Meet Columbia Business School’s MBA Class Of 2019 by: Jeff Schmitt on October 14, 2017 | | 67,378 Views October 14, 2017 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit Some of the extraordinary MBA students in the Class of 2019 at Columbia Business School New York City is under constant renovation. Every day, youāll hear blaring beeps and buzzing, the hammering and hollowing followed by the scraping and squaring. It is a place for collisions that court creativity and stylings that sweep the globe. New York is an ideal as much as a place, one that draws people who are dissatisfied with their lot, yet courageous enough to start anew. Yet, the city has Ā increasingly leaned on finance ā that is, until the 2008 economic collapse laid bare its jenga infrastructure. Over 100,000 jobs evaporated in one year when the Great Recession tore through Wall Street, leading Mayor Michael Bloomberg to push greater economic diversification beyond Wall Street. Nearly a decade later, the results are stunning, as the city has re-emerged as a startup and tech powerhouse ā all while turbocharging its traditional advantages in tourism, retail, production, and entertainment. A FINANCE SCHOOL? GUESS AGAIN! Columbia Business School has undergone similar soul searching. Just look back to the Class of 2008, when 55.7% of graduates entered finance ā making Columbia the pipeline to Wall Street. Eight years later, just 36.9% of the class entered finance ā a segment thatās nearly equal to those entering consulting. In fact, McKinsey hired 62 grads from the 2016 Class ā more than Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Bank of America combined. Thatās not because consulting firms are short on quant jocks who can build discounted cash flow models. Instead, they are seeking well-rounded talents with the passion to make a difference ā and the know-how to make it happen. 2017 Columbia Business School MBA graduates The school brands itself as being āat the very center of business,ā which makes it a melting pot in terms of the courses it offers (over 200 electives) and the students it attracts. The Class of 2019 personifies this impressive fusion of cultures and experiences. Frank Sinatra sang in New York, New York that āIf I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.ā This class is a certainty to do just that. Here, youāll find students like John Christopher, who transitioned from being a financial consultant to opening a hospital and school in Himalayan Nepal. Joseph Maier, a U.S. Army Green Beret, once went full-on James Bond, turning a sky dive into a scuba dive. At Macyās, Shivani Hajela pioneered an operations model that connected store and online purchasing decisions, resulting in higher profitability and lower surplus. And Chi AchebeĀ comes to Morningside Heights from Nigeria, where she developed an entrepreneurship prize through the MasterCard Foundation that fosters a network of entrepreneurs, NGOs, volunteers and media members that reaches into over 35 countries. āUNPARALLELED ACCESSā IN THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING At Columbia, the Class of 2019 enjoys the best of everything: An M7 degree coupled a wealth of academic resources thatās just a cab ride away from many of the leading brands and hottest startups in the land. Maier, for one, applauds the schoolās location, an āunparalleled access to a multitude of industries, companies, and alumni.ā Along with Columbiaās āstellar reputationā and āglobal communication,ā Hajela also lists the many advantages of the schoolās upper west side locale. āHere, a world-renowned faculty is complemented with guest speakers and adjunct professors who are leaders of industry. In fact, Columbiaās accessibility allows more business leaders to visit CBS than any other top business school. I can also apply my on-campus learnings in a real world setting with one of the many major companies headquartered in NYC either through a Master Class or an in-semester internship.ā Finance may still be a big draw, but Columbia is hardly a finance school ā if it ever was. For Christopher, the real benefit was how the programās deep roots in roots beyond finance amplified the opportunities available in the city. āWhile New York is at the very center of the financial world,ā he explains, āit is also at the center of social innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital.Ā As home to the second largest number of non-profits in the United States and countless socially conscious for-profit organizations, Columbia provides an unparalleled gateway to explore the intersection of business, government, and society.ā Make no mistake: Columbiaās finance prowess is as robust as ever. After graduation, Achebe hopes to work in increasing the availability of capital to emerging markets, pairing investors with ātrailblazing African companies.ā In her view, no program better integrated location, global mentality, and influential alumni than CBS. āIāmĀ aĀ curiousĀ person that derives energy from trying new things and immersingĀ myself inĀ dynamicĀ environments,ā Achebe notes.Ā āAs a CBSĀ student,Ā New York, and by extensionĀ the world, is truly my oyster.Ā Columbiaās location in New YorkĀ affords me the opportunity toĀ seamlessly integrate in-semester internships,Ā impromptu coffee chats with industry leaders,Ā and the vibrancy of the cityĀ into my MBA experience.ā FIRST YEAR SKIPS THREE YEARS OF SCHOOLING Columbia Business School – Ethan Baron photo Who makes up the Class of 2019? Meet Ashley Allen, a wunderkind whoād already earned a Bachelorās degree when she was 19 thanks to skipping two grades and finishing college in three years. She calls herself a ā26-year-oldĀ audaciousĀ and personable,Ā indoor-spinĀ addicted,Ā finance junkie andĀ super mom.