Dorly Bouguignon

Columbia Business School

“Young hearted with a forever curious mind.”

Hometown: Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Fun fact about yourself: I’m incredibly good at math, unless you had a dollar sign in front of it (which is why I came to business school).

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Delaware, Mechanical Engineering

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Langhe Greenhaus, Head of Operations

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? Raise Landscaping Group, Miami, Florida

Where will you be working after graduation? Looking to get into small businesses!

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• External Cluster Representative
• Co-President, Alleycon (CBS’ premier tech, venture, and startup conference)
• Co-President, CBS Football Club
• VP of Events, Black Business Student Association
• VP of Events, Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Leading Alleycon this year with my co-president was one of the most rewarding experiences of business school. We created a truly unique experience for CBS students interested in technology and had the incredible opportunity to host Barbara Corcoran as one of our keynote speakers.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I’ve worked in product development for a few years and love launching products. One highlight was helping launch The Meeting Room, a modular conference room solution designed for flexibility, quick installation, and seamless integration into modern workspaces. Working with an amazing team to bring a widely used product to life remains a career high point

Why did you choose this business school? I wanted to refine my skills in finance. Coming from engineering-adjacent roles, I realized how little I understood about an industry that influences so many aspects of our lives. Columbia offered the perfect environment to dive deep and close that gap.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Medini Singh. Professor Singh embodied everything I hoped for in a business school professor. He challenged my thinking and pushed me to go deeper on every problem I tackled.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Operations Strategy with Professor Singh. It challenged me from multiple perspectives, and somehow managed to be rigorous and incredibly entertaining at the same time.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? CBS Matters. It’s a tradition where students present on any topic they want — usually their life story. It’s an incredible way to gain perspective and dive deeper into classmates’ journeys to Columbia.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Explore more, earlier. I did my fair share of exploration at CBS, but looking back, I think I could’ve learned even more by attending more events and engaging with more classmates early on. No regrets, but that’s one thing I’d tweak.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? What’s not to love about New York City?

What movie or television show best reflects the realities of business and what did you learn from it? The Founder! It’s a powerful reflection of the tension between vision, execution, and ethics in business. I learned that having a great product or idea is just one part of the equation. The ability to scale, operationalize, and protect your vision is just as critical. It also reinforced the importance of building with integrity, especially when partnerships and legacy are on the line.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? Doing research! AI can scrape tons of sites at once and provide amazing reading material to properly understand a topic. Which is a great jumping point for additional research.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Alexis Chestnov, my co-president at Alleycon. I’ve never seen someone so effective, so driven, and such a natural leader. She has this rare ability to operate at both a strategic and tactical level, pushing big-picture vision forward while still managing every detail with care. Alexis brings people together with warmth and clarity, making even the most complex challenges feel solvable. Whether it was navigating last-minute speaker changes or leading high-stakes sponsor conversations, she consistently showed up with poise and purpose. I’ve learned so much from working alongside her, about leadership, communication, and how to execute with excellence.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. Buy and operate a small business — I want to build something meaningful, create jobs, and grow a company with care.
2. Mentor five people who look like me to do the same — helping others chart that path is just as important as walking it myself.

What made Dorly such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“Dorly Bouguignon has been a cornerstone of the Columbia Business School Class of 2025, embodying what it means to be a dynamic, empathetic, and visionary leader. With an impressive range of involvement—including Co-President of both AlleyCon and the Football Club, VP of Events and Partnerships for the Black Business Student Association (BBSA), VP of Events for Columbia Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (CETA), and Peer Advisor—Dorly has left an indelible mark on CBS. His leadership of AlleyCon, in particular, was nothing short of transformative. Taking the reins during a challenging transition, Dorly restructured the organization with a long-term vision: implementing streamlined workflows, establishing its first Alumni Board, securing high-profile speakers like Barbara Corcoran, and laying a strong financial foundation for future classes.

What makes Dorly truly exceptional is not just the scale of his contributions but the way he leads—with empathy, integrity, and genuine care for the CBS community. Whether spearheading impactful Black History Month programming, energizing professional clubs, or mentoring peers as a PA, Dorly consistently builds meaningful connections and uplifts those around him. He is deeply respected by students, faculty, and administrators alike for his thoughtfulness, adaptability, and humility. Dorly’s legacy is one of resilience, service, and leadership that empowers others, and CBS is undoubtedly stronger for his presence.”

Samantha Shapses, Ed.D.
Senior Associate Dean and Dean of Student Affairs 
Columbia Business School

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2025

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