Meet UNC Kenan-Flagler’s MBA Class Of 2026

It’s a promise. It’s a spirit. It’s a destination.

North Carolina. Chapel Hill. Kenan-Flagler.

Just plot these three points on a map: Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. When you connect them, you have the Research Triangle. Within these 30 miles, you’ll find three top research universities: the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and North Carolina State – a home to over 175,000 students across 20 universities. In Raleigh, you can experience the frenzy of the state capitol, the state’s political epicenter and rapidly-growing economic powerhouse. Just off I-40, there is the crown jewel of the Carolina kingdom: Research Triangle Park.

Covering 7,000 acres, RTP is the largest research center of its kind, a technology and biosciences stronghold that boasts over 300 companies and 55,000 employees. A collection of campuses, the park features research operations for employers as diverse as IBM, Cisco, Biogen, RTI, Fidelity Investments, and GlaxoSmithKline – not to mention dozens of startups. As a whole, RTP produces over $25 billion dollars of annual economic impact in the region, with the campus being responsible for breakthroughs ranging from AZT, to 3D ultrasound to astroturf.

OPPORTUNITIES ON EVERY SIDE

For MBAs at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, RTP represents the chance for projects, partnerships, internships, and jobs that can’t be found anywhere else. That’s particularly true for Pragnya Paramita Panda, a first-year MBA and former Deloitte senior consultant looking to transition into healthcare.

“With its extraordinary healthcare concentration curriculum, [Kenan-Flagler] is a perfect opportunity because of the vast number of companies that are in their backyard. Research Triangle Park is one of the largest research parks in the country. It has all of the companies – specifically biotech start-ups and life sciences and healthcare companies – in close proximity to UNC Kenan-Flagler. This will help in opening up the opportunities to ground my foot within the healthcare industry and providing ample opportunities to connect with industry leaders and explore various career paths.”

Extend the triangle 200 miles south and you’ll net Charlotte, a banking epicenter that’s home to Fortune 500 titans like Bank of America, Lowe’s, Honeywell, and Truist. Extend the line west and you bring in the Piedmont Triad – Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point – ground zero for textile and furniture manufacturing. Let’s not forget Asheville and Wilmington, both three-hour drives, whose swelling markets make them attractive to aspiring real estate moguls like McLean Fonvielle.

“Significant population growth in the state has made North Carolina a target market for all national firms,” observes Fonvielle, a first-year MBA from nearby Virginia. I believe it will be attractive to employers to have a knowledge of the state and most recent real estate developments.”

THE CAROLINA WAY

Beyond the “concentration of intelligence” – in the words of first-year Emma Tillitski – the region boasts other amenities. Classmate Katja Muller lauds the lower cost of living, warm climate, and Atlantic Ocean beaches just a morning car ride away. Among Kenan-Flagler alumni, the heart of Carolina country remains Chapel Hill. Farisha Ishak, a 2024 P&Q Best & Brightest MBA, likens the classic brick buildings and greenery to stepping onto a movie set. There is the tradition of drinking out of the Old Well and the lively bars and eclectic restaurants. Of course, there is the tradition of Carolina basketball that brings to mind legends like Michael Jordan and Bob McAdoo.

“I’ve been in Chapel Hill for nearly 10 years, and I can’t get enough of it,” explains Oliver Jones, another 2024 P&Q Best & Brightest MBA. “It’s the quintessential college town, filled with art, music, food, culture and a constant feeling of camaraderie with your fellow Tar Heels. Drinking a Blueberry Wheat at Top of the Hill, catching a bluegrass concert at Cat’s Cradle, or walking to the Dean Dome amidst a sea of Carolina Blue before a basketball game are some of my favorite, uniquely Carolina experiences.”

As a basketball coach, Dean Smith popularized The Carolina Way. By that, he meant working hard and smart, being supportive to teammates and respectful to opponents, always operating in the best interest of the group. As the joke goes, Smith was the only person to hold Michael Jordan under 20 points – and his philosophy produced 879 wins, 13 conference titles, and 2 national championships. The Carolina Way also underpins the Kenan-Flagler MBA program says Daniel Hawkins, a 2024 P&Q MBA To Watch.

