Favorite MBA Professors Of The Class Of 2024

“My favorite MBA professor is Manuel Adelino. Professor Adelino teaches the Entrepreneurial Finance course at Fuqua. His teaching style is authentic, approachable, and interesting. His ability to explain the most complicated topics in a way that anyone can understand is one of the reasons why all of his sections are always full despite offering three sections in a day. In fact, my friends and I would attend his class twice just to engage more with him and the coursework. Professor Adelino also invests time in his students beyond the classroom. He has helped me better refine my startup’s business plan and provided critical mentorship throughout the process.”
Arya Diwase, Duke University (Fuqua)

“I’ve developed genuine bonds with most of my professors, but none have impacted me as profoundly as Goizueta’s resident strategy expert, Renee Dye. Renee teaches Leading Organizations and Strategy, Innovation Strategy, and Corporate Strategy, courses that are widely beloved (and feared) by students for their demanding yet immensely useful material. Beyond that, Renee has been a close mentor to me since the day I started class. Her insistence that we disagree with her when appropriate reflects her core belief that the most successful organizations cherish honest dialogue, even between junior employees and senior partners. Upon reflection, I am certain that her guidance has strengthened my adherence to my beliefs under scrutiny.”
Cameron Bard, Emory University (Goizueta)

“Professor Melissa Bradley’s authentic passion for empowering underserved entrepreneurs made her my favorite professor. Her decades of experience running venture funds to assist African American founders gave unparalleled insights. Her tireless investment in eradicating economic inequalities drove thought-provoking discussions on the complex balances between profit and social impact.

Most of all, her genuine desire to broaden access and participation in the innovation economy inspired me to rethink my assumptions. Witnessing Professor Bradley lead with both compassion and business acumen showed me the multidimensional leadership required to create equitable opportunities in entrepreneurship. Her infectious energy and refreshing perspectives shaped me as much as any business lessons.”
Dumi Mabhena, Georgetown University (McDonough)

“Dr. Jessica Rodell, who teaches Organizational Behavior, was my favorite professor. Dr. Rodell took what I thought was ambiguous and subjective course material and completely reversed my view. She presented incredibly engaging lectures about the effectiveness of teams and what drives motivation and success on the personal and organizational level. Moreover, she managed to back it all up with fascinating research studies. She convinced me that her course was one of the most important that we would take as future managers, as it’s so applicable and so essential to the diverse career paths we’ll take. Learning these techniques and best practices from a vigorous, impassioned, knowledgeable lecturer really was a treat, and it inspired me to apply what I learned.”
Laura Emerson, University of Georgia (Terry)

“Dr. Manpreet Hora is an exceptional professor, and I thoroughly enjoyed his Service Operations course. His genuine dedication to his students and the subject matter is palpable. In every class, he brings an infectious enthusiasm that never fails to captivate and inspire. One aspect of his teaching that I found particularly impactful was his practice of encouraging discussions about service failures and successes from our personal lives outside the classroom. This approach has stayed with me long after the course ended, and I often find myself reflecting on and discussing these experiences with friends.”
Azell Francis, Georgia Tech (Scheller)

“Gonçalo Pacheco de Almeida. He is the leader of the Strategy Specialization in our final MBA term and was recently elected best Professor of our MBA program. I can confidently say Gonçalo is the best professor I’ve had in my life (school and university included). His empathy for his student’s opinions and experiences, as well as his patience to teach concepts never ceased to amaze me. I don’t remember a class where I spent every single class with my laptop closed and glued to the lecture or activity. We spent 36 hours in class with Professor Gonçalo, focusing on a wide variety of negotiation techniques and skills, with tons of activities to practice said skills. The material may not have been as tangible as a corporate finance class teaching you about Discounted Cashflow models, but the skills we learned we’re incredible. Every time we ended a class with a professor in the MBA, we gave them a short clap and thank you – in our final lecture with Gonçalo, he gave us a warm thank you speech and we ended with a 1-minute ovation. It was unforgettable!”
Victor Heaulme, HEC Paris

“My favorite MBA professor was Professor David Bishop from Business Ethics. His teaching style was transformative, breaking through the confines of my existing perspectives and challenging me to confront the complexities of ethical decision-making. Prof. Bishop skillfully exposed the intricacies of business ethics, shedding light on the existence of loopholes and gray areas. Through thought-provoking discussions, he encouraged us to delve deeply into the multifaceted nature of ethical dilemmas, emphasizing that ethical choices are rarely black-and-white. Prof. Bishop’s guidance opened my mind to the realities of ethical challenges in the business world, leaving a lasting impact on my ethical reasoning and decision-making abilities.”
Dr. Disha Kataria, Hong Kong University Business School

“There is one particular professor stands out and I would like to recognise the impact she has had on my peers and I. Professor Desirée Pacheco taught Sustainable Entrepreneurship during the first term of my second year at IESE, which was also one of my favourite courses in the program. The course was anchored around the UN Sustainable Development Goals and examined how new ventures, non-profits, and other companies can address and advance these goals through innovation. We looked at business models, strategies, mobilisation, and challenges faced by sustainable enterprises.

Professor Pacheco designed and delivered the course in a way that often left me inspired, energised, and thinking about what I could be doing to address some of the challenges affecting our world today. It is not often that a professor can engage students in such a positive way at 8 pm in the evening. Professor Pacheco delivered the course through a combination of case discussions and a lineup of guest speakers that supplemented the discussion with their own individual entrepreneurial journeys, motivations, and insights.  We tackled topics such as climate change, poverty, water, clean energy, gender equality and much more.

