Meet USC Marshall’s MBA Class Of 2025

AN ENTERTAINMENT AND BUSINESS MECCA

Los Angeles certainly boasts plenty of advantages. Picture balmy weather and iconic beaches in Venice and Santa Monica. There is the “chill” attitude, glitzy events, and 300 days of sunshine (as the saying goes). You have the allure of Hollywood and Disney, not to mention landmarks like Rodeo Drive and the Sunset Strip. And there is all the dinning, shopping, culture, and sports you could possibly consume, with its residents hailing from 140 countries and speaking 224 languages.

The Center of the entertainment industry, the region also boasts Silicon Beach, home to over 500 tech companies. The birthplace of Snap, Tinder, and Hulu, the region also boasts substantial operations from Google, Apple, Amazon, and Netflix. It is also a video gaming hub, led by Activision Blizzard, the originators of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. Overall, the LA region ranks as the 4th-largest startup hub according to Startup Genome, attracting $7.8 billion dollars in early stage funding and spinning out 41 unicorns from 2021-2023. To put it another way, Los Angeles would rank among the Top 20 countries in the world for GDP if it weren’t part of the United States.

Janiece Smith plugs the area’s “diverse industries, influential corporations, and innovative startups” as its advantages to MBAs, adding that it is “a gateway to global markets.” Those aren’t LA’s only differentiators, she adds.

“LA’s concentration of top-tier universities and business schools ensures access to quality education, expert faculty, and cutting-edge resources. The vibrant lifestyle, favorable climate, and plethora of entertainment options contribute to a well-rounded student experience.”

HITTING THEIR PRIME

She isn’t alone in her enthusiasm. “The cliché (but true) answer is that it’s hard to not love a place so close to the beach, has beautiful hikes and is so easily accessible to some great weekend trips (Santa Barbara, Joshua Tree and San Diego to name a few),” adds ’23 alum Olivia Glick. “There’s just so much to do in LA. My classmate a few weeks ago literally got us free tickets to the James Corden show for a random Thursday afternoon– how cool is that!”

Beyond the Trojan Family and their Los Angeles digs, the Class of 2025 also cited a popular program, PRIME, as a reason for choosing the Marshall MBA. A consulting project that starts in March, PRIME takes first-years overseas for 10 days to experience a country’s business practices and cultural mores before they present their recommendations to a sponsoring client. For Jess Randol, PRIME is a platform to pull together everything the class has learned in their first year and apply it in the real world before their summer internships begin. Even more, adds Janiece Smith, PRIME’s versatility – in terms of countries, companies, and issues – often result in projects that align with students’ aspirations.

“My ambitions revolve around assuming leadership roles within South East Asia, whether it pertains to spearheading a team, overseeing a product, or orchestrating a comprehensive program,” Smith explains.  “The PRIME program’s alignment with these ambitions further solidifies my decision to embark on this academic journey at USC Marshall.”

A Q&A WITH MARSHALL LEADERSHIP

Last fall, P&Q reached out to USC Marshall to learn more about new developments at the school. In addition, we took a deep dive on topics ranging from leadership to sustainability to student events. Here are the responses from the following members of Marshall’s leadership team:

Leigh Tost, Vice Dean for MBA Programs

Gohar Palanjian, Sr. Associate Director of Graduate Alumni Initiatives

Scott Abrams, Academic Director for the Full-Time MBA Program

Raman Randhawa, Senior Vice Dean for Academic Programs

Leticia Porter, Assistant Dean and Program Director for the Full-Time MBA Program

P&Q: What have been the two most important developments in your MBA program over the past year? What type of impact will they have on current and future MBAs?

Tost: “We are in the midst of an exciting season of innovation and change at USC Marshall. As we embrace our position as the largest business school in the commonly identified “top twenty,” we have been seeking new ways to empower our students to fully tap the immense resources that come along with matriculating at a comprehensive business school with a full suite of MBA, MS, and undergraduate programs. For example, we’re currently working to create pathways for our MBA students to earn additional credentials during their time on campus, and we’re developing an exciting new program designed to give our students a competitive advantage as they seek to pivot their careers across industries or functional specialties.

One development that has important implications for our MBA students is the launch of several new projects and initiatives that will position our students to collaborate with industry leaders and scholarly experts on some of the most critical 21st century business leadership challenges. For example, the VanEck Digital Assets Initiative now hosts the VanEck Southern California Blockchain Conference, which convenes visionary blockchain leaders to work with business students from across the region. In addition, the Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making has launched new initiatives focused on aligning emerging technologies with human-centered values, including the Neely Artificial Intelligence Index, the Neely Mixed Reality Index, and the Neely Social Media Index, providing publicly available research data and opportunities for our students to engage with experts in residence.

A second development benefitting our students is our renewed emphasis on rewarding high quality teaching. Marshall has launched the Marshall Teaching Chair Program, which is unique to USC Marshall. Teaching is one of the most direct channels we have for empowering our students with new skills, and I’m thrilled to see Marshall incentivizing great teaching in such a high-impact fashion. Chaired titles are one of the highest forms of honors that faculty members can achieve, but chairs at most institutions are only granted based on research productivity. While USC Marshall has a large number of research chairs, we wanted to find a way to reward and honor our faculty members who make their primary contributions through excellence in the classroom. Thanks to our visionary donors, Dean Geoff Garrett was able to award five chairs in teaching excellence to some of our most innovative instructors this summer.”

P&Q: Give us your one-minute pitch for your business school. What makes you unique?

Palanjian: “The Marshall School of Business offers a unique educational experience built on three key assets: Our Los Angeles location, our STEM certified, immersive, and experiential programs, and the USC Trojan Family.

