Ruohan Xiao

Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

“I constantly seize opportunities to challenge myself and enjoy the process.”

Hometown: Beijing, China

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love horseback riding. I practiced rough riding, which is gymnastics on a moving horse. While in Beijing, I often go on trail rides in the suburbs and cross-country rides.

Undergraduate School and Major: Boston College, International Studies and Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: HH Fund; Manager of Investor Relations and Acquisition

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Cornell’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The key aspect in my decision-making is Johnson’s strength in investment banking recruiting. Making a career pivot is my prime goal when it comes to business school. As challenging as the job market is nowadays for international students, I wanted to have the best investment banking program available. Johnson not only has a structured recruiting program through the Old Ezra Finance Club and a strong presence on Wall Street to secure the IB internship, but also programs like the Investment Banking Immersion to help me convert that internship offer into a full-time position.

What excites you the most about living in Ithaca and the Finger Lakes region? It will be a nice change after living in Boston, New York City, and Beijing over the past decade to move somewhere more reflective like Ithaca. It’s hard to pause living in big cities and reflect or connect with people. I heard there are some amazing wineries in the region, and I look forward to exploring them with my classmates, sipping wine, watching sunsets, sharing our life stories (instead of work stories) and just talking about random things. This really excites me.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Cornell? There are so many things. Right now, I’m most excited about the Old Ezra Finance Club. I’ve already attended several online events for incoming students, and the board has been helpful and truly invested in helping first-years succeed. As I was preparing for pre-MBA events for investment banking, the support I received from the Old Ezra board and my fellow first-years reassured me that I’d made the right choice in coming to Johnson. I look forward to going through the challenging investment banking recruiting process with my classmates this fall and using this opportunity to help each other grow and bond.

Besides Old Ezra, I’m also excited about the opportunity to leverage Cornell’s broader resources. I plan on obtaining a minor in the Baker Real Estate Program. Although I have been working in the real estate industry for the past few years, it’s exciting to gain a deeper understanding of the industry from a more academic perspective.

Looking at your recruitment, what was the moment when you realized Johnson was the right program for you? Why? It was back when I was preparing for my interview. I reached out to several current students to better understand the experience at Johnson. Hearing about their stories of bonding with their classmates, driving down to New York City together for recruitment, and exploring nearby wineries helped me picture my experience at Johnson. I remember after getting off the Zoom call with John Kim ’24, I immediately started looking into housing options in Ithaca. I’m glad that I was accepted and enrolled at Cornell Johnson.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment is my growth in my last job at HH Fund. I started as an investor relations assistant with a limited finance and investment background, but I took advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow, constantly exceeding management’s expectations. I not only expanded my responsibilities to more senior functions of investor relations duties, but also expanded my role to core functions like acquisitions.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? I think it’s to be open-minded. I’m eager to meet my classmates and hear their stories. Johnson has such a diverse class from different parts of the world, each with a unique background. It would be a shame not to get to know them on a deep level and have my existing opinions challenged. I also aim to be open-minded to opportunities — taking classes on subjects I’m unfamiliar with, going to events that I didn’t think would be interesting and taking trips to regions I haven’t been to. I aim to be as open-minded as possible to get the most out of the Johnson experience.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Cornell’s MBA program? Take the time to understand who you are, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what you want to get out of business school. Johnson and Cornell have so many resources; however, you need to be familiar with your options and what will help the most in accomplishing goals. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Johnson students if you want to better understand a recruitment process, a course or anything else. They have been very responsive and willing to share. The most important thing is to understand yourself; self-reflection is not only helpful for applications, but also essential in guiding future decision-making.

DON’T MISS: MEET CORNELL JOHNSON’S MBA CLASS OF 2026