – Alyssa Callister / University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

Wharton's Mike Sinkinson

Wharton’s Mike Sinkinson

Professor Mike Sinkinson has an amazing ability to make one of the hardest and most quantitative classes of the first-year core fun and interesting.  Additionally, I don’t think I ever experienced a case in class where a student asked a question, and he wasn’t able to answer it in the most intuitive, thorough, and evidence-based way possible… Professor Fader [also] teaches one of the hardest courses at Wharton, and manages to make every class enjoyable despite the extremely quantitative nature of the coursework. I will probably get the most post-MBA value out of the material I learned in this course.” – Stephanie Landry / Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

“In mid-stride, Senior Lecturer Mitch Weiss pulled out a goldfish from his bag. We were in the middle of an intense case discussion on an enormous aquarium in the UK, and the protagonist was commenting on how tens of millions had been spent, and they just realized that an enormous fog horn would blast all of the fish in the aquarium every day.  This is just one example of how Weiss mixed humor and energy in HBS’s inaugural (and to my knowledge the first at any business school) public sector entrepreneurship class.  For a quarter, we would gather to study public sector innovation and how private companies could impact change for millions. His engaging style, deep connections, and experience from having “lived it” in Boston, one of America’s most innovative cities, created an amazing class.” – Michael Martin / Harvard Business School

Kellogg's Harry Kraemer

Kellogg’s Harry Kraemer

“I would say it’s a clear tie between Prof. Harry Kraemer and Prof. Jose Liberti – for absolutely different reasons. Professor Harry Kraemer translates the specific challenges of being a CEO into the classroom (Managerial Leadership), and brings them to life with vivid stories which put you in the place he was while making decisions. I really enjoy classes with a strong narrative – I think stories, motivations and characters aren’t used enough by professors in lectures, especially since I believe people are built to learn by listening to stories and imagining themselves as others, more than simply through abstract concepts or vague descriptions.” – Bruno Valle / Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

“…While it is difficult to single out an individual among giants, Professor Paul Habibi inspires me to be great at everything I do and have a positive influence on the lives of others. Not to be overshadowed by his widely successful Real Estate career and expertise, Professor Habibi also has an innate ability to consistently engage his students with meaningful material derived from his personal experience. Furthermore, he seamlessly provides practical knowledge coupled with valuable insight in a manner often unrivaled by his peers. Beyond his impressive teaching ability and Real Estate career, Professor Habibi genuinely cares about his students and their future success. Although he manages an intense schedule of being a professional, academic, husband, and father, Professor Habibi never fails to extend his capacity to students outside of the classroom.” – Jacob Call / UCLA, Anderson School of Management

Yale's Nicholas Barberis

Yale’s Nicholas Barberis

Nicholas Barberis – who taught the Investor class in the 1st year core and also the Behavioral Finance course I took this spring. He does a masterful job of teaching Yale students about the relatively new and fascinating behavioral finance field that he is helping to discover. He is engaging, passionate, funny, and always supportive both inside and out of class. He shares anecdotes about the history of behavioral finance that make his lectures come alive and is a cornerstone of the SOM student experience. Every SOM student should take a class with him.” – Benjamin Freedman / Yale School of Management

“I have been fortunate to have a number of great professors. If forced to choose one, I would choose Professor Darrell Duffie. Professor Duffie understands the intricacies and complexities of the global financial system better than anyone I have ever met. He has a deep curiosity about how the world works and is excellent at unpacking / explaining very complex topics. I admire his drive to fully understand the deep complexities of the global financial system, his enthusiasm for the subjects he studies, and his willingness to share his vast experience with his students.” – Peter Nurnberg / Stanford Graduate School of Business

Wharton's Adam Grant

Wharton’s Adam Grant

Cade Massey and Adam Grant: They were our faculty advisors for the People Analytics Conference, which is an example of how involved they are in working with students to help keep Wharton on the cutting edge.  Additionally, they are two of the best professors I have ever had.  They teach in a no-BS manner – everything I have learned from them has been extremely relevant and valuable.” – Stephanie Landry / Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

“[I choose] Dr John Camillus. I never knew that strategy could be so interesting. I Iearned various management principles like value chain analysis and developed an understanding of how to improve myself personally through key factors like planning, setting objectives and goals, and being self-confident. I also learned how to analyze limitations and risk factors of various activities.” – Sourya Datta / University of Pittsburgh, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business 

Provide Candor

Booth's Waverly Deutsch

Booth’s Waverly Deutsch

Waverly Deutsch – I had the fortune of working with Professor Deutsch during the New Venture Challenge. She isn’t afraid to deliver a difficult message. At a critical time in Simple Mills’ history, Prof Deutsch was there to help me realize where I was making unrealistic assumptions, what is was going to take to succeed, and also what a huge opportunity was ahead of me. My business wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for Waverly.”– Katlin Smith / University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

Dr Gregory Bauer teaches Macroeconomics. He is the financial advisor to the Bank of Canada. According to me, his professional experience contributes the most to the class. His teaching style is very practical. After teaching a particular theory of economics, he would ask us for real examples like naming a country where that applies/applied to. His class is very interactive. He pays attention to the diversity in the class and uses examples from all countries and in a manner that he thinks people would have seen or experienced. Also, his sense of humor is great!” – Kanika Chopra / University of Rochester, Simon Business School

HEC Paris' Roxana Barbulescu

HEC Paris’ Roxana Barbulescu

Get The Most Out Of Their Students

“My favorite professor is Roxana Barbulescu because she made the best use of other students’ backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge in the classroom, and she always adjusted classes based on our interests and needs. She taught my specialization course on Advanced Management in Global Enterprises.” – Emily Groffman / HEC Paris