Meet London Business School’s MBA Class Of 2027

Go to LinkedIn and scan an incoming class’s profiles. Bullet-by-bullet, these students leave an unforgettable impression: products launched, markets opened, and systems fixed. Thing is, these are just their results. What they bring is far deeper.

Think skills, habits, and mentalities – ones that guide each individual’s track record. These intangibles are exactly what makes the London Business School so distinct. Every school teaches the same fundamentals. As LBS alumni attest, the real learning comes from being exposed to classmates. Every day, these MBAs witness how hundreds of high potentials tackle problems, manage priorities, and build relationships. Forget traveling the globe or bouncing between industries to learn the best practices. LBS students can just head to Sussex Place…and absorb.

THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS

In the Class of 2027, you’ll find 514 success stories – and 514 different gifts behind them. Freya Twigden describes her differentiating talent as a “founder’s lens” – one fortified by experiences ranging from raising capital to negotiating with major retailers. Her classmate, Patrick Arbuthnott, sharpened similar skills by launching a startup in India and business units in Mongolia and Trinidad and Tobago. These experiences, he contends, provide his classmates with a more global and realistic view of entrepreneurship.

“Each experience required me to understand local markets, adapt value propositions in real time, and navigate logistical complexities far from home. Building in such varied contexts taught me to operate with resourcefulness and speed, often making decisions with limited data and shifting priorities. It trained me to stay nimble, rapidly iterate, and maintain the resilience necessary for high growth startup environments.”

That mix of entrepreneurial can-do and global wayfinding defines Emily Corrigan. A Harvard History major, Corrigan had no experience in the for-profit sector before starting tech companies in Kenya and South Africa. These roles, she says, taught her how to work in spaces with limited resources and uncertainty. In contrast, Emma Hutchinson has spent her career in the public and non-profit sectors, most recently working in the White House as the Deputy Director for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. At LBS, Hutchinson intends to be the conscience of her class.

“I deeply believe that global businesses have not only the ability, but the responsibility, to lead the development and implementation of clean energy solutions globally. I will be that student in the LBS classroom who constantly brings up climate risk and asks what more a particular company could do to make its operations more sustainable – and I hope to inspire my fellow classmates to do the same.”

PERFECTING A CRAFT

Looking for versatility in the Class of 2027? Meet Satya Sagar. In class, he can pull his experiences as a consultant, founder, and venture capitalist – in regions as different as India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Alex Hitchens’s experiences are centered around China. At LBS, he views himself as a bridge between East and West, filling in the “gaps” that hinder understanding and cooperation.

“I began as a linguist and academic, publishing research on China, political philosophy, and epistemology,” Hitchens tells P&Q. “I then transitioned into strategy and business analysis at a global technology consulting firm, while also serving as a Governor of a leading UK secondary school. These experiences have trained me to think across disciplines and industries, draw insights from unexpected sources, and approach problems from different perspectives. I hope this ability to integrate various viewpoints will contribute to richer discussions and more creative collaboration.”

Alessandro Piglione holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. An executive with AP Racing before starting business school, he considers himself a different kind of bridge – between science and business. On the surface, you could describe Denira Coleman as a bridge between the arts and business. After all, she spent a decade in opera before moving into digital strategy and launching an agency. Her true value, however, involves personifying what made her a force who performed among some of opera’s top companies.

“[Opera] teaches you more than you would expect: diligence to the point of near perfection in your craft, time and project management, leadership and teamwork skills, and a consultative, empathetic communication style that few other professions provide.”

A FOOT ACROSS THREE WORLDS

Spend time around Grant Soll and his openness to risk is bound to rub off. After all, this is someone who has rowed across the Atlantic Ocean and biked across the Andes Mountains. For him, discomfort produces growth. And that was a mentality also embraced by Abraham Tesfu Firdie, who started a private equity firm in a troubled nation where there was “no playbook” for growing this kind of venture.

“Doing business in Ethiopia means navigating volatility, bureaucracy, ethnic tensions, and weak institutions—all while trying to build companies that matter,” he writes. “You need to embrace Murphy’s Law as dogma—everything that can go wrong will go wrong, and then some. I’ve had to be creative, adaptive, and resilient, learning lessons no textbook could teach – and it has profoundly shaped my perspective. I hope to offer a grounded view of emerging markets and share stories that challenge conventional wisdom.”

Jasmine Sanghera grew up in a traditional Indian household in the United States. Returning to the United Kingdom five years ago, Sanghera believes her exposure to three distinct worlds makes her someone who can seamlessly connect with others.

“I carry the hard-working, immigrant mindset instilled by my parents, pair it with a can-do American optimism, and round it out with a touch of British wit and dry humour. I look forward to sharing these experiences with my peers, enriching classroom discussions, and fostering curiosity and adaptability as we learn from each other.”

