Meet The Stanford GSB MBA Class Of 2026

Stanford MBAs meeting after class

P&Q: What are the most exciting new courses that your school is offering to MBAs this school year? What makes them so unique and valuable?

Oyer: “We added two new electives this year to equip students with practical artificial intelligence and machine learning knowledge for solving real-world business problems. Understanding AI Technology for Business Problems equips students with practical AI knowledge to solve business problems – a student described it as the “perfect blend of technical concepts and business applications.” On the less technical side, we are adding a new class next year called Designing AI to Cultivate Human Well-Being.

P&Q: Who are two new professors who’ve joined your faculty in the past year? What do they teach and how will they be difference-makers in your MBA program?

Oyer: “Douglas Guilbeault, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior. Guilbeault received dual bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and rhetoric (with a minor in cognitive science) from the University of Waterloo, and an MA in Cognitive Linguistics from the University of British Columbia. He then completed a PhD in Communications in the Network Dynamics Group at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. He is co-director of the Berkeley-Stanford Computational Culture Lab, and a founding member of the theoretical cognitive science and machine learning collective comp-syn (“computational synesthesia”). His work has appeared in a number of top journals, including Nature, Nature Communications, The Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, and Management Science, as well as in popular news outlets, such as The Atlantic, Wired, and The Harvard Business Review. He has received top research awards from The International Conference on Computational Social Science, The Cognitive Science Society, and The International Communication Association.

“Naz Koont, Assistant Professor of Finance. Koont received her PhD and MPhil in Finance from the Columbia Business School. She earned her BS in Mathematics and Economics, University of Toronto. Naz’s research focuses on how technology and the emergence of non-bank intermediaries are changing the banking landscape, and the implications for financial stability, competition, and consumer welfare. I enjoy combining novel data sets, empirical analysis, and tools from IO in order to shed light on under-explored dimensions of financial intermediation.”

P&Q: What types of support does your career center and alumni provide to MBA students? How have these services and relationships made your graduates more competitive in the marketplace?

Oyer: “Stanford GSB’s Career Management Center (CMC) provides individualized support for students through all stages of their career journey by offering 1:1 advising and career education programming. Additionally, students have access to a broad set of career resources through the CMC and the GSB library. as well as access to the valuable network of GSB alumni. The CMC approach goes beyond supporting students to secure their first job out of the GSB, rather emphasizes launching a career that aligns with students’ vision, strengths, and values. GSB students work with CMC advisors and other career professionals so that they are grounded in an understanding of their personal values, priorities, skills & interests; satisfied they have considered relevant career possibilities, confident in their preparation to interview, excited about their job outcomes, and ready for a decades-long career. Career support continues after graduation. As alumni, GSB grads have access to career coaching and workshops throughout their career. The CMC is an ally in GSB students’ job search, supporting them to access a valuable network, by offering career resources, and by providing one-on-one advising at every stage of the career journey as they explore, prepare, launch and grow in their careers.”