Meet INSEAD’s MBA Class Of 2025

Intense. Uncomfortable. Overwhelming, even.

That’s how INSEAD MBAs describe their first weeks at the school. That’s all by design. After all, that first period is about more than understanding the basics of strategy, financial markets, and organizational behavior. Instead, it is an immersion in what really matters in being a global leader: managing time, setting priorities, and navigating diversity.

“Times flow differently at INSEAD,” explains Sami Mavrothalassitis, a ’24 alum and P&Q Best & Brightest MBA. “From the first day, there’s so much happening that sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in a day to get the most out of what INSEAD has to offer. Still, following the advice of former students and alumni, I try to be present and savor every moment, even when the pressure of academics, exams, and recruiting arises. In this transformative experience, every second is an opportunity for growth and enjoyment.”

The pace is dizzying. After all, an entire MBA experience is compacted into 10-months. Add to that, the students buy into the school’s philosophy of continuous reinvention. According to Caroline Diarte Edwards, a former admissions director at INSEAD, 80% of students are looking to change industry, function, or location – and a quarter of students are hoping to transition across all three. This attracts a class of risk-takers, says Jennifer Flanagan, an American and ’25 student who previously headed up a news agency.

“The diversity, campus exchanges, and intense 10-month structure prevent anyone from falling into a routine, fostering an attitude of “Why not?”, she tells P&Q. “As we grow older, we often specialize in our careers, sports, and interests, but at INSEAD, there is a distinct joy and excitement in being surrounded by people eager to embrace uncertainty, accept failure, and laugh along the way. In just a month at INSEAD, I’ve tried more new things than in the last year — surfing, speaking Spanish, and eating Nigerian food, to name a few. The atmosphere here encourages continuous learning and daily adventures.”

DEVELOPING “CULTURAL CAPITAL”

Those adventures include the classroom environment, Flanagan adds. In her experience, INSEAD has “embraced the philosophy that learning quality improves with diverse perspectives.” By diverse, picture 90 nationalities, with each nationality composing only 10%-12% of the class. In other words, everyone enjoys the same experience of being a minority. Translation: they need to quickly adapt to a setting with peers whose languages, culture, and sense of history are dramatically different than their own.

At first, this dynamic can lead to conflict. Quickly enough, students band together. They recognize that differences open them up to broader questions and deeper discussions, promising practices and better alternatives. In the end, INSEAD MBAs take away a more global perspective – not to mention an alumni network of 67,000 students across 180 countries.

This diversity – be it cultural and professional – also fosters “divergent thinking” that spurs “creativity” in the words of Mario Sosa Torres, a legislator from the Dominican Republic.

“This diversity is also especially valuable for conducting rigorous analysis when selecting, evaluating, and refining the most promising ideas,” he adds. “As I prepare for a global business career, honing my ability to communicate and collaborate across different cultural contexts is critical. Spending a year in such a diverse community will undoubtedly help us provide one another with the cultural capital and sensitivities needed to navigate our increasingly interconnected and multipolar world.”

THE BEST YEAR OF YOUR LIFE

Maybe the biggest endorsement for INSEAD comes from alumni. Their testimonials – along with the examples they set – made an impression on the Class of 2025.

“I’ve always been curious about the overall experience of studying at INSEAD,” writes Eli Zhang, a senior product manager at Alibaba. “So I asked every alumnus I spoke to the same question: “On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your experience at INSEAD?” To my surprise, every single one rated it a 9 or 10, describing it as the best year of their life—although they did warn me about the unforgettably demanding coursework.”

Carmen Garcia Gallego, who hopes to work in agtech or climatetech, came away with similar results. “I have spoken to a good number of alumni thus far, and the first thing they always tell me is “I’m so jealous, I wish I was back at INSEAD…They all recalled it as the best year of their lives and made a lot of significant friendships; I can only hope to say the same in a year!”

