Meet INSEAD’s MBA Class Of 2026

Looking back, it was the time of their lives. For INSEAD alumni, business school was a fresh start: new surroundings, new people, new experiences, and new ideas. Full of energy and purpose, they reflected on their lives, explored the possibilities, and tested their limits. Sometimes, they fell short – but those disappointments just laid the groundwork for their biggest successes. When graduation came, they left campus with the confidence, friendships, insight, and memories that would follow them for a lifetime.

More than growth, INSEAD symbolized transformation for alumni, a pivotal moment that revealed their mission as much as their makeup. That’s one reason why the MBA Class of 2026 found common cause with alumni when they met. During a trip to Colombia, for example, Julie Klein-Ipsen struck up a conversation with another traveler about her career plans. And a connection was quickly made after she disclosed her intention to join INSEAD.

“His face immediately lit up as his mother was an alum” Klein-Ipsen tells P&Q. “What followed was not just a networking anecdote, but a testament to INSEAD’s lasting impact. He shared how her experience had reshaped their family’s trajectory, from dinner-table stories of global classmates to the confidence it gave her as a leader. Years later, it inspired him to pursue an MBA as well.”

A ‘SHARED MINDSET’

Game knows game too. Just ask Marina Kuzmanovic. At an off-campus workout class, she struck up a conversation with another woman. When INSEAD came up, the tenor completely shifted.

“You give off the INSEAD vibe, I’m an alumna myself,” the woman told Kuzmanovic. “It was a small interaction,” Kuzmanovic continues, “but it captured something special for me: a shared mindset that connects the community and is recognizable even beyond the school itself.”

These experiences were hardly outliers among alumni, who number over 70,000 strong across nearly 200 countries. Erwing Roussel Wandja Tchamba, a 26J like Klein-Ipsen and Kuzmanovic, notes that every INSEAD alum he has met describes the program as “life-changing. When Josie Davis has interacted with alumni, she hears phrases like “The best year of my life” and “I wish I could go back.” More than anything, Davis has been struck by how friendships forged at INSEAD only grow deeper, even a decade after graduation.

“The impression I have is that the INSEAD alumni are one of the closest-knit group of people out there, both in terms of friendships and professional connections.”

A VERY RARE OPPORTUNITY

Those relationships have already been forming over the past year. Vivian Tan learned just how small the world could be during a trip to Singapore. After Tan bumped into another member of the 26J class, they clicked over Korean fried chicken and cold noodles. For others, says Amani Fancy, classmates bonded months in advance, such as a UK dinner and drinks event organized through a WhatsApp group. One classmate – a palm reader when he wasn’t hawking software – even made predictions about Fancy’s future.

“The pre-MBA months were so fun and proactive – I loved this,” she tells P&Q. “At the event, we did not talk about work once, at least not in the stereotypical, ‘This is my role and this is what I do’ way. Rather, we talked about what inspires us, our vision, how excited we were to visit the Asia Campus, travel plans, family, partners, and more.”

Thus far, says Vivian Tan, what has made INSEAD so special is the people. Instead of textbooks, the best learning has come from the conversations – and the willingness to step away from the comfortable and embrace risk. Her classmate, Raymond Chan, echoes these sentiments.

“Very rarely in life do you have the chance to sit across from someone who has scaled a startup in Nairobi, navigated political risk in Latin America, or led a team in the French military – all in the same classroom. At INSEAD, the education doesn’t just happen in classrooms. It happens over coffees, in group projects, late-night debates, and on walks through Fontainebleau or Singapore. That’s what makes this experience truly life-changing. It is not just the learning but the people you learn with.”

A MAN WHO CAN DO ANYTHING

An Australian, Chan describes himself as a doctor, dreamer, history nerd, and red wine aficionado. On top of that, he is an entrepreneur who once started a test prep venture during medical school.

“I thought I’d change the world,” he jokes. “I mostly changed printer ink and answered emails from stressed-out uni students at 1 a.m. Still totally worth it.”

While Chan’s startup didn’t disrupt the status quo, his efforts made a difference when they mattered most.

“My biggest accomplishment was leading the emergency department in a rural Australian hospital during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a shortage of doctors across rural areas, I often served as the most senior clinician on overnight shifts. I was responsible for managing critically ill patients and life-saving interventions while guiding a team of junior doctors and international nurses new to the Australian system. Despite the pressure and limited support, I learned to stay calm, make clear decisions, and lead by example.”

DEFINING CLASS CHARACTERISTIC: LEADERSHIP

Before enrolling at INSEAD, Sarah Beth Rupp served as a U.S. Navy Officer and Aviator, who’d flown helicopters in 15 countries. At the same time, Amani Fancy has followed two very different career paths. On the business side, she has been involved in hiring for a venture whose revenue grew from $100K to $1-million in under a year. Before that, she was a professional ice skater who won Dancing on Ice in both the United Kingdom and Germany. She was a groundbreaker in her home country too.

“In my skating career, [my biggest accomplishment] would be becoming the first Omani woman to skate at the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman (my home town). This was an incredible feat given the cultural norms and it helped redefine the possibilities for the next generation of the Middle East!”