“I remember speaking with my brother about his time at UNC Kenan-Flagler. He told me, “Daniel, Carolina is the nicest MBA in the country.” He was right. I flourish in a communal environment, where the mindset is “We’re all in this together.” I knew MBA cultures could be competitive, and I wanted to attend a school that both embraced the challenge and rigor of an MBA program, while simultaneously uniting the cohort through a friendly and approachable ethos. I can say that UNC has completely lived up to its reputation as the nicest MBA in the country, and I’d reapply in a heartbeat.”

SWIMMING WITH THE “DOLPHINS”

Kenan-Flagler administrators are fond of saying that they are looking for dolphins and not sharks. By that, they mean outgoing, intelligent, fun-loving classmates who know how to work in a pod. In the Class of 2026, you’ll find plenty of joyous dolphins as opposed to domineering rams. Take Katja Muller. She spent six years in Rwanda with the One Acre Fund. Here, she helped to establish a chain of farm shops across the nation.

“My biggest accomplishment was pitching our business unit’s work at different stages of maturity, and consistently receiving funding for growth. During my tenure, we grew from zero to 151 store locations, and supported our small-holder clients to generate $5M in incremental profits on their farms. To put that into context, the average GDP per capita in Rwanda is under $1,000 ― or looked at a different way, 75 times smaller than in the U.S.”

Chris Nwosu also made his name in Africa. A New Jersey native, Nwosu launched a venture, Conmotors Limited, when he was just 24. “[It was] a trade business specializing in importing and distributing industrial machinery, vehicles, and auto parts. Establishing a business in Nigeria’s developing economy presented significant challenges, including navigating complex licensing requirements and building trust with customers at such a young age. Overcoming these obstacles has been a major milestone in my career.”

FROM RESEARCH TO POLITICS

Eliza Joyner got her start in the public sector. This included stints as a special assistant to the chief of staff for the Small Business Administration and manager of government services for the Madison Services Group, a female-run government relations boutique. Emma Tillitski, who studied philosophy and sustainability in college, landed a $500,000 grant to add solar energy to the West Tennessee energy grid. At the same time, Leah Adams earned several conference speaking engagements thanks to her research contributions on patient care given to African Americans suffering from multiple myeloma. Before business school, McLean Fonvielle worked in residential real estate, a role that enabled him to be a panelist alongside Mayor Muriel Bowser at the 2024 State of Downtown DC Forum.

“The panel addressed the state of downtown D.C. post-COVID and what the future looks like for the city. I was a panelist to specifically represent developers working on converting office to residential in the downtown zone and give insight on the housing in downtown tax abatement application. At Lincoln Property Company, I was the development manager of two office to residential conversions three and five blocks from the White House. These are a few of the first developments with many more to come to reach Mayor Bowser’s goal of adding 15,000 residents to downtown D.C. by 2028.”

Working for the Colorado Department of Education, Omar Estrada was tasked with spearheading the reformation of the state’s school Medicaid program, an effort that earned him a Beaumont Foundation 40 Under 40 Honor. “I rewrote many policies for program administration and strengthened relationships with our districts and our state Medicaid agency partner. In the process, I was able to create a streamlined program with less confusion on how to administer the program at the school district level. This helped us to reduce administrative costs at the local level by almost 20%, meaning more Medicaid reimbursement dollars could go to student health rather than program administration.”

FOLLOWING IN HER FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS

As the Class of 2026 streamed into Chapel Hill, many raved about the support they received from students, faculty, and alumni. Just ask Katja Muller, who reached out to Pramita Saha, who heads up the Center for Excellence in Investment Management. Looking for data in her targeted industry, Muller received a “wealth of info” on various funds that had hired Kenan-Flagler alumni. By the same token, McLean Fonvielle derived several advantages from a past graduate opening doors for him.

“I had the pleasure of working with a UNC Kenan-Flagler alum in real estate before coming to school here. He took me under his wing and helped me learn about new real estate sectors I was not working on directly. He also helped me join the DC Real Estate Group, a group of D.C. real estate professionals under 40 years old who are in the associate to VP level. Here, I grew my network tremendously and make life-long friends. Outside of work he began inviting me to social events with friends and fun dinners.”