STARTING AN IN-SEASON NBA TOURNAMENT

The Class of 2027’s success may be rooted in their ability to build, adapt, and connect, but what exactly have they accomplished so far? When Tristen Newman was studying Chemical Engineering at Stanford, he probably didn’t expect that he’d pivot into consulting…or lead the NBA’s global event strategy. In the latter, he delivered one of the NBA’s biggest innovations: Emirates NBA Cup, the league’s in-season tournament.

“I led the execution of the neutral-site Semifinals and Championship in Las Vegas,” Newman tells P&Q, “bringing to life a brand-new tentpole property for one of the world’s most prominent sports leagues. It was one of the most challenging endeavors of my career, but also the most rewarding. By the end of the inaugural tournament, I had negotiated contracts with marquee brands, led a cross-functional team of over 50 staff, developed a ticketing strategy that generated millions in revenue, and more. All of which helped lay the foundation for a new tradition in professional basketball.”

How do you know that your fermented tea drink is a success? It gets named the official Kombucha of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. That was one of the major achievements of Freya Twigden’s FIX8 Kombucha, a venture inspired by her exploration of traditional Chinese medicine. Equally important, her product was featured at the Wholefoods Market window display on High Street Kensington to celebrate International Women’s Day in 2024.

“We partnered with ‘Buy Women Built’ and together with other amazing female-founded brands, branded the huge windows with our founder profiles and products. It was an amazing recognition of female-founded brands in Wholefoods Market and received great UK media coverage from the BBC and The Times in recognition of female founded brands.”

MAKING THE CASE FOR CLIMATE ACTION

While Denira Coleman may be remembered for her performances in Barcelona’s Gran Teatro del Liceu and Berlin’s Theater im Delphi, her greatest impact may come from her support of other artists. That includes her venture, DSC For Artists, a digital marketing and branding agency for young musicians and artists to increase their commercial opportunities.

“A standout milestone was signing my first client, who soon after became represented by one of the most prestigious agents in the country,” Coleman explains. “The agent shared that it was the strength and professionalism of her digital presence, developed by my company, that directly influenced their decision to take her on. This affirmed that the work I’m doing holds an important space in the arts.”

Emma Hutchinson spent nearly four years in the Joe Biden Administration, starting out as a speechwriter for U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and communications director for Senior Advisor John Podesta. In 2024, she moved into the Executive Office of the President, where she served as Deputy Director for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation.

“One of the biggest highlights during my time at the White House was helping with communications and content for President Biden’s announcement of the 2024 National Climate Assessment, which collated the latest research about how climate change is affecting every region of the U.S. It was very important for President Biden to use that moment to show his personal passion for the issue and emphasize urgency for climate action, and I was very proud to be a part of the preparations.”\

COLORFUL LIVES

Hutchinson will find common cause with Grant Soll. A former Kearney consultant, Soll was part of an engagement team that helped a South African energy company develop a strategic response to the nation’s energy crisis. In another consulting engagement, Olanike Salau connected 120 remote Nigerian villages using solar-powered telecom towers. In the process, she helped bring telecom and internet to people who had previous lacked access to these necessities. Speaking of scientific advances, Alessandro Piglione achieved a breakthough as a project manager at AP Racing.

“I successfully led the development and delivery of the braking system for the latest hypercar of a world-leading sports car brand – an innovative system generating the highest braking torque in its segment to date. It was a technically complex, high-stakes project where I led a cross-functional team of over 25 members, managed daily communication with the customer, and delivered to specification within an incredibly tight timeline.”

Alas, innovating automotive braking systems won’t make you a household name. That’s probably fine with Piglione, who was once a cast member in Let’s Go, Man-Soo-Ro, a South Korean TV show. Patrick Arbuthnott played bagpipes for Pope Benedict XVI during a state visit, while Denira Coleman sang at a concert attended by Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa. Not only does Emily Corrigan play the balafon, a percussion instrument, but she can build one too! And bringing Satya Sagar to Regents Park is a two-for-one deal. His wife, Kavya, is also part of the MBA program!

And business school is just the latest of the Class of 2027’s adventures. Emma Hutchinson has scuba-dived in the Great Barrier Reef at dawn. To raise money for Black trans-led organizations, Emily Corrigan hiked over 1,200 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail. To celebrate his birthday – and acceptance into LBS – Abraham Tesfu Firdie summitted Ethiopia’s tallest mountain, Ras Dashen. After graduating from university, Grant Soll joined three friends in an unforgettable sailing journey as Team MAD4Waves.

“[We] rowed unassisted 5,500km across the Atlantic Ocean, from La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands, to the Caribbean, in a 9m rowing vessel. We rowed two-hours on, two-hours off, non-stop, day-and- night, for 39 days, 8 hours and 43 minutes. After many hard weeks of rowing, high seas and lack of sleep, we arrived in Antigua to the sight of our families, the sound of super-yacht horns and the feeling of accomplishing something truly special together.”

Next Page: An interview with MBA Director Oliver Ashby

Page 3: Profiles of 13 members of the Class of 2027

© 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.