One word that describes the 26J cohort: Leadership. Erwing Roussel Wandja Tchamba oversaw the repositioning strategy for a $35-billion Moroccan public financial institution. Tami Chitashvili also made her name in finance. At the Bank of Georgia, she led a team that turned a “basic” chatbot into a solution that could handle 50 different services for clients. Even more, it could anticipate potential questions and needs so it could offer recommendations without prompts.

“What made this especially meaningful was when our AI assistant won a Global Finance Award this year,” Chitashvili adds. “It was an incredible honor and validation of all the hard work we put into making something that genuinely helps people.”

THE ONLY WOMAN … ON A RIG … IN THE TREACHEROUS NORTH SEA

Working for Toshiba, Anthony Ivan Geronimo spearheaded a history-making project. His team developed a battery-powered storage system for Bangladesh’s first electric railway. Working in Africa for the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Raj Sachdev developed a case that would fund a program to protect vulnerable vaccine supply chains from climate disruptions. As a mission leader for Taiwan’s Doctors Without Borders arm, Ya Chun Wang organized its first media visit to South Sudan, one of the world’s most impoverished and violence-torn nations.

“Despite meticulous preparation, working in a media-censored and unpredictable environment brought constant challenges—flight cancellations due to floods, sudden revocation of media authorizations, and shifting security considerations,” Wang tells P&Q. “The mission’s goal was to spotlight South Sudan’s pressing medical humanitarian needs through a one-hour documentary. In the end, the project came to life—an achievement made possible only through the collective effort of an extraordinary team, both in the field and behind the scenes.”

In 2023, Vivian Tan accepted an assignment across the world in the United Kingdom. Here, she served as a drilling engineer in the North Sea, known for its intense storms and unpredictable waves. Not only was she responsible for a $110-million operation and a 120-member team, but she was also the only woman on the rig.

“Working on offshore rigs, surrounded by towering waves and seasoned professionals with decades of experience, I felt the weight of representation, even though often times self-imposed. But over time, I found my voice, proving my capabilities and balancing technical knowledge with leadership. Each time I packed my offshore gear, I felt a mix of reluctance and resolve. Yet, once back on the rig, I found my rhythm again, surrounded by my offshore family. I felt alive during high-stakes operations, especially when successfully overcoming technical challenges without harm to people, asset, and the environment.”

BRINGING THE INSEAD MODEL TO THE JOB

Now, Tan is hoping to make a triple jump with industry, function, and location. As a program known for catering to students looking to shift gears, INSEAD has been the perfect place for Tan to try new things and “refine my interests.”

“The program offers global exposure, flexible curriculum, and career support that will make that successful transition. On top of that, I will continue what I have been doing the last couple of years outside of work, exploring our beautiful planet we call home, above and below water. The first stop after graduation: A safari in Africa to see the Big 5!”

Throughout high school and college, Marina Kuzmanovic competed in cheerleading before moving in strategy consulting. Her post-graduation goal, she says, is implementing the INSEAD model wherever she lands.

“I hope to return to the business world better equipped to contribute nuanced perspectives: challenging assumptions, identifying blind spots, and enriching discussions by drawing on diverse cultural and professional viewpoints. Beyond applying what I’ve learned, I want to carry the INSEAD mindset into my workplace by broadening perspectives, encouraging ambition, and fostering an environment where people challenge one another while enjoying the journey together. I aim to help cultivate a culture that combines high standards with curiosity, collaboration, and a genuine sense of fun – because remember, there is always a reason to smile!”

‘FITTING IN IS NOT A STRENGTH’

Thus far, Kuzmanovic has experienced how INSEAD’s diversity has deepened her learning experience. “Every discussion brings together different cultural backgrounds as well as professional perspectives across industries, roles, and functions. This ranges from consulting and supply chain to venture capital and even the U.S. Navy. I’m learning from and with my fellow MBA students by experiencing firsthand how these differences influence teamwork, ideation, and problem-solving.”

‘Everyone is a minority’ is a popular maxim at INSEAD. By that, it means that there is a 15% cap on every nationality in a cohort, says Amani Fancy. As a result, there is no dominant perspective, freeing students to weigh a range of ideas on their merits without any pressure.

“Your peer group is where you learn a good percentage of your skills,” Fancy observes. “At other MBA programs, I’d definitely be able to upskill in finance, but here, due to the international nature of INSEAD, I’ll be able to turn to my left and learn about the typical financial makeup of Russian businesses, the stock market in India, the economy in Columbia and the influence of tech on finance in America. [This] allow(s) me not only to learn a skill but connect the dots across cultures and countries. This is invaluable… My goal is to become a global leader, undertaking business across borders. Where better to learn this than The Business School for the World?”

Nami Nguyen, another 26J student, frames this dynamic a different way. For her, INSEAD is a place where students will gain the most by being themselves instead of trying to fit the latest leadership fad.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do” assumes that success comes from adapting to a dominant norm. But at INSEAD, there is no single “Roman” to imitate. The classroom works precisely because no one is expected to sound, think, or lead the same way. That’s being said, at INSEAD, fitting in is not a strength, it’s a missed opportunity. Leadership here isn’t about adopting a single style, but about understanding your own way or leading, knowing when to step up and when to step back, respecting how others lead differently, and allowing those differences to coexist.”

Page 2: An Interview with Mark Stabile, Dean of Degree Programmes and Dean of the Europe Campus

Page 3: In-Depth Profiles of 12 Members of the MBA Class of 2026

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