Stanford Names A New GSB Admissions Chief

CALLS PREDECESSOR DERRICK BOLTON ‘A PHENOMENAL MENTOR’

She left Bertelsmann to become director of MBA career services at Harvard Business School for four years from 1995 to 1999 until being named managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid at HBS for two years from 1999 to 2001. At the time, Moss says she was pregnant with her third child and her husband had an opportunity to relocate to the West Coast. “It was very hard to leave admissions because I loved it, but then I was really fortunate that Stanford had a opening.”

At first, she joined Stanford admissions as a consultant. After a year, she was named associate director of evaluation, a job she held for four years, before taking on the job as director of MBA admissions under Bolton in 2009. But only one year into the job, Moss decided to leave and take on another opportunity at the executive search firm Egon Zehnder.

How come? “My focus has been on helping individuals assess their leadership abilities and develop them,” she explains. “I started in career services and after working with Derrick, who was a phenomenal mentor, I had the opportunity to combine leadership and career development with Egon. I had seen leadership potential at an earlier level and now I had the chance to see it at a senior level. It was fun for me to take on that chunk of experience.”

‘MORE COMPREHENSIVE THAN ANY INTERVIEW PROCESS I HAD BEEN THROUGH BEFORE’

When she left Stanford, however, Moss says she had worked out a deal to be a leadership facilitator at least once a term at the business school, a stint she has continued during her seven-year absence from the admissions office. “You really get an opportunity to experiment with different leadership behaviors in the course,” she says.

With two children in college and her youngest in high school, it seemed like an ideal time to go back full-time in admissions once she heard that Bolton was leaving the GSB last summer. She had been working on a PhD in organizational leadership at William James College since 2012, having finished the program this year.

The process of getting the job, she says, involved multiple interviews with numerous stakeholders from administrators to students and alumni. “It was more comprehensive than any interview process I had been through before,” she says. In her new role, Moss will oversee and manage the admissions and financial aid team and map out a vision for reaching, recruiting and selecting top MBA candidates.

‘DEEP EXPERIENCE IN ADMISSIONS AND LEADERSHIP TALENT EVALUATION’

“Kirsten has deep experience in admissions and leadership talent evaluation both inside and outside Stanford GSB,” Feinberg said in a statement. “Throughout our search process, Kirsten demonstrated her expertise and commitment to helping Stanford GSB continue to attract and develop the future leaders of tomorrow. I have every confidence that Kirsten will continue the MBA’s strong trajectory.”

Stanford GSB Dean Jonathan Levin also praised the decision. “Kirsten has a strong understanding of our school’s vision and immediately impressed us with her ideas for connecting with the next generation of students making a positive, measurable difference in the world,” said Levin in a statement. “Kirsten brings a wealth of knowledge and experience — from top-tier MBA admissions programs to business consulting — and will provide fresh insight as we achieve new levels of excellence.”

DON’T MISS: BOLTON LEAVING GSB ADMISSIONS