Allie Fleder

London Business School

“Colorful New Yorker with a passion for Haribo candy and Latin America.”

Hometown: Westfield, NJ

Fun fact about yourself: I can solve a Rubik’s cube in 1 minute, 27 seconds.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Columbia University – BA in Latin American Studies

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Speechwriter turned Chief of Staff to the CEO at the Council of the Americas.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2018? Dozens, a London-based challenger bank

Where will you be working after graduation? I am currently working on a luggage transport startup called Sherpa with a brilliant fellow LBS MBA2019 classmate, Eliska Mallickova. We are currently running our pilot and plan to scale up across London this summer.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• London Business School 50th Anniversary Scholar
• President, Out in Business Club (school’s LGBT group)
• Chair, EUROUT (euroutconference.org – the school’s annual LGBT conference – the biggest LGBT business conference in Europe)
• Co-Chair, Latin American Business Forum
• Active Member, LBWomen

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am particularly proud of the outreach of our LGBT+ club, Out in Business (OiB), has done to include more LGBT women in our community. While the percentage of LGBT students in top MBA programs has grown in recent years, the number of female LGBT students has stayed relatively flat. But the (majority male) executive committee of OiB believed we could do more to break down the gender barriers and break out of the “boys club” within our own community to create a path for more female LGBT executives in top leadership roles.

We spent a lot of time this past year in companies, classrooms, and LGBT women’s events across London, encouraging LGBT women to join our current programs and even consider an MBA degree. Our efforts greatly paid off: we featured a record number of female LGBT role models as speakers over the year, and had the highest female registration numbers (33%!) in the history of our big annual conference, EUROUT. Still not high enough, but higher than the percentage of LGBTQ females in any business school and in most corporate LGBT groups. Above all, I was proud to be leading a club that recognized the gender imbalance and fought to change it.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I had the opportunity to work on some pretty amazing projects in Latin America through my former job—and some of the most fun I had was working between big US tech companies and the government to help bring the internet and technological advancements to citizens across Cuba.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Randall Peterson, Ahmed Tahoun, Isabel Fernandez-Mateo and Raina Brands, who have challenged me to reshape the way I think about creating change in myself, my teams, and my organizations.

What was your favorite MBA Course Dan Cable’s “Employee Engagement and Positive Psychology” taught me about humble leadership and how you can help your team feel motivated and more alive at work.

Why did you choose this business school? After all of my b-school research, I found London Business School to be the most international of all the top global MBA programs. All of the top schools tout their widely diverse student bodies… but at LBS, that’s not just a claim: diversity is a way of life. No one at LBS thinks about business simply in terms of their home country’s domestic market; here, people think about business across borders—and the responsibility that we as businesspeople have in making a positive impact on the world. As an American who has spent my career thus far working with Latin America, I knew that this UN-style environment was the one in which I wanted to learn.

What is your best advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Business schools have strong cultures. LBS is probably the most down-to-earth of the top business schools (in my oh-so-humble in opinion!). Most current students, as well as alumni, are genuinely happy to talk about their experience here, so reach out for a call or coffee and get their honest opinions and stories about what life is like at LBS to make sure this community really is the right fit for you. And if it is the right fit, there is the added bonus that students and alumni have the ability to put in a good word to the Admissions team for top candidates.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Noooooo, don’t make me answer this one. I’m wildly intimidated by/in admiration of basically everyone I meet here.

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? Three fierce businesswomen who are role models and active mentors for me: my mom, my former boss, Susan Segal, and my friend Michele Levy. They helped me see that business school was a valuable investment and a place to quickly acquire an analytical and financial toolbox.

What is your favorite movie about business? First Wives Club. Three women came together when life threw them lemons. And instead of getting mad, or even getting even, they decided to go into business (well, nonprofit), creating an organization that would help other women and ultimately change the world. *snaps* Yaaaaas.

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…continuing to connect people in and around my favorite region of the world, Latin America.”

What dollar value would you place on your MBA education? Was it worth what you paid for it – worth more or worth less? I was truly fortunate to receive a scholarship for the program. In general, the MBA demands a huge investment across the board, of time, finances, and beyond—and I believe it cannot be better spent. I feel a debt to the school that I may not ever be able to fully repay, but I will spend my career trying.

What are the top two items on your bucket list? Become so skilled at the accordion that I am locally recognized and actually paid to play at a bar or bat mitzvah. And of course, there is the fantasy of becoming such a connoisseur of fine wine that I go to the best restaurant in the world and send back a bottle simply because the tannins are just too pronounced.

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? What I would hope for is that I have made as deep an impact on some of them as they have had on me.

Hobbies? Toking away (terribly) on the accordion, drawing cartoons, and going to drag shows with my fiancée.

What made Allison such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2019?

“Allie Fleder has been an outstanding leader of LBS’s Out in Business Club (the LGBTQ+ network). She has championed inclusion – the club has very successfully run joint events with other groups such as the Women in Business Club and has an ally programme which hosts the annual student White Party and a Coming Out Day. The club’s flagship conference – EUROUT – this year had 50% women on its panels and 33% women attendees. Allie has also actively ensured the Club and the Conference are welcoming to trans students.”

Peter Johnson

Senior Admissions Manager, Masters in Finance and staff sponsor of Out in Business

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