Poets&Quants’ World’s Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors Of 2025

If all business is global, then certainly a premier business education must be global as well.

Take Tom Taiyi Yan 闫太一, an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior who teaches global leadership at University College London School of Management. Yan grew up in Beijing, then lived on a farm in Eastern Tennessee where he attended a Southern Baptist high school and learned to speak English. His hint of a Southern drawl sometimes confuses the MBAs he now teaches in London.

Since he was 7 years old, Yan’s favorite books are Wuxia, a genre of fiction depicting the legends and adventures of martial artists, often in ancient China. Some of his favorite movies, on the other hand, come straight from La La Land. (He’s such a film buff, in fact, he keeps a film-watching journal.)

As a professor, he actively works to build bridges between Asia, the U.S., and the United Kingdom, translating research between Mandarin and English. He also serves on the panel of Carolyn Dexter Award, recognizing efforts to internationalize the Academy of Management.

“In Mandarin there’s a phrase that translates to ‘mutual learning between students and teacher’ (教学相长),” says Yan, 33. “These cross-cultural experiences give me a unique perspective in today’s world, and I use these stories in the classroom to build a safe environment for students from all walks of life.”

Yan is just one of 40 standout MBA professors on Poets&Quants’ 2025 list of the world’s Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors, a list full of compelling contrasts and distinctive voices.

Among them is Ravi S. Kudesia, 38, of Temple’s Fox School of Business, who blends ancient mindfulness with research on explosive demolitions, exploring how attention and awareness shape operations. Madeleine Rauch, 36,  of Cambridge Judge Business School, studies the moral weight of meaningful work, uncovering how even UN peacekeepers can feel existential boredom. And at INSEAD, Dimitrije Ruzic compares teaching MBAs to improv theater.

“Embrace uncertainty,” says Ruzic, 36, Assistant Professor of Economics.

“You might have a perfect script and a polished set of slides … and, within five minutes, someone derails it with a question about Bitcoin, Taylor Swift, or both. And that’s when the real teaching begins.”

39 SCHOOLS, 9 COUNTRIES, 4 CONTINENTS

Today, P&Q proudly presents the 13th edition of our 40-Under-40 MBA Professors. Our goal remains unchanged: to identify and celebrate the most talented young professors currently teaching in MBA programs around the world.

The professors represent 39 different business schools, including 17 schools outside of the United States — more than in any other year. After the U.S., the United Kingdom has boasts seven professors, while Spain has three and France has two. The list also includes professors from Canada, China, Hong Kong, Denmark, and Costa Rica — home to INCAE Business School’s Elena Fumagalli.

Fumagalli, 38, discovered education’s lasting impact from watching her mother, a devoted primary school teacher, interact with past students.

“Her students both feared and respected her, and I remember how meaningful it was for her to reconnect with them years later and see who they had become,” she tells P&Q. “One story stayed with me: a girl once told my mom she wanted to be an astronaut and, years later, she studied aerospace engineering. That’s the kind of legacy I’ve always admired.”

Today, the Associate Professor of Marketing and Leadership studies how emotions like loneliness, disgust, or overconfidence shape the way people spend money and make decisions. She also explores how behavioral science and neuroscience can improve leadership development and build more inclusive workplaces. She leads INCAE’s Center for Inclusive and Sustainable Leadership and, in 2024, was the keynote speaker at the Forbes’ “Mujeres Poderosas Centroamérica” summit.

HOW WE PICKED THEM

P&Q received more than 1,700 Best Professor nominations from MBA students, colleagues, business schools, and professors themselves. Our editorial staff evaluated each nominee on teaching (given a 70% weight) and research/business impact (given 30% weight).

For teaching, we considered both the quality and quantity of the nominations received. For example, if we received a hundred or more nominations with little substance for a single professor, they weren’t as likely to score as highly as a professor who received a few in-depth and thoughtful nominations. We also considered any teaching-related awards the professors have won.

For research, we looked at the volume and impact of the professor’s scholarly and professional work. To do this we examined Google Citation numbers as well as major media attention received by the professor and his or her research work. Lastly, akin to teaching, we considered research awards and grants the professors have received.

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