Loretta Abdul-Ghani

Kelley School of Business at Indiana University

“Exhorter, visionary, intentional, ambitious, advocate, purpose-driven, insightful, mentor, resilient, strategic, kind-hearted, magnetic, storyteller, humble.”

Hometown: South Bend, Indiana

Fun fact about yourself: When I was 24 years old, I gave a TEDxTalk to 43 countries titled Gifted: Encouraging a Journey to Your Purpose.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing, Purdue University.

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Associate Director of Market Research in Hematology at Eli Lilly

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? Colgate-Palmolive in New York.

Where will you be working after graduation? Associate Director at Eli Lilly

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Black MBA Association – VP of External Affairs
• GLOBASE Argentina Team Leader
• Alumni Relationships Consortium Liaison
• Leadership Academy Coach/Mentor

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of spearheading an Industry Showcase intended to equip MBA students who are pivoting their careers and exploring new industries. The objective was to ensure students were well-informed on how to approach recruiting in these industries. This was a new event that leveraged the experience of second year MBA students, as well as Kelley alumni.

The first portion was a networking reception led by second year students while the bulk of the event was speed dating sessions with alumni speaking to industry dynamics. A good number of MBAs have robust experience prior to MBA, so this allows second year students to demonstrate that experience and make a connection with our peers. This also stimulated a broader network between alumni and students to be exposed to the talent in Kelley and opportunities that exist.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? My most significant career accomplishment was leading a six-month social impact initiative within Lilly’s Oncology Business Unit during the global epidemic. As chair, I united 200 employees through small group discussions focused on social injustice, allyship, and workplace inclusivity.

Partnering with a core team, we trained moderators and designed content addressing cultural gaps, ensuring diverse representation in 22 moderated groups. These sessions fostered genuine connections, psychological safety, and personal growth. Colleagues shared their testimonies on their growth and changes they were making in and outside the workplace.

Awareness of this initiative drew in interviews, publications, and requests to train other ambassadors and deliver these workshops to other teams across the organization due to the traction and unity they brought. The organization was taking action on mitigating workplace adversity and creating psychological safety.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose Kelley for its personalized approach to leadership development and the strong sense of belonging I felt from the start. Kelley doesn’t produce cookie-cutter professionals, but instead cultivates authentic leaders grounded in their unique strengths.

The journey begins with ME Inc., a program designed to help students understand key aspects of their working style through personality tests like Keirsey. I learned that I am an Idealist. Idealists make up little more than 3-4% of the total population. Yet their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

This is consistent to patterns I have observed in my life. These included spearheading multiple women’s organizations, creating platforms for student/employee/customer grievances, and delivering motivational speeches, all of which empowered people. From there, each student is paired with a coach who provides tailored guidance. I received a coach who was able to pull in my experiences, strengths, and desires into articulating what I want in the next step of my career.

Next, academies offer deep dives into chosen functional areas, allowing for specialized learning. Finally, countless leadership opportunities enable students to put their skills into practice, fostering real-world growth and confidence.

One of the many opportunities I took advantage of was GLOBASE, when I consulted with start-up companies in Argentina as a team leader. This role is preparing me for future people development roles revealing areas where I thrive and exercising having ‘the tough conversation’ to build team performance and culture.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Brian Miller, our accounting professor, is my favorite teacher. He has a remarkable ability to break down complex concepts into digestible lessons, making learning both accessible and engaging. His patience and humility create a welcoming environment where students feel supported. Beyond his expertise, he is deeply present with his students, fostering a safe and inclusive space. His awareness extends beyond the classroom, ensuring that students not only grasp the curriculum, but also feel represented and valued in their learning experience.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Academy Fridays within the Consumer Marketing Academy were my favorite part of the core experience. I have a deep passion for insight-based decision-making in marketing, which revolves around the consumer. One of my primary reasons for pursuing an MBA were to learn how to create top-tier customer experiences beyond my traditional exposure. These academy sessions allowed us to dive into key marketing concepts and put them to practice.

One of my favorite sessions involved rapid-fire case exercises led by Kelley alumni from companies such as P&G, Abbott, and Scotts. In each session, we tackled real-world cases, received immediate feedback, and learned how to align our approach with industry expectations. This hands-on experience was invaluable in preparing for interviews and internships. This prepared me for Kelley Interview Day, where alumni interview students and give feedback on whether they would hire you or not and why. One of my interviews was with P&G and I was ‘hired’ with constructive feedback on how I can continue to take my evaluation from good to great.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? One of myfavorite events is the Top Chef competition, a spin-off of the famous show that gives students the opportunity to showcase their home cuisines at Kelley. This fun competition not only brings out creativity in cooking, but also provides a taste of the diverse cultural traditions within our community.

From Indian and Middle Eastern to African cuisine, the event is a celebration of flavors that fosters connection and appreciation for the rich backgrounds of our peers. One of my favorite tastings this year was a Pani Puri, a North Indian dish. It is a hollow, crispy puris filled with a spicy and tangy green water (pani), mashed potatoes, chickpeas, and tamarind chutney that gives your tongue quite the burst of flavors. It is refreshing to see my classmates lighten up, given the opportunity to share their favorite meals with us.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? There are many MBAA events that take place during the school year. If I were to do anything differently, I would take more initiative to attend more events due to the connection you make with peers and exposure to so many different cultures.