LEGISLATOR BRINGS HOME THE BACON

True to form, you’ll find the Class of 2025 boasting wildly divergent industry and functional experience. Before INSEAD, Garcia Gallego worked as a product manager in artificial intelligence. In this role, she developed an EU Taxonomy software tool for companies to track and report sustainable economic activities. Her classmate, Yasmin Rodrigues Hund, describes herself as a “Brazilian-German dealmaker with a passion for M&A, yoga and theater.” At Mercado Bitcoin, she helped establish the M&A function before moving into investor relations. At the same time, Emerald Yip, who has already visited 65 countries, led a 28-member team to re-organize the credit management process at Cathay Pacific Airways.

“I am particularly proud of this accomplishment as the credit management process was extremely complicated – there have been many attempts to fix the process over the years, but none was able to succeed given the complexity,” Yip explains. “We were eventually able to put in place a new automatic credit management and settlement system, bringing US$50M savings to the company. I was also awarded the Best Employee of the Year for leading the project.”

The public sector is represented by Mario Sosa Torres, whose constituents are found in Santa Domingo. Here, he has led an urban renewal project for a new urban center that features 40,000 new homes and carries a projected real estate value of $6.1 billion dollars.

“Despite being part of the opposition and a legislative minority, I successfully negotiated and secured unanimous legislative approval for this landmark urban planning legislation,” he tells P&Q. “Knowing that in the not-so-distant future, I will be able to comfortably walk through the new urban center of the largest and most developed city in the greater Caribbean region, and feel directly responsible for its creation. Thinking about its ten-meter-wide sidewalks, abundant public spaces, and dense tree coverings, gives me a great sense of pride and satisfaction.”

FROM BALLET TO JOURNALISM

Few would argue that Coralie Grand owns one of the most unique backgrounds at INSEAD. She spent nine years as a professional ballet dancer. This included performing for companies like the Royal Danish Ballet, the Finnish National Ballet, and the Stuttgart Ballet, traveling to lands as distant as China and Finland. Her biggest moment, she says, came in 2019 when she performed as a soloist for a choreographer she had deeply admired. It was a successful role – one that reflected her artistic vision and the support she’d received from teachers over the years.

“Although I appreciated my colleagues’ praise after the show, I was most proud because I knew I had performed to the best of my abilities and had given it my everything on stage,” reminisces Grand, who plans to transition to sustainability after graduation. “This experience taught me the importance of perseverance, the value of having a supportive network, and the joy of achieving a goal that once seemed out of reach. It reinforced my belief in the power of hard work and dedication, lessons that I carry with me as I transition into my next career chapter.”

Eli Zhang started his career out in journalism, eventually heading to NYU’s Tisch of the Arts to earn a Master’s in Interactive Media Art. Later, he headed up digital design and strategy for the Tampa Bay Times before moving on to the Ant Group in China. There, he made a name for himself by landing the Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a client, besting rivals like Microsoft. Initially brought on for his command of English, Zhang was soon leading the design and prototyping of the solution before tapping into his storytelling roots to close the deal.

“What made this accomplishment even more meaningful was the project’s potential for social impact,” Zhang adds. “The digital solution AIIB procured was an online platform designed to connect local governments across Asia with highly capable infrastructure development companies. By facilitating the construction of ports, roads, railways, and other essential infrastructure, this platform would ultimately help improve people’s everyday lives throughout the region.”

PHYSICIANS JOIN CLASS TO LEARN DIFFERENT PRACTICES

Jennifer Flanagan is an “ex intelligence analyst, ex-journalist” whose job credits include Booz Allen Hamilton and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She was also Employee #1 at RocaNews, a popular non-partisan news outlet geared to young people.

“Some of my favorite interviews I have done include an Irish stone lifter, the premier Bigfoot hunter in the US, a renowned tour guide of Chartres Cathedral, and Punxsutawney Phil (yes, the famous groundhog).”

