Itay Zitvar

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

“Innovative AI leader, engineer, and language-lover passionate about enhancing healthcare through cutting-edge technology.”

Hometown: Tel Aviv, Israel

Fun Fact About Yourself: I lived in China and speak fluent Mandarin

Undergraduate School and Major: Tel Aviv University, Computer Science and Linguistics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: AI Team Lead at Hyro

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the Wharton School’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Wharton’s focus on innovation and entrepreneurship is what led me to choose it as a business school. Wharton is the perfect catalyst for this my planned transition from an engineering leader to a business leader. I am particularly drawn to courses like Managing the Emerging Enterprise and Technology Strategy which will provide me with the knowledge and tools to navigate the business landscape of AI.

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at the Wharton School? I’m most excited about Wharton’s Squash Club. I’m a huge racket sports lover, playing tennis, padel, table tennis and squash from an early age. I believe one of the best ways to know a person is through sports, especially an intimate one like squash, and I can’t wait to know the people at Wharton through it.

When you think of the Wharton School, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? The first word that comes to mind is “Ambition”. From all the Wharton alumni I’ve talked to, and the future classmates I’ve known, there seems to be one thing in common – they are all extremely ambitious people. That makes Wharton a place that embodies a drive for excellence and that is pushing its students to reach their highest potential.

Looking at your recruitment, what was the moment when you realized the Wharton School was the right MBA program for you? Why? My uncle went to Wharton. About two years ago, I visited him in the US after a long time. He didn’t have to say anything – I just watched and learned how the connections and experience he gained during his time at Wharton guide his every move to this day, more than 20 years after graduation. I wanted these for myself as well. 

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: As a team lead responsible for Hyro’s AI strategy, I conceived and created healthcare industry’s first GPT-powered medical Q&A tool, now serving over 1 million patients/year, 40% of the company user base.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? Immediately after graduation, I intend to work as a product manager at an LLM-focused company, such as OpenAI (my dream), Anthropic, or some parts of Google. As an avid language-lover, my long-term goal is to start my own company, that will revolutionize language-learning by bringing it to the era of AI.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? The Acquired podcast. Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal’s podcast dives deep into the stories behind great companies, exploring how they were built, the challenges they faced, and the strategic decisions that led to their success. Listening to this podcast really enlightened me on how some crucial and non-trivial business decisions shaped our world (Check out the LVMH episode!).

What other MBA programs did you apply to? I applied to Columbia Business School and MIT Sloan

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the Wharton School’s MBA program? Be as diverse as possible. There’s no one way to get into Wharton. If your life story is interesting enough, you will get in.

DON’T MISS: MEET WHARTON’S MBA CLASS OF 2026