What is the biggest myth about your school? While the Kelley MBA Full-Time +Flex program is ranked 20^th (by U.S. News), I believe this ranking doesn’t fully reflect the exceptional education and experiences it offers, particularly in marketing, consulting, and supply chain management. At Kelley, you gain hands-on experience through a combination of classroom learning, company site visits, interactive exercises, and real-world consulting opportunities. Additionally, the alumni network is vast and highly engaged, providing valuable support and connections for students throughout recruiting, internships, and full-time opportunities.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Bloomington is peaceful. Considering the high-tense environment you’re operating in and uprooting your life to move to Bloomington, it is quite beautiful in the warm seasons and peaceful. Consider it the perfect time to become in-tune with yourself.

What movie or television show best reflects the realities of business and what did you learn from it? Shark Tank immediately comes to mind due to the parallels with both internal and external case competitions, as well as the core competencies developed during the CORE program. When crafting a strategy or recommendation, it’s essential to have a deep understanding of your financials, market landscape, target audience, and how you plan to capture market share. Additionally, risk mitigation plays a crucial role in pitching any idea, as anticipating potential challenges and preparing solutions is key to securing buy-in and success. Lastly, there is storytelling. You can be equipped with substantial data points but if you’re not able to deliver a compelling story with those data points, you lose rapport with your audience.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? During our business communication class, our professor introduced us to Yoodli, an AI-powered speech analysis tool. After uploading our speeches, Yoodli provided detailed feedback on multiple aspects of our delivery. It analyzed key points of the speech, conciseness of excessive use of words, and potential follow-up questions from the speech. It also evaluates word choice by highlighting filler words, weak words, and words used as sentence starters.

Additionally, it assessed delivery by evaluating speech pace per minute, pauses, eye contact, and your physical positioning to the audience. I love public speaking and Yoodli has significantly improved my word choice and speaking pace, making my delivery more polished and invoking greater confidence.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Kiera Jefferson is the classmate I admire most because she is full of surprises. On the surface, she appears as a young, unapologetic, lively military woman, but beneath that exterior lies someone who is fiercely loyal, accountable, and decisive. She is the kind of person who gets things done. Kiera shows up to nearly every event, always supporting her classmates, and her fun personality draws people to her, sometimes to share the most sentimental situations.

What truly sets her apart is her ability to embrace less-than-ideal situations with a lighthearted and determined mindset. Where others might feel defeated or lose confidence, she uses challenges as fuel, finding joy in whatever life throws her way. She is not one to seek recognition for fulfilling her duties. She simply does what is right and faces life’s curveballs with resilience, always ready for the next round. We all are imperfect beings and the depth of who Kiera is may go unnoticed, but I see her and admire the strength of her discipline, perseverance, and ability to make the hard decision.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? The top two items on my professional bucket list are to become the “IDEAL” leader that people want to work with, because I have created an environment that people can lean into their weaknesses (because I have set an example of doing so myself) and making a difference in the environment around me.

Secondly, I would like to continue creating space. Spaces where people can bring their grievances, where people can grow, where people feel safe, where creativity can flourish and ignite forward-thinking initiatives.

What made Loretta Abdul-Ghani such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“I have spent a lot of time with Loretta in both the Core MBA course that I teach and also in our GLOBASE Argentina Program (Global Business and Social Enterprise), where we perform free consulting projects for small businesses and NGO’s around the world. I have also gotten to know Loretta through my administrative role in the MBA program, where she plays an active role in recruiting.

Loretta has all the normal signs of success of a top student at any MBA program. In particular, she has demonstrated leadership in many ways, achieved success in case competitions, and even attained a great post-graduation position at an excellent company – Eli Lilly. However, what makes Loretta stand out from an amazing cohort of students is that she is always looking for ways to make the world a better place. I have seen evidence of that in her personal life, at work, through her influence in the MBA program, and in the GLOBASE program where she gave back to multiple small business in Argentina.

If I had two words to describe Loretta it would be “others-focused.”  Everything that Loretta does in life seems to focus on building up others. Through my time interacting with her it is clear that in her leadership roles she is always focused on how she could better empower the people that she is leading. In her leadership role in her Global accounting projects, she is always looking for ways to build a better team and at the same time have a positive impact on her clients. In particular, she has mentioned to me that she is always continuing to find better ways “to develop team culture and create collaboration.” Finally, she is pouring back into others by serving as a Kelley Liaison, where she is creating alumni connections with students and ensuring the students are gaining what they need on campus.

I am convinced that Loretta will be successful in whatever she does, but I am most encouraged to see her passion for issues that that extend beyond what we normal success factors to impact the lives of other people.

In sum, while her contributions to so many projects, her obvious leadership skills, and work with enterprise projects, I highly recommend Loretta for Poets and Quants MBAs to Watch because of the unparallel impact she has on others.”

Dr. Brian P. Miller
Sam Frumer Professor
Associate Chair of MBA Program
Kelley School of Business
Indiana University

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

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.