Ioana Solomon

Yale School of Management

“Global citizen and aspiring change-maker, committed to leading with integrity, empathy, and purpose.”

Hometown: Bacau, Romania / New York City, NY

Fun fact about yourself: My very first flight was the one that took my family from our small, rural town in Romania straight to New York City, our new home for the last 16 years.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Dartmouth – Bachelor of Arts (Economics major, French Studies minor), Class of 2019

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Morgan Stanley – Assistant Vice President (Institutional RIA)

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? Closed Loop Partners – Ventures, NYC

Where will you be working after graduation? Undecided, Focused on climate investing & innovation

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Private Equity & Venture Capital Club – Co-President (24-25); VP Operations (23-24)

• Led planning efforts the club’s annual symposium, hosted at CURE Innovation Labs (part of Deerfield Management) in NYC – bringing together leading investors, entrepreneurs, and industry partners for engaging panel discussions on top-of-mind topics and sectors shaping the world of 2050 and beyond. The event attracted over 300 attendees (SOM students, colleagues at peer graduate programs, and many industry professionals)
• Instituted weekly cadence for club meetings, speaker sessions, and technical trainings to support students and community members in learning about Private Equity and Venture Capital, building a robust skillset to succeed in the industry, expanding our collective professional networks, and strengthening Yale SOM’s reputation in this space.
• Solidified relationships across the broader Yale ecosystem – partnering, collaborating, and re-engaging with organizations like Yale Tsai CITY, Yale Ventures, SOM’s Program on Entrepreneurship, Yale’s undergraduate venture group, Biotech Club (Yale GSAS), and many others.
• Co-led events with other student clubs at SOM (e.g., Startup & Entrepreneurship, Aerospace & Defense, Tech Club, AI Association, Consulting Club, Finance Club, etc.).

Yale SOM MIINT Impact Investing Club – Club Lead (24-25), Participant (23-24)

• As one of two MIINT leaders this year, facilitated a global impact investing competition and experiential learning program for five teams (each of five students across SOM and other graduate schools) exploring diverse sectors and interests (healthcare, climate, financial inclusion & economic development, and food & agriculture).
• Conducted over a dozen hour-long sessions on impact investing, thesis development, impact measurement, financial analysis, due diligence, and pitching strategies
• As a first-year student, I participated on the climate change & clean tech team, leading our efforts to source exciting ventures, conduct deep due diligence, and ultimately select a company we believed had credible potential to revolutionize the built environment – by combining solar energy generation with wastewater filtration and carbon sequestration (AirBuild).
• (Student Note: MIINT brings together over 600 students from 40+ renowned global programs to screen, diligence, and select an early-stage impact venture. At the national competition in April, students presented their detailed investment recommendations, vying for a $50K+ investment in their chosen startup.)

Student Government – Cohort Representative (23-24 and 24-25)

• Represented a cohort of 70 students, voicing important feedback and ideas to senior SOM administrators, spearheading key initiatives to improve the student experience at SOM, and organizing over 30 community-building events to connect, reflect, and enjoy the MBA experience as a cohort.

EuroSOM – Treasurer

• Supported the club’s mission to foster a tight-knit community among those with an affinity for European heritage and culture, enabling members to forge new connections, engage in meaningful dialogue, and explore potential career opportunities in Europe
• Organized various social events, professional career panels, and other community-building activities bringing together both SOM and other Yale-affiliated students

Graduate Crew Team – Captain

• Managed finances, organized regattas, and trained new members as part of a recreational team connecting novice and experienced rowers across all Yale graduate programs and departments.

Yale SOM Student Ambassador

• Participated in SOM information sessions, career panels, campus tours, and other events supporting prospective and admitted students in their MBA journeys.
• Connected with over 80 prospective and newly admitted students to support their MBA application process, and offer guidance, perspective, and career advice.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school?

I am incredibly proud of the annual Private Equity & Venture Capital Symposium we hosted in late February. This was perhaps the most challenging project I had ever undertaken – and also the most fulfilling. Planning this conference took over eight months of continuous effort and engagement, from finding an appropriate (and financially feasible) venue in New York City, securing professional sponsorships, bringing together truly high-caliber investors, founders, and industry partners, and organizing a seamless experience for over 300 attendees.

