Favorite Professors Of The MBA Class Of 2022

“I would pick Ella Miron-Spektor, our Professor of Organisational Behaviour. Ella engages our class in meaningful conversation and debate through a variety of tools. They include group simulations, individual reflections, VR, psychometric testing, and cases that are always focused on enhancing practical applicability. She values and invites us to share our different experiences and injects compassion and humor into sometimes difficult topics of discussion. I constantly find myself stopping to check for “anchoring bias”, “adapting to high context cultures” or considering ways to “create psychological safety” – a testament to Ella for inspiring her students beyond the classroom to become better, inclusive, compassionate and effective leaders of the future.”
Priya Mangat, INSEAD

“Professor Kriti Jain, who teaches the course Leading People & Change, has demonstrated not only the highest standards of teaching methodologies and extreme preparation for the class, but she is always finding ways to engage with students and empower us. Here are three examples:

1. She activates less-engaged students via email, giving them a chance to schedule a meet-up in person to discuss the class topics and break the ice with her. This leads them to feel more supported and comfortable in class.

2. She opens discussions to shy students, or students who are not as fast in English as their native-speaking peers are, This gives them the opportunity to reveal their ideas in a comfortable manner.

3. When students give class presentations, she will include slides from those presentations in her own slides the following week. We feel heard and that our ideas and work are valued.”
Andrea Derman, IE Business School

“My favorite MBA professor is Elizabeth Campbell. Campbell teaches Leadership & Personal Development, a required course focused on helping students understand their own leadership journey and the components of effective leadership. The course is valuable for developing leadership skills and is the class I have and will reference the most throughout my career. The most impactful and meaningful component was Campbell herself. Her evidence-based approach, complete with a thorough explanation of sources and personal anecdotes, highlights her passion and skill with engaging a diverse group of students in a multi-program condensed class. I was excited every day to go to class and hear Campbell’s perspective and experience, her commentary on the existing literature, and her understanding of where the field needed to go next. Campbell’s no-nonsense attitude, deep well of knowledge, and rare status as a tenured female professor make her an excellent role model. I’m thrilled that I was able to learn from her.”
Pamela London Fox, University of Minnesota (Carlson)

“I have particularly enjoyed my Finance classes run by Professor Anna Pavlova. I was slightly nervous about studying finance given my ground-zero starting point, but Professor Pavlova brought the subject to life with brilliantly engaging, practical, topical, and imaginative lectures despite the challenging virtual format necessitated by LBS’s (temporary) COVID-19 measures at the time. Furthermore, Professor Pavlova is a role model who has given enormous support to the student community beyond her academic interests, including hosting and moderating diversity presentations such as those conducted by LBS’s Black in Business Club, and acting as a powerful advocate of women in business. She is a professor who is happy to share words of wisdom, but habitually matches words with action.”
James Cochrane-Dyet, London Business School

“I would be remiss not to mention Rama Ramakrishnan, who is one of my wonderful thesis advisors at Sloan and in the Operations Research Center. Rama has had such a unique and amazing career path as a consultant-turned-entrepreneur-turned-professor, always focused on the intersection of advanced analytics and business problems. He consistently manages to bring a new perspective to the table to challenge my thinking and steer me to clarity on matters ranging from academic to personal.”
Kenny Groszman, MIT (Sloan)

“I am going to go with Nate Pettit. Professor Pettit taught my section of Leadership in Organizations, one of Stern’s core courses. I was immediately impressed by the extremely powerful and unique combination of sincerity and humility Professor Pettit brings to his lectures, and his instruction really impacted me. Beyond the classroom, Professor Pettit is the Founding Director of Stern’s Leadership Accelerator. One of the highlights of my first year was participation in a live case experience that he and his team organized, which was a fantastic all-day event. It ended up being really formative for me in terms of how I think about my own approach to leadership in difficult situations. Finally, he has been pivotal in shaping my experience as a Leadership Fellow this year. In short, many of the best highlights of my time at NYU Stern would be either unrecognizable or absent without Professor Pettit’s generous contributions to our program.”
Khalil Zueh Romain, New York University (Stern)

“Michael Gill was a particularly memorable professor of organizational behavior who brought many theories around motivation and congruence to life. His transitions between academic theory, practical application, and personal experience were seamless and light. He made it easy to grasp the bigger picture while zooming into the important micro-interactions that populate all of our work relationships.”
Daniel Bu, University of Oxford (Said)

I decided to concentrate on business analytics during my MBA, even though I had no experience with “data or analytics. Professor Seyed Emadi taught Data Analytics: Tools & Opportunities, which was my first analytics elective. I was concerned I would struggle with more advanced material in a class designed for students who wanted to have high data skills. Professor Emadi created the most inclusive learning experience I’ve ever had in a quant class by treating all questions, no matter how basic, with equal care and value. He was never afraid to admit when he did not have a strong answer to a question, and would often come back the next class with new information for us. He put in extra effort to make the material feel accessible, to de-emphasize the importance of getting the “right” or “perfect” answer, in favor of experimenting with data and learning the skills. He openly encouraged students to chime in if they found something interesting or had a different way of approaching a problem. I never felt silly asking a question in his class, and he didn’t mind if it took time for everyone to fully understand his answer. He is the type of professor who draws people in and gets them involved in challenging course material.”
Olivia Koziol, University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)