ā Ā A former actor and dancer in a mainstream Bollywood movie, Nivedita KohliĀ describes herself as āa āpoetāĀ with a vivid imagination andĀ insatiable curiosity, motivated to inspire and influence change.ā And Sam Lamson, a U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer, sounds like a guy who stepped out of William Whyteās The Organization Man: āAllyās husband, Harrietās dad, āreal straight shooter with upper level management written all over him.ā Thatās just the warm up. Which thrill-seeking classmate is most likely to get arrested for climbing a skyscraper without a permit? Odds are, itāll be Celine Tarrant, a Toronto native who enjoys volcano boarding, which involves (in her worlds) āhiking up a live volcano and then throwing myself down the other side on a wooden sled at 30 mph.ā Think thatās scary? How about Brandon McCampbell, an executive officer with the U.S. Coast Guard who plowed a ā378Ā footĀ ship through 45 foot seas when we were caught in a typhoonĀ offĀ the coast of JapanĀ while conducting law enforcement operations.ā Pity the fool who trifles with Aditi Bhatia: She holds a black belt and has won international competitions. For classmates who love classical music, Hajela can provide a fix. āI was principal violist in an orchestra that recorded a session with seven-time Grammy-nominated producer and recording engineer, Phil Bulla.ā If youāve ever wondered what happens in chambers when the C-Span cameras stop rolling, just ask Lamson, who served as a U.S. Senate page when he was in high school. āWhen the Senate was out of session for an extended recess, our 30-person page class set up, unbeknownst to our teachers, an entire moot senate session,ā he recalls.Ā āWe drafted fake bills, delivered pretend floor speeches, and cast mock votes from the Senate floor.ā The 2019 Class comes to the Big Apple with an impressive list of accomplishments as well. Kohli studied fashion design in India before coming to the United States to work for Ralph Lauren, where she launched two lines that generated over $40 million dollars in revenue. āWitnessingĀ customers buy into myĀ ideas, seeing the designs I had sketchedĀ on paper come to life onĀ websites, inĀ theĀ windows of retailers such as Bloomingdaleās and Macyās, on TV shows,Ā onĀ people Iāve alwaysĀ admiredĀ andĀ most importantlyĀ on the generalĀ publicĀ wasĀ exhilarating,ā she gushes. FROM OPENING HOSPITALS IN NEPAL TO REBUILDING COMMERCE IN AFGHANISTAN When Christopher founded the Oda Foundation, he hoped to make a difference for people needing healthcare in Nepal. While his initiative has treated over 30,000 patients thus far, Christopher didnāt realize his impact could be so small in scale yet powerful in nature. This epiphany came when he interviewed a young woman whoād received treatment in his hospital. Columbia Business School Columbia University – Ethan Baron photo āWhen asked about the Foundation she said,Ā āMany children used to die before the Oda Foundation was establishedā¦our children donāt suffer anymore.Ā Now we donāt have to carry old people on our backs to Manma [a two hour, mountainous walk + 2 hour bus ride)] for treatment.āĀ Such sentiments which reflect the vision he laid out ā and the risks he took ā to ultimately improved life in a remote corner of the world. āMy most significant career accomplishment has beenĀ overseeing a significantĀ reduction inĀ avoidable deaths within Odaās catchment and helpingĀ improve the livesĀ of people who have a challenging timeĀ doing so on their own.ā Christopher wasnāt the only class member who spent their pre-MBA days giving back to the less fortunate. In Afghanistan, Maierās soldiers partnered with local police to push out Taliban insurgents. However, he realized that victory would be short-lived if they couldnāt put a sustainable framework in place to fuel local economic growth. āIĀ saw the opportunity to encourageĀ greaterĀ financial freedom,ā he points out.Ā āThe surrounding villagesĀ lacked physical infrastructureĀ and know-how to promote business and trade.Ā Knowing thatĀ Afghanistan relies heavily on its agriculture as a driver forĀ economic stability and growth, I consulted with the village elders to facilitate the growth of the local agribusinessĀ by rehabilitating irrigation canals. TheseĀ changesĀ enabled greater quantity and better qualityĀ of cropsĀ which allowed the Afghan government,Ā under the guidance of USAID,Ā toĀ connect the farmers with access to financing as well as organize international trade.ā APPLICATIONS UP, BUT CLASS SIZE SHRINKS? Columbia ranks as the third-largest full-time business program in the land, home to over 1,300 first- and second- year MBA students. Despite this size, Columbia remains among the most selective schools, accepting just 16.5% of applicants during the 2016-2017 cycle. In fact, applicants treat the school as more destination than option, with 73.9% of accepted applicants ultimately joining the program. At the same time, it continues to be a popular choice, with 6,188 applications arriving last year. Thatās a 1% improvement over the Class of 2018 and an 11.4% increase over the past five years. However, these numbers miss a key detail: the school was able to post such numbers by slicing the number of students in the 2019 Class from 776 to 753. Go to page 2 to see in-depth profiles of incoming Columbia MBA students. Continue ReadingPage 1 of 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.