Elon Musk & Sheryl Sandberg Top List Of Leaders Most Admired By MBAs

Sundar Pichai

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“I find (Warren Buffet) to be a model of humility, modest living, and finding and creating fundamental value. His example keeps me grounded in the positive but overwhelming whirlwind of technological advancement and financial engineering.”  — Nadine Thornton, Cornell University, Johnson Graduate School of Management

“(I admire) Google CEO Sundar Pichai. He is an incredibly accomplished and humble leader who consistently gets stuff done without the fanfare and self-congratulatory chest-thumping common to many of today’s celebrity tech executives and entrepreneurs. His personal, academic, and professional backgrounds are also very relatable and inspiring to me.” — Vikram Arumilli, Wharton School

Bob Iger

“I really admire Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger. I believe he’s had a vision for Disney and made decisions that have really improved the company. I would love to sit down with him one day to talk about how he balances his vision and the risks he’s taken to bring Disney into the 21st century.” —  Adam Ruri, Purdue University, Krannert School of Management

“I admire Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs. He is low-key, but an incredible leader. I always thought he did a great job steering Goldman Sachs through the financial crisis and my impression from my internship was that it is an incredibly well-run firm.” — Florian Amann, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

“Meg Whitman. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her a few times at the GSB and when she hosted Stanford Women in Management at HP, and I think she’s an incredible example of success across different industries as well as maintaining a balanced relationship with her family. I’m also passionate about encouraging more women to lead not only in business, but also in politics. Her courage in running for governor is inspiring.” — Sarah Wang, Stanford Graduate School of Business

As a local inspirational story himself, it is probably not hard for many of you to believe that I admire Mark Cuban a lot. Though most people outside of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) probably see him as just the outspoken owner of the Mavericks, I am able to see the immense amount of good that he has been able to do with his success. With his young rise to fame and quick-earned fortune, it would have been very easy for him to live a life of luxury in peace and solitude away from the public eye. But I greatly respect the way that he has focused on giving back, not only to the DFW community, but also to young entrepreneurs. The strong role and position he takes in mentorship show that he puts great value on helping to develop the next generation of innovators. He is frequently noted to be on our campus and his continued commitment to education is very impressive. On a personal note, I also greatly respect the value he places on his family. He makes them a high priority on his list and that resonates strongly with me, especially when many of the stories we hear of successful people in business required them to put the job above all else.”  — Austin Ayres, Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business

Janet Yellen

“Janet Yellen. Here’s is why I admire her:

1) She’s a baller. The Federal Reserve chair is arguably the second most important person in this country (after the president), and Janet is now a fabulous role model for all women looking for others like them in top positions.

2) From research to teaching to the Federal Reserve, she’s expressed an unwavering commitment to crafting policies that better improve the livelihoods of low-income, working-class citizens and families.

3) Janet and her husband are a modern-day economics power couple! I love the image this creates for professional men and women who don’t want to sacrifice their partner’s career for their own.

4) She has a unique management style for the Fed — she seeks out others’ opinions, then makes consensus-style decisions.

— Becky See, University of Washington, Foster School of Management