The 100 Best & Brightest MBAs: Class Of 2025

AN ACCOMPLISHED MILITARY COHORT

Another group that excelled in business school was military veterans. And their experience deeply enriched their MBA classrooms and cultures. Looking for credentials? Nick Hagen, an Indiana University Kelley School grad, went from singing Sondheim tunes to serving as a U.S. Army Special Forces Officer. An ultramarathoner, Hagen oversaw logistical support for A-Teams during the Battle of Raqqah and Operation INHERENT RESOLVE in Syria. Carolyn Ballinger served as the director of offensive cyberspace operations for the Joint Cyberspace Operations Group before business school. Now an IT auditor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Ballinger commanded a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve unit during her first semester at Boston College’s Carroll School, along with working part-time and commuting an hour-and-a-half each way. At the same time, Mark O’Connell worked alongside a small group of instructors to rewrite the U.S. Marines’ combat training curriculum – something that hadn’t been done in 50 years.

How tough is O’Connell on his pupils? Picture a 130-kilometer hike over 96 hours with 2 a.m. barrages of simulated gunfire, artillery, and smoke grenades – all with little food or rest.  “What made me proud was the Marines’ faces at the end of this hike – each of their faces had a look of determination on it that said, ‘It doesn’t matter what the world does to me anymore. It can’t possibly break me. I’ve come this far, and I simply will not quit,” shares O’Connell, a Deloitte hire and graduate of the University of Michigan’s Ross School. “I realized at that moment that the curriculum rewrite I had completed was going to personally impact tens of thousands of Marines for years to come.”

O’Connell wasn’t alone in revamping the military curriculum. Kyle Schembechler, a graduate of Ohio State’s Fisher College, completed an “overhaul” of the Field Artillery School’s training program. Staying in the Big 10, the University of Wisconsin’s Aaron St. John Kindle was named the 2nd Airborne’s Paratrooper of the Year in 2021. As an MBA student, he achieved a perfect GPA while he worked three jobs, bought a house, and welcomed his first child. Across the Atlantic at HEC Paris, Jean-Luc Thébert has made 130 parachute jumps in the French Army, where he was responsible for training a 1,200-member parachute infantry regiment over the summer.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler School, Ashley Sperry will be joining the U.S. Army Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense. For Sperry, business school has been a family affair – a chance to impart life’s big lessons on her daughters, who are 9 and 6 years in age.

“As a single mother, I wanted to show them firsthand that they can pursue their dreams, embrace challenges and achieve success through hard work, resilience, and a strong support system. By bringing them along on this experience—whether it was introducing them to my classmates, involving them in school events, or simply letting them see me tackle demanding coursework—I hope to have instilled in them a sense of confidence and possibility for their futures.”

WHAT MAKES A BEST & BRIGHTEST MBA

That said, the Best & Brightest also brought some unconventional backgrounds to business school. Evan Rizvi spent 8 years as an opera singer. After graduating from Boston University’s Questrom School, he’ll return to his alma mater – the New England Conservatory of Music – in a strategy role. Duke University’s Fern Imjairach earned a law degree while working full-time at Deloitte. In contrast, Babson College’s Ruso Samunashvili taught financial and managerial accounting at the Business and Technology University in Georgia (the country). At UC Berkeley’s Haas School, the resident celebrity is Ann Ukadike, who was named among this year’s “100 Women Shaping the World” by Techeconomy and one of “Africa’s 100 Most Influential Women in Business” in 2024 by The Business Executive.

The Class of 2025 carried this momentum into business school. As students, the Best & Brightest ran the biggest clubs and organized the most important events. They were ambassadors, tutors, volunteers, mentors, and coaches. In many ways, they were the spirit of their schools. They weren’t just contributors; they were creators and catalysts: the go-to resources who got things done. Amid uncertainty, the Best & Brightest became the unsung heroes and inspiring figures who remained calm, strong, and kind. Among their peers, they were the ones who never needed to be asked – they saw a need and tackled the work.