“My favorite MBA professor was Dr. Helmuth Ludwig. I took his “Technology Strategy” class and learned so much about the way technology is shaping every aspect of business – from AI and Machine Learning to the Internet of Things. Dr. Ludwig has first-hand experience in building out technology-minded strategies for multinational corporations. Not only is his career and experience incredibly inspiring, but the way in which he engages with his students is top-notch as well. He treats his classes as more of a “discussion” than a “lecture” and always encourages his students to think deeply and apply their learnings to the real world. Dr. Ludwig even went above and beyond in creating a private LinkedIn page for his students (current and former) to share interesting articles and stay in touch. He is really the kind of professor who leaves a mark on his students, and I miss my time in his class!”
Annabel Reeves, Southern Methodist University (Cox)

“Professor John Colley is one of the school’s Professors of Practice that are brought in from industry to offer practical insights to go alongside the theory. He was a Managing Director at a FTSE 100 company, leading it through several takeovers and so uses many fascinating real-life examples in his class discussion. Because of this, it is easy to understand the concepts and theories that we learn in the Strategy Thinking module and their applications. In addition, Professor Colley has a great sense of humor, making the classes very interesting!”
Nikita Acharya, Warwick Business School

“Professor John Doggett is my favorite MBA professor. His teaching and leadership style impacted my own leadership style and thinking. In my second semester, I took his “Management Sustainability Practicum” course, and I recall feeling challenged every single minute of his class. He challenged me to learn, to be informed, to question everything, and to defend and fight for what is right. Excellence is demanded from him because that is exactly what he offers to his students. One class was not enough for me, so in my third semester I took another of his classes: “Opportunity Identification and Analysis”. This is a great class for those interested in entrepreneurship or venture capital. I remember having eye-opening and sometimes controversial conversations that happened in that classroom. I am grateful to have developed a friendship with Professor Doggett as he has helped to navigate the uncertainty of business school and real life. I strongly recommend current and prospective students to take at least one class with Professor Doggett. You will thank me later!”
Natalia Gonzalez, University of Texas (McCombs)

“Dr. Walid Hejazi stood out to me the moment I sat in his first lecture on macroeconomics. It did help that I enjoyed the subject, but Dr. Hejazi was so passionate and charismatic that I was almost persuaded to fully commit and become an economist instead. Despite being a novice, I felt comfortable speaking and asking questions in his class. He was always warm, and supportive, and clearly cares about his students’ success even beyond the MBA program. I ended up trying to take as many courses as I could be taught by Dr. Hejazi which led me to enroll in courses on international trade and even enlisting in an independent study project where we advised companies in Canada seeking to export their products into the UAE market.”
Peter Zhang, University of Toronto (Rotman)

“My favorite professor is Cameron Anderson, who teaches Power & Politics. He’s one of the rare professors who is both a cutting-edge researcher and an amazing instructor. His class centers on the intersection of psychology and business management and he makes sure to end each lesson with practical takeaways on how students can apply the subject matter. He teaches students to use management psychology for good and brings a DEI lens to each lesson, which helps students understand how recommendations differ for different identity groups. He also cares deeply about all Haas students and is quick to respond if we ever want to ask for advice in our professional lives.”
Lucas Seifu, UC Berkeley (Haas)

“I was fortunate enough to take Leadership Learning Lab with Sean Martin during the first quarter of my second year. This is a class for the student leaders of Darden to come together and discuss additional lessons in leadership as we work to create activities for the student body throughout our tenure. Despite this being a three-hour class on Wednesday evenings, I was always interested in the cases and research that Sean brought to the group. He is an extremely passionate professor; he not only helps guide us with theory but also with opportunities to practice the challenging conversations required of leaders with live simulations in the classroom. He pushes us beyond our comfort zone all while creating a safe and supportive environment to help us grow. I credit him with helping cultivate the relationships between all the student leaders here, and for that, I am extremely thankful.”
Isabel Fortuño Seitzer, University of Virginia (Darden)

“My favorite MBA professor was Kimberly Pace, who teaches Management Communication in Mod 1 of our first year. As a former musical theatre performer herself, we quickly connected over our shared experience. She challenged me to advance my speaking and presentation skills and did not allow me to ever become too comfortable. I gained many insights from her that were pivotal to presentations and impromptu speaking in other classes, recruiting and interviewing, and navigating my internship. It was a joy to then TA for her in my second year as a Communication Fellow and see the level of personal attention she gives to each student. Given the personal nature of the class, she inspires unparalleled personal and professional growth and was pivotal to my comfort beginning business school.”
Jacob Schrimpf, Vanderbilt University (Owen)