We began the day with a keynote session featuring the former CIO of NYU’s endowment (and founder of Sonamu Capital), the co-founder of both Farallon Capital and Tinicum Enterprises, and the co-founder of Global Female Investors Network. We then hosted four sets of simultaneous panels (eight in total), before ending the day with an elegant and vibrant networking reception. As a personal point of pride, beyond putting together an event that generated so much excitement, engagement, deep learning, and valuable new connections for our participants, we had roughly 3 times the women represented on panels relative to the industry average for leaders in this space. This was intentional – and seeing how our audience reacted to and interacted with an incredibly diverse and impressive set of presenters at each stage of the day made every bit of sweat and tears I invested in this process truly worthwhile.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I am very proud of the work I did at Morgan Stanley. As the second hire on a very new team within Wealth Management, we were tasked with creating a new line of business to expand our institutional client base via M&A. I played a key role in driving target selection, due diligence, integration, and strategic planning for two foundational deals. We essentially operated as a startup under the umbrella of a large firm, figuring out everything from legal entity structure to diligence process and valuation methodologies, to every minute detail of the integration efforts.

As we were launching into our second major deal, I was fortunate enough to be given a great degree of responsibility and ownership – both in training our new team members, as well as leading due diligence with 16 workstreams across the entire firm. Going through this process, I saw the importance of attention to detail, relationship-building, and empathetic people management (particularly when the firms we were acquiring were undergoing a great deal of change with real human impacts). This experience gave me both a great deal of confidence as well as the excitement to pursue my MBA and dive even deeper into honing these skills for the long term.

Why did you choose this business school? I grew up in Romania – in a very small town where I spent most of my childhood on my grandparents’ farm. I began my life in a community that deeply valued our relationship with land and nature; owned and appreciated everything it takes to put food on the table; and placed a great deal of value on hard, often thankless work. When we visited our family back in 2022, we learned my grandmother, and most of her village, had had their water wells and pumps run dry. Despite their care, love, and devotion for the land they and our ancestors had nurtured over millennia,  the effects of climate change suddenly felt very real – and our family faced consequences from activities and decisions made without any of their input or control. I had always cared about sustainability, but this was one of the moments that made me reprioritize where I wanted to spend the rest of my life, career, and effort.

I chose Yale specifically because of its business and society ethos, educating future leaders to be thoughtful and intentional in every decision they make. I was also drawn to the program’s interdisciplinary approach – in particular, SOM’s close engagement and collaboration with the School of the Environment. Even more, I was impressed by the incredibly diverse and caring culture I encountered when meeting students and community members. I knew this program was exactly what I needed to pivot and plant new roots for a career that both leveraged the professional skills and knowledge I had accumulated while also allowing me to make a real impact. I am confident that it wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else to find the kinds of opportunities I have found here to learn about climate solutions, engage in this work hands-on, and meet like-minded people.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Steph Speirs is the former co-founder and CEO of Solstice, and an active community builder, entrepreneur, and educator on all things clean energy and climate tech. She taught a class this spring on Climate Tech Innovation and Commercialization. It felt like the culmination of everything I had hoped to find and learn in this MBA program. She and the incredible senior industry leaders she invited to each class covered such a great breadth of topics. They included renewable energy development, green chemistry, fusion energy, battery technologies, advanced geothermal, sustainable aviation fuels, and food & ag innovation. It even included broader discussions on financing challenges for new technologies, shifts in policy direction, effective business models, and more. I truly enjoyed the class. Even more so, I appreciated Professor Speirs’ deep commitment to broadening our world view, introducing exciting new possibilities to combat climate change, and both inspiring and actively supporting us to launch careers in this space.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course as an MBA has been Renewable Energy Project Finance, taught as both an SOM and YSE course by Dan Gross (Director at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund). Even with 160+ enrolled students, and conducted primarily online (in-person one week each month), this course has been among the most engaging, pragmatic, and interesting academic experiences I have had to date. For that, we owe Professor Gross a debt of gratitude for his commitment to teach us everything he can about the industry in a condensed curriculum. All the while, he got us excited about the potential of renewable energy to change the way our world operates. I particularly appreciate the valuable and relevant skills we covered as part of our in-class lectures and assignments. This included reading actual project finance agreements, building detailed models to understand the underlying economics required to develop renewable energy, and rigorously assessing material risks and considerations behind investment decisions in this field. Professor Gross and his team of teaching fellows have been truly helpful and supportive in tackling challenging topics and exercises; the way this class is structured shows a great deal of intentionality and adaptability. Regardless of where my professional journey takes me, this class has allowed me to build a solid foundation to leverage in any future project – and perhaps most excitingly, join a deep network of like-minded students, dedicated alumni, and active industry practitioners.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? One of the best and most meaningful traditions in which I have participated at SOM has been our series of “unofficial” Vatican Dinners – started by a group of students in 2021 while SOM was still operating in a hybrid setting per national COVID guidance. These three students lived in a reconverted church building. They loved to cook and craved deeper conversation beyond what was possible on Zoom screens, in classrooms, or at recruiting events. They decided to welcome small groups of students into their home in order to get to know one another on a deeper level – going beyond academics or professional lives, and really exploring different philosophies, value systems, experiences, and cultures.