Outside of the classroom, Professor Pacheco has been a beacon of support to her students, me included, generously offering her time, advice, feedback, and guidance. Each conversation has been inspiring and has left me eager to explore and learn more.”
Nura Smadi, IESE Business School

“Amit Joshi. It is hard to compare the IMD professors who manage to impart knowledge and entertain at 8:30 am before your morning coffee or after a large (free) buffet meal in the afternoon. I personally found Prof. Amit’s classes to have a great combination of concrete hard skills, relevant cases and humor. He also led the digital analytics week; engaging a group of 40 jet-lagged people who have just landed from Silicon Valley and getting them to enjoy analyzing an excel spread sheet takes a special talent. I remember that week of friendly competition, which included catered sushi and evenings at Montreux Jazz festival, very fondly.”
Akané Lièvre, IMD Business School

“The competition for my favorite professor is strong. However, I would have to say Brian Miller, our core accounting professor and associate faculty chair, has been my favorite. I took an introductory accounting course in undergrad and struggled immensely. Because of that, I was incredibly nervous about taking accounting in core. However, Brian’s enthusiasm for the subject, genuine interest in helping students understand course material, and innovative teaching methods completely changed my attitude towards and comprehension of accounting. Brian knows his content is far from easy, but his case studies helped even the most number-averse students (like me) feel confident in utilizing balance sheets and statements to identify business successes and problems. He also created a classroom environment where there was no judgement in asking questions or answering a question incorrectly. He also shows a genuine interest in each student’s success beyond accounting and the MBA program overall. I went from accounting being the worst grade on my undergraduate transcript to the one I performed the best in during core, and that is all thanks to Brian and the learning environment he created.”
Olivia Ramos, Indiana University (Kelley)

“My favorite MBA professor is Dr. Lopo Rego. He has been my favorite professor because he passionately taught marketing strategy with emphasis on providing us with the skills to formulate and analyze what good or bad strategy is. The emphasis was not about knowing models or regurgitating Porter’s 5 Forces or BCG matrixes, but rather taking a questioning approach and asking whether it is relevant to your organization and the specific problem you are trying to solve.

As a person looking forward to a career in consultancy, this was such great learning. Always question the model. The questioning process is a good way to test the model with fire. Dr. Rego is also very open, encouraging and genuinely interested in supporting students. His class took a case-based method which allowed for great discussion from everyone without just hearing a lecture. The method of delivery is one of the things I believe has been crucial to the effectiveness of his class.”
Rita Korkor Agyei, Indiana University (Kelley)

“My favorite MBA professor, Lin SHEN, stands out for her remarkable ability to demystify complex financial concepts by making them accessible and understandable in the Financial Markets & Valuation lecture. Coming from a background quite distant from the world of finance, I have long viewed this field as an insurmountable mountain to climb in my academic and professional development. However, thanks to Ms. SHEN’s teaching approach, which emphasizes clarity and simplicity, I am gradually discovering that finance is not only approachable but also fascinating. Her method of teaching, which combines solid theory and practical examples, allows me to grasp the fundamental concepts of finance and effectively integrate them into my knowledge base. By making the subject matter lively and relevant, she has helped me turn my initial apprehension into a genuine passion for finance.”
Maria Douieb, INSEAD

“Picking a favouite professor is difficult, but I have to recognize Jana Seijts for her ability to push her students to increase confidence and competence as public speakers. Jana balances insightful constructive criticism with positive reinforcement in a way that I can only hope to achieve someday. Her feedback is delivered with such surgical precision that it can be easily and immediately applied. Watching my classmates improve in leaps and bounds has been incredibly inspiring, and opened opportunities for us to learn more about one another and the topics that inspire us.”
Amanda Jones, Ivey Business School

“My favorite MBA professor is Daniel Effron, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, who teaches the course “The Science of People in Organizations” (SPO). Daniel is a world-class researcher whose work has been discussed in media outlets such as the New York Times, Financial Times, BBC News, The Atlantic, Forbes, and Bloomberg. His research examines the psychology of how people act in ethically questionable ways without feeling unethical, and what shapes people’s judgments of others’ unethical behavior. He has also been named one of the “Best 40 Business Professors Under 40” by Poets & Quants.

What sets Daniel apart is not just his academic pedigree, but his engaging teaching methodology. He is one of those few professors at LBS who follow a strict no screen policy in the classroom. This adds to his responsibility of keeping a class of 80 students engaged for a good 3 hours, but he does it effortlessly! Daniel’s teaching style is notably interactive and grounded in practicality, employing real-world scenarios to demystify complex topics – all while infusing a little dash of humor. This approach transformed a theoretically dense subject like SPO into a dynamic learning experience. In Daniel’s classroom, we were afforded a safe space to explore the topic, have an open discussion, and apply theoretical concepts. Thanks to his innovative methods, SPO has become one of my most cherished courses, arming me with practical insights that extend well beyond academic boundaries.”
Priyal Keni, London Business School

“One of my favorite MBA professors is Professor Ayala Ruvio, who taught Marketing. Her way of teaching was engaging and motivational. You could see her passion for teaching radiated through her work and her interactions with students. Professor Ruvio didn’t just care about us learning the content of the classroom. She also cared for us as individuals. She made time to have one-on-one conversations with us, which personally helped me a lot. Thanks to her guidance, I discovered potential and talents in myself that I was still doubting. Having a professor who mentors and coaches you outside of the classroom is invaluable. Professor Ruvio helped many of us find encouragement and confidence in pursuing our MBA degrees during uncertain times. She is a great professor, mentor, coach, and friend!” Tania Sotelo Valencia, Michigan State (Broad)

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