Our campus is in the heart of Los Angeles—not just a city, but an ecosystem of innovation, culture, and opportunity and a hub for technology, entertainment, and international trade. Los Angeles is a dynamic, vibrant, and creative cauldron with diverse communities and cultural experiences that enrich and broaden a student’s horizons. Marshall is also a part of USC, a globally-renowned research university that provides a multicultural, engaging campus environment and serves as a gateway to the Pacific Rim, fostering global impact opportunities for its students.

USC Marshall offers highly-ranked MBA and MS programs with diverse delivery options and a global student and faculty community. These programs emphasize hands-on learning, tech fluency, leadership, DEI, and ESG principles, with STEM designations for many. The school fosters a collaborative culture, providing leadership development, career support, and vibrant learning opportunities, including internships that lead to job offers. Students engage in real-world impact through community service and practical project-based learning, empowering them to pursue their career goals and explore new possibilities.

USC’s famous Trojan Family is a large, vibrant, global, and close-knit community of Marshall and USC alumni, students, faculty, staff, and business leaders supporting the educational and career journey of each student. With 475K+ USC alumni in over 135+ countries world-wide, the Trojan network is ready to support the goals and aspirations of all of our students. With a culture of giving back steeped in our ethos, and through continuous engagement, career support, belonging, and lifelong learning opportunities, alumni develop lifelong connections to each other and the school.”

P&Q: Sustainability has emerged as a major attraction to prospective MBA students. How does your full-time MBA program integrate sustainability across its curriculum?

Abrams: “Sustainability, both in its environmental and social dimensions, is a cornerstone of our MBA program. Recognizing the multifaceted nature of sustainability, we’ve embedded its principles across various courses, ensuring that our students gain a holistic perspective.

Each of our departments offers several elective courses on sustainability. The Greif Center of Entrepreneurial Studies has classes (and an MS degree) on Social Entrepreneurship, including courses on Innovation and Design, Investing in Impact Ventures, and Cases in Feasibility Analysis for Social Ventures. The Data Science and Operations Department offers courses on Sustainable Supply Chains, Smart City Technologies and Operations, and Digital Strategies for Sustainability in Global Markets (which is a hands-on experiential course with students traveling to Denmark). The Finance and Business Economics Department offers courses on Sustainable Finance and Business Law and Ethics, and the Accounting School offers courses in ESG Accounting and Ethics for Accountants. Finally, our Management and Organization Department offers courses on Environmental Sustainability as well as an innovative new elective titled “Sustainability, Business, and the Future of Capitalism,” in which Dean Geoff Garrett and Professor Paul Adler invite students to dive deeply into the relationship between business and the natural environment in conversation with industry leaders and influencers.

By combining these and other courses, students have the option to earn a Graduate Certificate in Sustainability and Business or Optimization and Supply Chain Management, both of which enable students to design achievable solutions to sustainability challenges.

USC Marshall is also developing a new initiative that aims to support Marshall’s innovative research and thought leadership on the business of transitioning to sustainable energy systems. This new initiative will also train Marshall students to be future energy industry leaders, enhancing their career pathways in this fast-growing sector by focusing on practical knowledge and expertise, industry/corporate relationships, networking opportunities with industry professionals and policy makers.

Finally, USC is a leader in sustainability in higher education. The USC Sustainability Hub is a multi-use gathering space for the USC community to collaborate on sustainability challenges and solutions. The Hub is also the home of Assignment: Earth, USC’s innovative sustainability framework designed to promote a healthy, just, and thriving campus and world.”

P&Q: What are some key elements in your teaching of leadership? What types of options does your school offer that deepens student experience with leadership and makes them more competitive in the marketplace?

Tost: “Real-world learning is at the heart of the USC Marshall approach to leadership. Whether through our support for student start-ups, access to student-managed investment funds, or multiple project-based consulting classes, students develop the skills, habits, and strategic mindsets that are critical for leadership success.

With respect to our support of student start-ups: many of our students exercise their leadership skills by starting their own businesses, and in doing so they can access extensive support from the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The Greif Center provides programs and courses that expose students to the full spectrum of the innovation and entrepreneurship process, with workshops and network support to make their visions a success. For students interested in using their entrepreneurial skills to address pressing social problems, the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab is an invaluable resource, functioning as a hub of social innovation at Marshall, USC, and beyond.

Many of our students also further develop their leadership skills by participating in one of our student-managed investment funds. The Center for Investment Studies specializes in financial analysis and valuation and provides students with opportunities for hands-on portfolio management and networking with industry leaders. Students can also help to manage the Marshall Real Estate Fund, the Marshall Venture Fund, and our social impact fund.

In addition, our students benefit from a variety of project-based consulting classes, in which they partner with leading companies to tackle real-world challenges. These projects challenge students to grapple with urgent business challenges, identify solutions, and propose and sell those solutions to key stakeholders. In the process, students cultivate the type of discerning judgment, decision making experience, and social influence skills that are necessary to succeed in organizational leadership.

Finally, one of the signature programs of our Full-time MBA program is the Marshall Leadership Fellows Program (MLFP). MLFP is a one-year selective program offering second-year MBA students the chance to mentor first year students and to coach MBA core teams. In doing so, MLFP participants develop emotional intelligence, cultivate the ability to give feedback and develop others, and develop robust conflict resolution skills.

By providing such a wide variety of types of leadership experiences, Marshall is able to ensure that each of our students can flexibly adapt our offerings to their specific leadership development and career-based needs. As a consequence, our MBA students graduate fully prepared to step into leadership roles in their chosen industries with confidence.”

Page 3: Profiles of 12 Members of the Class of 2025.