Meet Stanford GSB’s MBA Class Of 2019

Alice Song

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: I’ve recently started barrel-aging cocktails. They’ve been well-received here at the GSB.

Hometown: Alpharetta, Georgia

Fun Fact About Yourself: I ran my first full marathon when I was 15.

Undergraduate School and Major: Yale University, Economics and Mathematics

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

• P. Morgan – Investment Banking Analyst (2011-2013)
• GTCR – Private Equity Associate & Senior Associate (2013-2015, 2015-2016)
• Eli Lilly – Alzheimer’s Sales & Marketing, Charles P. Bonini Fellow (2016-2017)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At Eli Lilly, I led a team of sales reps, trainers, marketers, doctors, nurses, and consultants to develop the product launch strategy for a new Alzheimer’s drug. We developed the go-to-market plan for every city across the US, covering hundreds of sales reps. With input from the cross-functional team, we created a new sales structure to effectively reach medical professionals and patients upon drug approval. By broadening access, we would have impacted millions of Alzheimer’s patients and their families.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Use the application process to take stock of where you’ve been and where you want to go. What do you want to achieve in your career and your life? How can business school help you attain these goals?

Take the time to do a full inventory and answer these questions honestly. This will help you in the application process, but more importantly, will also serve as a framework to guide you during business school and beyond. Answering these questions has helped me better prioritize my time and get more from my business school experience so far.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? One of the reasons I wanted to go to business school was to become a better manager and leader, and lead in a style that was authentic and true to my strengths and personality. I was drawn to Stanford because of its emphasis on defining and cultivating personal leadership. Stanford’s classes like Interpersonal Dynamics (known on campus as “Touchy Feely”), Managing Growing Enterprises (answering tough management questions), and Leadership Labs (small group role-playing) have and will help me become a more impactful, authentic, and effective leader.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Success will be: (a) a higher comfort with risk-taking; (b) greater confidence to bring my full authentic self to work; (c) better understanding of myself and my strengths as a leader, and (d) a network of strong friendships.