Tia Zhang

Columbia Business School

“Women’s health advocate, passionate mentor, and part-time entrepreneur.”

Hometown: Carlisle, MA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m the co-founder of an anime subscription box company!

Undergraduate School and Major: Georgetown University; Major: Healthcare Management and Policy

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Health Industries Risk Consulting Manager

What makes New York City such a great place to earn an MBA? One of the main draws of Columbia was New York City’s unparalleled access to professionals. No other school I considered offered such easy opportunities to learn from exceptional guest speakers and connect with alums over lunch.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Columbia Business School’s MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? CBS was uniquely suited to help me achieve my professional goals due to the strong healthcare program that offers multiple courses at the intersection of entrepreneurship and healthcare.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Columbia Business School? I’m especially excited about the course, Investing in Digital Health Startups. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the lifecycle of innovative health ventures, from early funding through growth, and I hope to build the skills to evaluate, support, and eventually join or potentially even launch my own women’s health startup.

What is your unique quality that will enable you to make a big contribution to the Class of 2026? Why? My unique quality is the ability to connect big-picture healthcare strategy with the operational realities of treating patients. Having advised pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies on product launches and compliance programs, I can translate complex operational issues to clear business strategies.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment from my consulting career was leading a project where I interviewed and engaged senior pharmaceutical leaders across Finance, IT, HR, Medical, and Commercial functions. By building trust and synthesizing their insights, I delivered recommendations that strengthened the company’s culture, streamlined operations, and improved risk mitigation efforts.

What do you hope to do after graduation? I hope to work in operations or strategy at an innovative women’s health company after graduation.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Columbia Business School’s MBA program? My advice is to dedicate time to reflecting on the moments that shaped your path and career goals. In my own application, I found it powerful to highlight small but meaningful experiences, like an interaction with a patient or a professional challenge that pushed me to grow and revealed something deeper about my purpose. Those reflections made my story more authentic. I’d also encourage applicants to really picture themselves as professionals in New York City and show how they’ll both give to and benefit from Columbia’s unique connection to the city.

DON’T MISS: MEET COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2027

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