In the end, they were defined by their commitment, curiosity, creativity, and causes. Each possessed something unforgettable. Maybe it was Rice University’s Angelica Janette Amaya Zendejas bringing her cohort gifts on Valentine’s Day or Dartmouth Tuck’s Magdala Díaz de Rávago Zevallos holding cupcake decoration workshops for her classmates. Without the Best & Brightest, there would have been something fundamental missing in each school’s experience.

BRINGING EVENTS TO LIFE

Many times, the Best & Brightest created programming in their MBA programs. At London Business School, for example, Zhen Ren Teo launched a Southeast Asia (SEA) Club to provide cultural events and networking events. Even more, Ren Teo fostered collaborations with Cambridge Judge Business School and the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School – all while growing the club from 30 to 250 members in one year. Austin Cai performed a similar feat at the Yale School of Management. Here, he partnered with a dozen blockchain clubs for schools ranging from Oxford to Harvard to Stanford to hold a summit. Arjun Shivach organized HEC Paris’s first LGBTQIA+ conference, Beyond Borders. At the UC Berkeley Haas School, Ann Ukadike built a team from 14 countries to produce the Africa Gate to Growth Forum.

“[It was] a first-of-its-kind platform connecting African startups with Silicon Valley’s tech and venture capital ecosystem,” she tells P&Q. “I curated 60 high-potential startups, provided 25 companies with pitch assessment sessions, and ultimately enabled 14 African startups from Cote d’Ivoire to travel to California for a final immersion program. These founders engaged directly with investors, industry leaders and business mentors, gaining funding insights, strategic guidance, and access to global market opportunities. The programming addressed key sectors including education, healthcare, banking and tourism through fintech solutions, ensuring that innovation was solving real-world problems.”

Not only did USC Marshall’s Raghav Mahajan launch the first “India-focused conference at a West Coast university,” but he also attracted over 250 attendees. As co-president of Yale SOM’s Private Equity & Venture Capital Club, Ioana Solomon spearheaded the annual symposium, which drew 300 attendees (not to mention founding members of Sonamu Capital and Tinicum Enterprises as speakers). At Columbia Business School, where Natalie Friel served as co-president of the Retail and Luxury Goods Club, the club’s annual conference brought 350 people together. Her efforts led Samantha Shapses, the school’s senior associate dean, to describe Friel as a “transformative leader.”

“With a unique blend of creative vision and strategic leadership, Natalie redefined the club’s identity, reviving its branding with vintage-inspired elements that honored Columbia and RLG’s history while establishing a polished, forward-looking aesthetic. Her thoughtful approach elevated not only the club’s visual presence but also its professionalism, setting a new standard that resonates deeply in the retail and luxury space.”

DOING RIGHT AND DOING WELL

It wasn’t just in producing informative conferences where the Class of 2025 shone. As a student at the University of Florida’s Warrington College, April Rowland collected an array of team and individual 1st place finishes in case competitions. Boston University’s Maria Rafaella Guerrero Romero made such a strong impression during her summer internship at Biogen that the company later awarded her the Biogen Award for excellence. In terms of impact, it would be hard to top Camila Costa, who graduated from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School. As an MBA summer intern at Warner Bros. Discovery, she helped bundle Disney+, Hulu, and Max – a streaming industry “milestone.”

“What made this experience especially meaningful was seeing the direct impact of our work,” Costa tells P&Q. “Watching the bundle go live and knowing it was improving the streaming experience for millions of customers was incredibly rewarding. Even more so, it was amazing to see friends and family enjoy this product firsthand. I had friends get ads for the bundle on social media and text me, saying, “Hey, it’s your bundle!” It was a great reminder of why I love working at the intersection of media, technology, and strategy.”

