2025 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Sébastien Martin, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Sébastien Martin
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

“Professor Martin created and disseminated Kai, Kellogg’s AI teaching assistant. This revolutionary tool is transforming the classroom experience by offering personalized tutoring and interactive, AI-driven homework assignments. In his class alone, students engage with Kai for an average of one hour per week, demonstrating its effectiveness as a supplemental learning tool. Kellogg students messaged Kai over 120,000 in the Winter 2025 quarter (over 20 messages per student, per week!). Next academic year, he will lead a hands-on Generative AI elective in which students will learn in a hands-on way how to leverage the latest AI tools to create value for themselves and their business. Professor Martin’s passion for teaching and his students is evident; He describes his classroom experience as a privilege, where he learns as much from his students as they do from him.” – School nomination

Sébastien Martin, 33, is an Assistant Professor of Operations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he teaches the core Operations Management course to Full-Time, Part-Time, and MBAi students. His teaching has been recognized with Kellogg’s Chair Core Course Teaching Award.

Martin focuses on integrating artificial intelligence into business education. He developed “Kai,” an AI-powered teaching assistant designed to provide personalized tutoring and interactive assignments. Kai has been used by over 15 professors and 1,000 students at Kellogg, facilitating substantial student engagement. Martin also introduced interactive AI-driven case studies, enabling students to interact with AI-generated characters as a more immersive alternative to traditional case documents.

His research employs algorithms and data-driven methods to address practical operational and societal challenges. For example, Martin worked on redesigning Lyft’s matching algorithm using reinforcement learning, significantly improving service efficiency. His other projects have supported public policy initiatives, such as assisting Boston Public Schools with transportation system optimization and advising San Francisco schools on scheduling improvements. Recently, Martin’s academic interests have expanded to include generative AI, and he currently co-leads a large-scale randomized controlled trial involving over 50 professors and 40 universities to evaluate the impact of AI on education.

Martin’s research appears in leading academic journals, including Management Science, Operations Research, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (MSOM), and has received attention from media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and The Boston Globe.

He has been recognized with several awards, including being a two-time Franz Edelman Award Laureate, receiving the George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award, and the Operations Research Distinguished Service Award. He was also a finalist for the Daniel H. Wagner Prize, awarded the INFORMS TSL Dissertation Prize, and placed second in the Doing Good with Good OR Award. Additionally, Martin participated in the National Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Engineering program.

Beyond academia, Martin advises industry leaders, including the CEO of ESAB, on AI strategies.

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2020

Education: MIT Operations Research PhD (2019); Bachelor & MSc at École Polytechnique, France

List of MBA courses you currently teach: Operations Management (core MBA course for the 2Y and Evening Weekend programs), Operations Management for MBAi (same core class with an additional focus on artificial intelligence), Fundamentals of AI for Business Leaders (starting Fall 2025)

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… I actually figured this out quite late! I first decided to join a tech company or start a startup. But towards the end of my PhD, I started using some of my research work to improve the Boston Public Schools transportation system, helping children get to school. Then, I realized the amazing freedom the professor’s life entailed, and I switched courses so I could work on my algorithms but also positively impact the broader world and teach amazing students. I now feel that I have the best job in the world.

What are you currently researching, and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? Most of my research focuses on using algorithms/AI in operations. Perhaps my most significant contribution was creating algorithms that can efficiently manage large fleets of vehicles, such as ridesharing platforms (Uber/Lyft…) or school transportation. For example, they allowed Lyft’s drivers to make tens of millions of dollars in extra revenue, and Boston and San Francisco’s schools to save millions on their transportation budgets. 

If I weren’t a business school professor… I would most likely be an entrepreneur, which is, in my opinion, one of the closest jobs to being a business school professor! They share the same “freedom”, which I value so highly. In particular, there is so much to do in AI & education right now.

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? These days, I would say it’s definitely the use of AI to foster learning. I created AI teaching assistants, AI interactive homework, and AI-driven case studies (where you can talk to the case characters), which significantly changed how we teach MBA students.

One word that describes my first time teaching: COVID

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: How rewarding teaching MBAs could be! As a research professor, I essentially have two jobs: MBA teaching and research, and research takes the lion’s share. However, I ended up genuinely enjoying my teaching time. I feel that the regular interactions with MBAs and learning from their experience also helped me become a better researcher, focusing on problems that truly matter.

Professor I most admire and why: That would definitely be my PhD advisors, Dimitris Bertsimas and Patrick Jaillet from MIT. I’ve learned firsthand that advising PhD students is both one of the most essential roles of a professor and also not easy. They did a better job than I could ever possibly do, and I am grateful for that. Also, they are the most driven academics I know, and they’ve taught me the huge role that passion can play in teaching and research.

TEACHING MBA STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? The two-sided learning! MBAs come into the classroom with a lot of real-world experience that I could never have, and I learn a lot from them. This allows me to improve my teaching/content for the following years.

What is most challenging? I would say the energy it takes. My teaching time is a 10-week marathon, during which I have to hold two full-time jobs: research and teaching. Teaching does not only happen in the classroom. It’s also emails, preparations, and sleepless nights trying to figure out the best ways to use AI in the classroom. It’s the time of the year I enjoy the most, but I do feel like a marathon finisher after these ten weeks!

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Open-minded

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Uncollaborative

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… Transparent 

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? Mountain sports, playing the piano, gaming, and (although not very recently) flying planes (general aviation).

How will you spend your summer? I generally leave Chicago for Europe in the summer, but this time my wife and I will stay. I may be biased, but Chicago’s summer is really the best, and we really want to enjoy it once. We may have to house-hunt too! 

Favorite place(s) to vacation: The French Alps.

Favorite book(s): The book that made the strongest impression recently is “Immune” by Philipp Dettmer (the creator of the Kurzgesagt YouTube channel). It’s a book about immunology (the human body’s defense system), accessible to everyone. It’s truly a wonder – trying to understand the human body is like if an alien spacecraft crash-landed on Earth and we were trying to study it to understand its advanced alien technology. 

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? I would say the TV series The Wire, which is set in Baltimore. While it can be emotionally hard to watch, it completely changed my view of public policy and I think it made me a more tolerant person.

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? I have eclectic tastes, and I like classical music (e.g., Rachmaninoff), electro (e.g., the “French touch” like Polo & Pan), and rap (e.g., Eminem). Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Jacob Collier, who is quite hard to map to one music style!

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this… More positive use of AI! I think we’ve barely scratched the surface of what genAI technology can do for education, and I’m incredibly excited about this.

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at… Staying agile (e.g,, Lean Ops / Agile software dev…) and handling change management. I am convinced that, with the rise of AI, we will have to move very fast to make the correct decisions. 

I’m grateful for… My wonderful wife, Khadija, without whom nothing would be possible.

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE 2025 ROSTER OF THE WORLD’S BEST 40-UNDER-40 MBA PROFESSORS