Outside of class, Fonvielle is a ski instructor. Leah Adams plays the viola and currently studies the ukelele. To unwind, Kento Fuchino plays shogi (Japanese chess) and engages in Zen meditation. At Elon University, Emily Dixon was a four-time women’s heptathlon champion in the Colonial Athletic Association. To compete in heptathlon, athletes must master seven track and field events. You could say Katja Muller is an MBA heptathlete: She has conducted business in English, Spanish, French, and Kinyarwanda!

For other class members, Kenan-Flagler is a family affair. Eliza Joyner is a fifth generation Tar Heel. For Emma Tillitski, business school is literally a homecoming. “Not only did both of my parents get their undergraduate degrees from Carolina, but my dad got his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler as well. As a young child I even lived in Married Student Housing for his two years in school!”

A CLASS PROFILE

Who knows? Maybe Tillitski’s children will repeat the cycle at Kenan-Flagler. After graduation, she plans to move into energy project management. In contrast, Katja Muller hopers to pursue the “greater good” by starting a private equity firm that racks up “significant ESG returns.” Kento Funchino already has a job lined up after graduation. He’ll be working as a finance manager for Kajima USA to handle real estate development. In 15-20 years, Omar Estrada expects to return to the public sector to make an impact.

“I didn’t know I would be in North Carolina four years ago, so anything can happen. I lean heavily on a quote from mathematician Jim Simmons that I use as my North Star: “Be guided by beauty”.”

Overall, the Class of 2026 features 249 students, with Kenan-Flagler seeing 160 more applications during the 2023-2024 cycle. The number that jumps out: 707. That was the average GMAT score, which increased by 11 points over the previous year. As a whole, just 23% of the class submitted a GRE score, which averaged 319 – the same as the previous year. At 3.4, the undergraduate GPA also remained relatively unchanged too. In terms of academic backgrounds, Business and STEM majors ran neck-and-neck at 38% and 37% respectively. Another 25% hold degrees in Humanities-related fields.

International students comprise a 43% share of the class, up nine points from the previous year. The class also hails from 40 countries, an 8 country increase over the Class of 2025. That said, the percentage of women decreased from 33% to 31% in the current class. Professionally, the largest percentages of the class last worked in Financial Services (16%) and Technology (14%). Health professionals make up an 11% share of the class, followed the Military (10%), Consulting (9%), and Real Estate (6%).

A REAL ESTATE POWERHOUSE

An unexpected benefit of Kenan-Flagler: Scale. The undergraduate program includes another 1,200 students, with the program ranking 8th according to Poets & Quants. The school’s online MBA program, which enrolls over 300 students annually, finished 7th in P&Q’s Online MBA ranking. As a whole, Kenan-Flagler consistently ranks as a Top 20 American program, with an alumni base of over 51,000 graduates.

One of the program’s biggest strengths is Finance. In a 2024 Princeton Review survey of alumni, the school posted the 4th-highest satisfaction score for its Finance programming (along with ranking 5th for Campus Environment and 6th for Classroom Experience). Among the program highlights, say Katja Muller and Omar Estrada, are the Alpha Challenge (stock pitch competition) and the Center for Excellence in Investment Management (a hub for career treks, projects, mentorships, fund management opportunities, and speakers). In the U.S. News spring survey of business school deans and MBA directors, Kenan-Flagler also ranked in the Top 10 for Real Estate. McLean Fonvielle notes that the school’s real estate program is particularly well-regarded in the DC area, where it boasts a strong alumni network. Bill Woods, who previously worked in acquisitions for a real investment trust, is equally bullish on Kenan-Flagler’s real estate offerings.

“The Wood Center for Real Estate Studies faculty and resources, funded by alumni and friends of the program, are a standout among other MBA programs. When choosing a full-time MBA, I reached out to many professionals in the real estate industry for feedback about the UNC program. They were impressed by the depth of the curriculum, real fund capital raising/investing opportunities, and mentoring. Additionally, they also spoke highly of the many UNC Kenan-Flagler alumni in the industry who they had worked with over their careers. The student-managed Real Estate Private Equity Fund is also unique to UNC, providing students with hands-on experience. Other programs I toured only simulated this experience, missing key details of the process and not providing students with a wholistic experience in fund operations.”

Next Page: An interview with Jesse Davis, Associate Dean of the Full-Time MBA Program

Page 3: Profiles of  11 members of the MBA Class of 2026