Meet London Business School’s MBA Class Of 2026

P&Q: What types of programs do you offer to sharpen your students’ soft skills? What areas do you emphasize and how do you instill these skills in your students?

Foley: “We put a high level of importance on the development of skills that will support students both during and after the MBA. The very first course students take at LBS is Global Leadership Assessment for Managers (GLAM). This course is designed to teach students the first rule of leadership and management success – which is to know your strengths and weakness, and to identify the areas of skills development that will equip student to be successful. GLAM uses coaching, 360-degree analysis and personality reporting to support students in identifying their skills profile right at the very start of the programme.

Throughout year 1 of the programme, students then have access to a range of Skills for the Future workshops, which includes sessions on Emotional Intelligence, Persuasive Storytelling and Managing Energy & Focus. These courses are an integral part of the students’ development and learning, providing targeted development of their skills as a leader.

Further elective courses such as Diversity Science for Leaders, Crisis Leadership and Human Behaviour, Employee Engagement and Positive Psychology and Leading Teams and Organisations provide opportunities for student deepen their understanding to equip them to be in the best place possible for taking their learning into their post-MBA employment.

Outside the classroom, our active and thriving student club system provides extensive opportunities for students to take on roles leading student clubs. As part of this, student club leaders have the opportunity to be part of the Leadership Incubator. The Incubator provides a highly sought after and valuable opportunity for students to work through personal development areas on a continual basis 1-on-1 with an executive coach and in a group setting with trusted peers.”

P&Q: What types of programming – through classroom instruction, extracurriculars, and treks – does your school offer to expose students to country-specific and global business practices? What have students told you were the most educational and fun aspects of these activities?

Foley: “The London Business School MBA takes a global approach to all teaching and learning. Our purpose is to have an impact on the way the world does business, and the way business impacts the world – and we can only live up to this by having a global lens on everything we do. Our teaching faculty come from more than 30 different countries, having worked in many more, bringing with them experience and expertise from around the world to inform their teaching. With a typical MBA cohort having 5 years’ work experience in more than 60 different countries, the classroom discussions – which form a fundamental part of all courses – bring in specific experiences from Chile to Canada to Japan, and almost everywhere in-between.

One of the unique strengths of our MBA is the way in which we craft our classes and study groups to bring diversity of global experience to each and every class, study group session, networking event, and career workshop. Within a typical study group of 6 students, there will be at least 5 different nationalities. Students are challenged and encouraged to challenge each other, using their unique experiences of their region’s business practices to educate those around them, to think twice about problems, and to see things from new perspectives. The value this brings – which we believe cannot be replicated without our commitment to diversity – is what makes the London Business School MBA unique and distinctive in what we do.  Students regularly tell us that the study group element of their MBA was one of the most enriching parts of their experience.

Global Experiences are a mandatory core element of the MBA. Our Global Experience courses challenge students to apply learning in new and unfamiliar contexts, and to have responsible real-world impact. For one intensive, immersive week, students expand their global mindset and network, travelling to destinations such as Johannesburg, Lima and Paris. Each Global Experience is led by expert faculty and explores a topical theme, offering an in-depth view of a country’s business culture. Students have the unique opportunity to interact meaningfully with members of the local business ecosystem, faculty, alumni, fellow students and others in the LBS global community.

Outside the classroom, co-curricular activities and treks form a distinct part of the MBA experience, mainly driven by our very active and passionate student clubs. In the Autumn term of 2024 alone, student-led treks include a running trip to Lisbon, a successful trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, a careers trek focused on PE / VC in New York, the Wine & Spirits Club’s trek to the Bordeaux region of France, and the Middle East and North Africa club’s trek to Egypt – taking in the pyramids, the Nile and the Red Sea. With the Snow Trek finishing off the term with the always popular post-exam skiing trip to France, these opportunities offer so much more than opportunities to travel. Designing the treks, planning the requirements, promoting the benefits, securing sponsorship – students are working hard to make these experiences the very best they can be, while gaining fantastic transferable skills. Of course, the experiences themselves are always incredibly memorable for all involved!”

P&Q: What are the most exciting new courses that your school is offering to MBAs this school year? What makes them so unique and valuable?