More than anything, the Best & Brightest MBAs were there for each other. At Vanderbilt University’s Owen School, Robert Rickard produced over 200 PowerPoint slides to help aspiring consultants with “case fundamentals and networking strategies.” Duke University’s Tanner Morgan landed a job with the Boston Consulting Group – and then helped over a hundred classmates prep for interviews. As co-president of the Tuck School’s Consulting Club, Berk Atillasoy developed two case prep workshops for first-year students. And he didn’t stop there…

“Perhaps my proudest contribution was leading the ‘Second-Year Case Match” process, where I managed the complex logistics of pairing of second-year volunteers with first-year students to conduct cases,” he explains. “Over a busy four-week period, the effort rallied second-year students to generously deliver over 550 cases, or 550 hours of their own time, to support first-year students in their consulting recruitment preparation – a true reflection of Tuck’s unique ‘pay-it-forward’ culture.

UNEXPECTED TALENTS

Looking for some interesting tidbits about this year’s Best & Brightest? NYU Stern’s Margaret Zhang is a ballet dancer, an avocation she picked up when she was 33. Sebastian Esselens, a UCLA Anderson grad, earned a pilot’s license before his driver’s license. Queen’s University’s Sydney McLennan is a competitive jump roper, while Elham Jamshidi is a self-described “adrenaline seeker” who indulges in activities ranging from skydiving to scuba diving. In the medical field, the University of Minnesota’s Via Rao co-authored a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine. Not to be outdone, Danielle Sarraf made the list of “Students Who Rocked Public Health 2024” published by the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice (JPHMP). Before earning an MBA at the University of Michigan’s Ross School, Brysan Porterfield modeled for L’Oréal, while IESE Business School’s Sergi Rivera Morcillo competed for the Spanish National Sailing Team.

And let’s just say Rice University’s Angelica Janette Amaya Zendejas takes care of the most beloved member of her MBA class.

“My MBA journey wouldn’t be the same without my four-legged sidekick, Scout,” she tells P&Q. “I moved to Houston with him shortly after adopting him, and he’s since become an honorary member of my MBA class. In fact, he even took home the 2023 Halloween Pet Costume Contest trophy. I dressed him as an investment banker (blue suit, tie and all). He definitely looked the part, minus the spreadsheets and 80-hour workweeks. Scout is my kindest reminder that there’s a time to be an MBA executive and a time to pause, play and just enjoy life with the ones who matter most.”

LOOKING AHEAD

What’s next for the Best & Brightest? Elham Jamshidi pictures herself making the Forbes “40 Under 40” list, while the University of Michigan’s Mark O’Connell hopes to be involved in the Salt Lake City 2034 Olympics. At the same time, Ruben Antonio Quesada plans to stay involved and give back to his MBA alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School. As Annette Knell starts her career at Delta Air Lines, she is focused on being a servant leader – someone who leads “with empathy, active listening, and a deep commitment to the growth of others.” More than that, she intends to continue the growth she experienced in business school.

“I see lifelong learning as a priority, always seeking to expand my knowledge and refine my skills. I believe that staying curious and embracing new ideas will help me adapt to new challenges, innovate in my field, and continue evolving both personally and professionally.”

In the meantime, as graduation approaches, the Class of 2025 is beginning to say their goodbyes. At Vanderbilt University’s Owen School, Brian T. McCann, professor of strategic management, is already lamenting the departure of Robert Rickard. He describes Rickard as a man of “quiet influence,” the “kind of leader whose impact isn’t measured in decibels, but in depth.” The same could be said for the Tuck School’s Magdala Díaz de Rávago Zevallos. For Sally O. Jaeger, the school’s associate dean, Díaz de Rávago Zevallos personifies the best in business – and the Best & Brightest as a whole.

“She is a wonderful example that leadership is not just about achievement but about uplifting others along the way. Magdala’s legacy at Tuck is not just in the programs she has led or the initiatives she has started, but in the hearts of those she has inspired to lead with courage, generosity, and a deep commitment to community. I will miss her!”

See pages 3-4 for 100 in-depth profiles of this year’s Best & Brightest MBAs. 

DON’T MISS:

2024 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2023 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2022 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2021 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2020 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2019 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2018 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2017 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2016 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

2015 BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAs

© Copyright 2025 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.