Adedoyin Lawal

Yale School of Management

“Creating a life I’ll never have to run away from, while helping others achieve same.”

Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria

Fun fact about yourself: I created a line of natural hair products which were commercially available for two years

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Lagos, Nigeria, BSc. Economics

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, Senior Investment Banking Analyst

Where did you intern during the summer of 2019? Loon (Alphabet Inc), California

Where will you be working after graduation? Bain & Company, Consultant

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: Student Ambassador, Admissions Interviewer, and Career Advisor, Graduate Affiliate to one of Yale’s undergraduate colleges

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? As a student ambassador, admissions interviewer, and career advisor, I am directly involved in shaping the SOM community. I get the chance to be the first point of contact for many prospective students, I interact with many great candidates from all over the world during the interview process and also get to support their career development once they get to campus. I learn so much doing these and it’s really rewarding to support people all the way.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Leading an equity capital raise for one of Nigeria’s biggest conglomerates. The project provided me the opportunity to interact with different stakeholders, senior leadership, other banks, and regulators. It was very rewarding to lead this very complex and time-sensitive project to success, resulting in a 5% oversubscription of the rights issue.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? A.J Wasserstein. I took one of Professor Wasserstein’s most popular classes called “Entrepreneurship through Acquisition.” He comes to class super prepared, integrates conversations with industry practitioners, and shares his experiences. He also takes time to focus on non-career issues that may have a significant impact on our career decisions and determine how successful our ventures become. This very multifaceted learning from a single class was great!

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? It’s called “Voices”! Voices is a platform where mostly SOM students share their personal experiences and motivations. It’s usually so refreshing to learn more about your classmates, find commonalities, and also know that you are not alone; other people in the community may be going through similar life experiences or have dealt with similar issues in the past.

Why did you choose this business school? SOM has a very supportive culture, and this was clear from my interaction with members of the SOM community during the application process.

What is your best advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Highlight your achievements and focus on why you’d like to be a part of the community.

What is the biggest myth about your school? There is a myth that SOM education is primarily focused on the social/non-profit sector. This is not true. The academics and school activities are designed to prepare us to be responsible leaders in ANY sector.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Fewer coffee chats, more happy hours. I would love to focus more on building relationships through more social events.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Dan Egol. Dan is very passionate about creating a space in our community where people can express their true views in and outside the classroom. He, alongside another classmate, founded a student club focused on learning more and having conversations about major social issues that true leaders need to know and care about

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? My mom. She has always sacrificed everything for me to go after my big dreams – the MBA is one of those dreams.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? 1. Launch a leadership development program for Nigerians.   2. Buy and manage a social enterprise

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? Adedoyin is really cool, she’s forever welcome to crash on my couch and I’ll invest in a venture with her!

Hobbies? Creating video content, exploring new cities, learning more history!

What made Adedoyin such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2020?

“Ade has been an excellent ambassador for Yale SOM during her time as a student. She serves as a Student Ambassador and helps prospective students with questions as they weigh options for their MBA. She continues to volunteer for many opportunities to meet students when they’re on campus and also serves as a second-year interviewer. These roles don’t come with a ton of “glory” and are quite a lot of work for our current students. Nonetheless, Ade has not let this stop her from securing positions at Alphabet and Bain for her internship and post-grad job, respectively. She truly embodies the “Pay it forward” culture of Yale SOM.”

Kate Botelho
Associate Director of Admissions
Yale School of Management

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