Emily Corrigan

London Business School

“Personally and professionally, I am a person who seeks and does hard things.”

Hometown: Sisters, Oregon

Fun Fact About Yourself: I learned to play the balafon, a West African percussion instrument, while studying abroad in Cameroon, then built one with my instructor to bring home.

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University; BA in History with Language Citation in French

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Process Gurus, Co-Founder

What makes London such a great place to earn an MBA degree? For my own career and life trajectory, I’m drawn to London’s diversity, startup ecosystem, and professional networks such as the London Africa Network. It’s an excellent place to engage with external partners – leading companies, universities, community networks, and creative spaces – alongside all that LBS has to offer. It enables us to foster wider connections and translate the personal and career development found in our program outward into our communities from day one.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of London Business School’s MBA curriculum and programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The LBS MBA is unique in two areas: 1) The support it offers to understand global solutions to emerging market challenges; and 2) The opportunities and mentorship networks it has aligned towards impact. These include from the Entrepreneur Mentors in Residence program; immersive Global Experience courses such as Strategy and Innovation in Complex Environments; and the Student Impact Investment Club and electives in Growing Social Enterprises. It was clear to me that the MBA program would provide many angles from which to broaden my understanding of impact, particularly in operating, investing, and policy making lenses, with the support to explore innovative approaches to each.

London Business School is one of the most culturally and professionally diverse MBA programs in the world. What will make you unique in this class and how will it enrich the experience of your classmates? I had never worked at a for-profit company by the time I co-founded one. I have been committed to finding practical strategies and tools to succeed in early-stage contexts, especially technology-driven ones, ever since. As a founder and executive of impact-driven companies in Kenya and South Africa, I have navigated significant operational and strategic challenges and constrained access to capital. In addition, I have faced the pressure of being the last line of accountability in uncertain and rapidly-changing startup environments. I will bring practical global insights and hard-won lessons learned while building early-stage companies in emerging markets to the classroom and student life.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at London Business School? I am most excited about LBS’s Global Experience courses, which offer immersive, experiential learning on topics such as Strategy and Innovation in Complex Environments in Accra and Social Innovation and Impact in Medellin. I’m excited to learn about practical global solutions to emerging market challenges in particular, and want to gain a network of proven builders and investors employing innovative approaches to impact.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment so far has been building a profitable business that helps small and midsize businesses streamline their processes, automate manual tasks, and get clearer visibility into their operations data. At Process Gurus, we build affordable custom operations software that has helped clients create measurable improvements in their businesses.

Tell us your favorite memory: I once hiked 1,200km over two months on the Pacific Crest Trail with my best friend to raise money for the Black Trans Fund, which funds grants for Black trans-led organizations. My favorite memory is completing our first 50km day and then spending the following day as a rest day, eating pastries at a delicious bakery in a small town in Washington state that’s only accessible on foot or by seaplane.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into London Business School’s MBA program? I would advise applicants to focus not only on their academic and professional achievements, but also to demonstrate who they are authentically as a leader and a person, and how they intend to translate this outward into their LBS community, their organization, and beyond.

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