Tiago Bonchristiano

Duke University, Fuqua School of Business

“Former D1 water polo athlete, entrepreneur, and consultant known for always leading with optimism.”

Hometown: São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Fun Fact About Yourself: Part of my family originates from Capri, an island in the South of Italy, where we have a house that has been in our family since 1780. To honor our Italian heritage, we also have a limoncello recipe that has been passed down through generations.

Undergraduate School and Major: UC Santa Barbara – Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Integration Management Consulting – Sr. Business Analyst

The MBA program is renowned for its “Team Fuqua” culture, which is predicated on six paired principles: Authentic Engagement, Supportive Ambition, Collective Diversity, Impactful Stewardship, Loyal Community, and Uncompromising Integrity. Which of these resonates most with you – and what does that principle demand of you as a Fuqua MBA? Supportive Ambition is the principle that resonates the most with me. I have been playing water polo for 14 years, having the opportunity to represent Brazil in a national tournament and to play on a Division 1 college team in the U.S. Renowned as one of the most challenging sports, water polo truly embodies the value of unified teamwork for a shared objective, creating a whole that exceeds the sums of its parts.

Supportive Ambition is about collaborating with each other so that ALL of us can succeed. As an MBA student at Fuqua, I will always ensure a collaborative and supportive environment among my peers, such as in an academic setting within class projects, during Fall recruiting, and in our personal lives.

Aside from your classmates and school culture, what was the key part of Duke Fuqua’s MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Academically speaking, I had two main goals for my MBA: (1) expand my financial acumen and (2) gain exposure to entrepreneurial practices. Fuqua’s curriculum was the perfect match. For my former goal, Fuqua offers phenomenal “theoretic” and “practical” learning opportunities to deep dive into the finance world. Some key opportunities are the Certificate of Academic Excellence in Finance, Mentored Study Programs, Leveraged Buyout Workshops, and the Private Equity Buyout Lab.

For my latter goal, the broader Duke ecosystem is renowned for entrepreneurship. Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship has a very inclusive approach. Here, one can seek entrepreneurship through many paths: building your own company, acquiring an existing business, and bringing new ideas into a corporate environment. Not to mention, Duke I&E is located literally inside the Fuqua building!

What has been your first impression of the Fuqua MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Fuqua story so far. My first impression, which I learned on my first ever interaction with a Fuqua student, is that the Fuqua community truly embodies its team-oriented spirit. When I was just beginning my MBA applications, I always reached out to current students at each program to gain insights into their day-to-day.

From all the interactions I had with different programs, Fuqua students always went above-and-beyond. My first conversation with a Fuqua student was with an incoming second-year, who I cold messaged on LinkedIn as we had similar background interests. While we had no mutual connections, she accepted my invitation. Inevitably, we spent almost two hours with me on a Zoom call during her summer internship at Bain to truly allow me to learn as much as possible about life at Fuqua. At that point, that’s when I knew that Fuqua had a strong culture and that students truly believed on the power of collaboration.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Duke Fuqua? The opportunity that excites me the most is pursuing an associate role at Duke Capital Partners. This is a very unique opportunity to have hands-on financial experience while also supporting the entrepreneurial environment at Duke and connecting with graduate peers outside of the MBA ecosystem (such as with Ph.D. and law students).

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment was executing our first business-to-consumer event at Future Farm, a plant-based meat brand I co-launched in the U.S. Events like these are grilling, especially with the minimal financial and human capital of a startup. They also involve very non-glamorous tasks, such as supporting your chef in the kitchen with food prep. To be successful, I led our team by example, always taking any non-glamorous task head-on, including one day when I deep-fried 300 burgers for our Double Katsu Burger recipe. Also, I ensured an upbeat mood, always checking in with our coworkers, constantly smiling, and sharing jokes whenever possible.

I felt accomplished when we clinched the second spot at a Burger Battle as part of the event, providing us with a lot of exposure and boosting our brand awareness during a critical moment for our U.S. launch.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? I’d consider my MBA experience successful if (1) I come out of it with strong, authentic, and personal connections with my colleagues; (2) I achieve the Certificate of Academic Excellence in Finance enhancing my financial acumen; and (3) I am able to participate in practical learning opportunities such as the LBO Workshop, PE Buyout Lab, and Duke Capital Partners.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Duke Fuqua’s MBA program? Some of the main pieces of advice I’d share are:

1. Team Fuqua is real and everyone lives up to it. An applicant needs to understand whether this is the type of environment they seek and, if so, then look back into their personal/work experience to understand where they have shown their team-oriented mindset.

2. Fuqua focuses a lot on DQ – it’s not only about being emotionally and intellectually smart, but it’s also about being a decent human being, doing what’s right for others, for businesses, and for the world. An applicant should try to learn more about what DQ is to see if it aligns with their values.

3. Understand that to build a truly collaborative, supportive, and inclusive environment, Fuqua needs diverse backgrounds and experiences, so your uniqueness is your competitive advantage. Let your uniqueness flourish during your application process and demonstrate how it can be a value-add to the program.

DON’T MISS: MEET DUKE FUQUA’S MBA CLASS OF 2026