Along with journalists, the class includes physicians like Paddy Liu. A graduate of Harvard and Yale, he most recently served as an internal medicine and pediatrics resident at three Boston-area hospitals. He joined the Class of 2025 in hopes of learning more about how healthcare systems are designed and funded in other countries to achieve maximum impact.

“I am particularly keen to learn from my professors’ and classmates’ global perspectives regarding how healthcare services are delivered, how mechanisms of quality improvement are used, and how technology can facilitate these processes.”

Liu is joined in the 2025 Class by Sophie Delaye, a general surgeon from the United Kingdom. Her goal during business school? Think bigger.

“As a doctor for nearly a decade, I have a deep understanding of the intricacies of patient care and the management of the UK NHS healthcare system. It is a narrow but very specialist point of view. I am eager to bring this viewpoint to my cohort and, more importantly, to learn from my peers’ diverse experiences. I am excited to integrate into a cohort with such a wealth of experience and use this opportunity to challenge both our own and our peers’ ideals and points of view.”

BEATING THE ODDS TO LAND A JOB AT “McKENZIE”

Thomas Bodin expected the transition to INSEAD to be easier for him than most. After all, he spent a decade in one of the world’s most diverse organizations: the French Army.

“I had the privilege of working with individuals from various cultures and backgrounds, both in France and overseas,” Bodin explains. “This diversity allowed us to break free from conventional patterns and develop innovative solutions. I am confident that the diverse environment at INSEAD will similarly enrich my learning experience, providing me with unique insights and broadening my understanding of global business practices. This exposure will not only enhance my problem-solving skills, but also prepare me to lead effectively in a multicultural business environment.”

How is this for a story? Seven years ago, Nattie Wattanapenpaiboon was an engineering student just looking for a job. As fate would have it, she ended up at a recruiting event for McKinsey – or “McKenzie” as she later called them in a note. Despite the faux pas, she became a McKinsey associate who was assigned an engagement that she calls a “suicide mission” involving a new client and team – not to mention a consumer product where she had no experience. Not surprisingly, Wattanapenpaiboon rose to the challenge.

“Personally, this milestone represents the culmination of my growth and learning over six years at McKinsey. Transitioning from a non-business background to delivering a new field within weeks, I feel as though I’ve “graduated” from the McKinsey generalist consultant “curriculum”. It’s empowering to have the confidence that I can “figure things out,” and I’m excited to leverage the skills I’ve gained to create an impact on my own terms.”

BONDING OVER TRAVEL AND BIKE RIDES

Daniel Yannik Awuah-Darko, a strategist from Ghana, frames INSEAD as a “microcosm of the world” – a place where you can experience every nation, culture, language, and profession in one place. Such an experience makes the memories all the more vivid and unforgettable. Nattie Wattanapenpaiboon looks back fondly on pre-MBA meet-ups in Bangkok, where she hosted future classmates from Spain and Singapore and shared insights on everything from life lessons to food. For Jennifer Flanagan, one of the best MBA moments also came as classes neared.

“One experience that stands out is a twenty-mile bike ride with around 25 of us attending summer language school in Fontainebleau (INSEAD has a three-language requirement) to a nearby town called Barbizon. The day was hot, and some had never biked before, let alone 20 miles through a forest on rocky and sandy trails. Despite the challenges, the experience was incredibly rewarding and brought us closer together. The day was not about who was the fastest or best biker, but the shared spirit of tackling something unfamiliar.”

That supportive spirit carries over to alumni, adds Yannik Awuah-Darko. “My best INSEAD story involves a McKinsey leader who’s an INSEAD MBA alum. After he learned I [was] going to INSEAD, we had a 1:1. He gave me a thorough hour-long overview of what to expect at INSEAD and how to make the most of it. One piece of advice was to write a letter to myself, outlining my goals for the program. I should revisit it once school begins and every month thereafter. He had even prepared extensive notes in advance.”

Page 2: Interview with Mark Stabile, INSEAD Dean of Degree Programmes and Dean of the Europe Campus

Page 3: Profiles of 12 members of the Class of 2025.