The tradition has since been passed down to new generations of “popes” and I was fortunate enough to be able to host these dinners this year alongside two of my closest friends at SOM. This experience has not only deepened our friendship, but has allowed us to meet and see our classmates in an entirely new light. Over the course of ten dinners this year, we and our guests have shared some truly incredible, inspiring, and transformative moments. We discussed life-changing stories, experiences, memories, and personal views on everything from religion and spirituality, philosophies on life, friendship, and love, tenets of justice and equality, reflections on joy, grief, and family, and so much more. I know I’ve grown a tremendous amount from this experience, and I am so grateful to be part of a community that is willing to come together and entrust each other with some of the deepest parts of our lives and identities.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why?

I am truly grateful for every part of my MBA experience and wouldn’t change a single decision or experience. That said, I do wish I had pushed myself to gain comfort with disagreement earlier in my time here.

I have always struggled quite a bit with imposter syndrome – perhaps in large part due to my experience as an immigrant in a city like New York, an environment that is both exceptionally inspiring and yet often unforgiving – especially for a woman in predominantly male-dominated professional fields. So much of what I’ve gained during my MBA experience has been the comfort and confidence to express my opinions. I wanted to show my full self in and outside of the classroom, and to take ownership of the initiatives I wanted to bring to fruition. Conflicts in opinion or approach are inevitable, especially in a diverse environment. I wish I had trusted both myself and this community to be fully honest in situations like these. There is always a kind, respectful, and diplomatic approach to express a different view – be it in a group project, club leadership decision, or even in the context of a personal relationship. I did get there eventually, the more I became comfortable in my sense of belonging and the value of my contributions, but I wish it hadn’t taken me as long as it did.

What is the biggest myth about your school? Perhaps one of the biggest myths about SOM is that the “business & society” motto creates a culture and experience centered only on the second word and not the first. It is true that many of us care deeply about our impact in society, and several of my classmates are focused on roles in philanthropy or non-profit work. However, the majority of our class is still pursuing careers in what we might consider traditional business fields. The difference is that an SOM education equips us with a holistic mindset and a more humanistic approach to guide us in some of the key decisions we will make as leaders. This includes the people with whom we surround ourselves, the metrics we value, and the long-term strategies we implement. This is not at the expense of fundamental business principles and obligations to various stakeholders, but a core addition to our ability and potential to create value, wherever and however we choose to dedicate ourselves.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? Perhaps one of the best examples of AI integration in SOM’s academic curriculum comes from a class I took on residential housing markets – the professor had us work in groups to build a valuation framework and model for New Haven property values. At the end, we were asked to leverage AI tools to conduct the same exercise. Comparing our own model to the AI-generated one allowed us to assess key similarities and differences in our approach and the underlying reasons. The valuable lesson here was understanding the kinds of analysis and tasks AI can be helpful in optimizing versus where human judgement still needs to drive process and key decisions.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Emily Lewis – I deeply admire and respect Emily, especially after having traveled together to Bhutan as part of our International Experience course and worked together to facilitate the MIINT program this year. She has one of the most impressive careers and inspiring life stories I have ever encountered. Yet, she has approached every one of her commitments and interactions with a level of kindness, humility, open-mindedness, and depth I find truly aspirational. She has been a remarkable leader, mentor, friend, and classmate – and has shown first-hand the value in trusting and following one’s own journey, despite convention or expectations. Emily is passionate about food and agriculture solutions to build a more climate-resilient and regenerative ecosystem. She decided to roll up her sleeves last summer to work on a farm in Belize, leading key projects to complete B-Corp certifications and set a foundation for long-term growth. She is a rare and perfect example of someone who knows her values and pursues them with unwavering devotion – and for that, she will always have my respect.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? There is so much I want to accomplish, and a great deal of uncertainty and potential lying ahead. But I would consider it a privilege if I could build a career that allowed me to 1) invest in (or grow) a business that impacts over a billion people, and 2) build a team that stays together for the long term (5 years at a minimum). Knowing that the right people and culture are indispensable to the level of global impact, we need to both overcome our hardest challenges and hopefully, eventually, thrive in the coming decades.

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