Foley: “We review both our skills and our elective portfolios annually, and each of these has seen exciting additions in the area of AI – starting with a brand new elective simply entitled Artificial Intelligence. We know that artificial intelligence, and in particular Generative AI, is changing the business landscape at an unprecedented pace. This new elective course offers a much-needed overview of not only how Machine Learning works and the critical emergence of Generative AI – but focusses on how these both affect the way we organise and deliver knowledge-based work. As with all of our courses, the focus is on the impact of new developments and technologies that are causing firms to change and adapt their strategy.

Alongside this on the skills front, we have a brand-new interactive workshop on Applied Generative AI and Large Language Models. As part of our digital skills portfolio, this hands-on approach to understanding these new technologies allows students to develop much-needed technical skills and how these can apply to solving business problems.

Equipping our students with both the skills and knowledge of these cutting-edge technologies in the business world adds significant value to the MBA, further enhancing the existing MBA Concentration in Tech & Analytics.”

P&Q: What types of support does your career center and alumni provide to MBA students? How have these services and relationship made your graduates more competitive in the marketplace?

Foley: “Our Career Centre and Alumni Engagement teams are integral to the experience of students during and after completing their MBA.

The MBA programme is very much designed and delivered in partnership with the work of Career Centre. Starting even before students arrive on campus for the MBA, our Career Centre’s Summer Series includes online content around career decisions, initial CV input, and the importance of having a networking plan. With a full launch of Partnering with Career Centre in Orientation Week, term 1 is bursting with key career content to open students to opportunities, while also, and very importantly, supporting students in navigating these opportunities. We are very proud of our “Exploring Careers in….” series which allows students to find out about the very many options they have open to them – be it finance, healthcare, luxury, tech and so on. Our expert colleagues in the careers team support students on researching sectors, bringing in speakers – often alumni – to really paint the picture and tell the stories of what various career options look like.

This is all underpinned with students allocated a dedicated career coach who is available throughout the MBA journey. Students have unlimited career coaching sessions available, as well as being able to tap into sector experts as and when needed.

Internship recruitment kicks off quite quickly in year 1, with coffee chats, company presentations, CV support and interview preparation quickly filling students’ diaries. With accompanying skills workshops on salary negotiation, and how to stay resilient during job seeking, we are committed to providing students with a supportive and ambitious approach.

Looking then at our Alumni Engagement, we are proud of our commitment to lifelong learning for alumni, having recently re-launched this offering under our Forever Learning umbrella. Covering topics from technology and innovation, to economics, strategy and leadership, sustainability and entrepreneurship, alumni have access to a huge range of resources to explore insights and explore learning. This includes masterclasses, in-person events and online webinars, as well as access to the LBS elective portfolio.

This is complemented by access to tailored careers support and workshops, membership of Alumni Discovery Circles – diverse, peer-led groups where alumni can build deeper connections with other alumni – as well as mentoring programmes. With our annual Worldwide Alumni Celebration, specific events for new alumni, and 5-yearly class reunions on the LBS campus, we are proud of our commitment to ensuring that our alumni are forever one step ahead. As professional challenges and opportunities continue throughout life, our Forever Learning offering ensures our alumni continue to have access to resources that will unlock their growth and success.”

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Bayo Adelaja	Lagos, Nigeria	Durham University	Do it Now Now
Charlotte Barnes	London, United Kingdom	University College London (UK)	Ven Store
Nelson Conteh	Indianapolis, IN	Stanford University	Purpose Venture Group
Verity Evans	London, United Kingdom	University of Exeter	Royal Navy
Ishan Kapur	London, United Kingdom	University of Oxford	HSBC
Gabriel Melo	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Federal University of Rio de Janeiro	Mubadala Capital
Nay Myo Maung	Yangon, Myanmar	University of Medicine-1, Myanmar	UK National Health Service (NHS)
Elizabeth Njenga	Nairobi, Kenya	University of Nairobi	Sterling Real Estate Advisory
Prapti Patel	Mumbai, India	ILS Law College, India	Anthill Ventures
Susan Ren	London, United Kingdom	Cambridge University	Stacker Software
Jasper Ryan	Sydney, Australia	University of Technology Sydney	VXB Aerospace
Mahlet Yared	London, United Kingdom	University of Manchester	PUBLIC
Andrew Young	Ashland, OR	University of Chicago	Quadrature Climate Foundation