Lara Kornblut

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

“Human-centered strategist blending wellness, systems thinking, and curiosity to build stronger communities and companies.”

Hometown: Mclean, Virginia

Fun fact about yourself: I am a Russian-American dual citizen and spent most of my childhood summers at a Dacha on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia

Undergraduate School and Degree: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

B.S. Business Information Technology, Concentration in Operations and Supply Chain Management

B.S. Marketing Management, Concentration in Digital Marketing Strategy

Minors in International Business and Visual Arts

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Solution Design Engineer, CEVA Logistics

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Kenvue, New Jersey

Where will you be working after graduation? Brand Management at Kenvue

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:
Vice President of Community and Wellness, Student Government

Vice President of Finance, Marketing Club

Vice President of Conference, Graduate Women in Business Club

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? The achievement I’m most proud of during business school has been launching Mindful Mondays, a weekly pause designed to support wellness within Georgetown’s MBA community. When I arrived at McDonough, wellness had long been a personal passion of mine. As a certified yoga and meditation instructor, I hoped to bring my perspectives into the student experience. As Vice President of Community & Wellness for the Student Government Association, I wanted to create something simple and accessible that met students where they were.

Each week, I led students through a 25-minute session of breathwork, meditation, and reflection. What began as a small experiment gradually became part of the rhythm of the program. Classmates began recommending the sessions to one another and stopping by between commitments simply to reset. Over time, conversations about wellness became more visible within the community.

Seeing peers openly discuss balance and sustainability in their careers has been incredibly meaningful. Initiatives like Mindful Mondays helped reinforce a core Georgetown value: cura personalis, or care for the whole person. To me, that philosophy captures the kind of leadership I aspire to practice: one where our best professional work stems from supporting the well-being of the people doing it.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? The professional achievement I’m most proud of was helping transform several underperforming logistics contracts into profitable partnerships following CEVA Logistics’ acquisition of Ingram Micro’s mobility business. The transition brought new financial scrutiny to long-standing client agreements, many of which had been structured under a different operating model and were suddenly operating below market rates and generating negative margins.

My role was to analyze why these contracts were underperforming and identify operational and pricing adjustments that could bring them back to profitability. By digging into material flow, warehouse utilization, and labor allocation, I uncovered inefficiencies that were driving costs higher than expected. At the same time, I worked closely with management and client teams to explain why changes were necessary and how operational improvements and pricing adjustments could better reflect the true cost of service.

Balancing these conversations was challenging. Ingram had built long-standing relationships with these clients, while CEVA leadership expected stronger financial discipline. Ultimately, the changes helped transform contracts that had been losing money into agreements generating more than 15% gross margin. The experience reinforced the importance of pairing rigorous analysis with thoughtful stakeholder management to achieve sustainable results.

Why did you choose this business school? The defining reason I chose Georgetown McDonough was its commitment to cura personalis, the Jesuit principle of caring for the whole person. Georgetown was the one MBA program where leadership and personal well-being are not separate ideas. Throughout my career, wellness has been a central passion of mine, and I’ve seen how people perform at their best when their mental, physical, and social well-being are supported alongside professional growth.

What stood out to me about McDonough was how authentically this philosophy shapes the culture of the community. Students collaborate in a way that builds one another up rather than competing against each other, creating an environment where people genuinely root for one another’s success. That spirit of support reflects the deeper meaning of cura personalis: recognizing that individuals grow best when they are part of a community that cares for and invests in each other. I wanted to be part of a school where that sense of shared growth and encouragement is central to the leadership experience.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? One of my favorite courses in the MBA program was Negotiations, taught by Catherine Tinsley. What made the class impactful was the way it blended theory with real-time practice. Each three-hour session followed a rhythm: we would learn a negotiation concept, apply it through a case exercise in small groups, and then return as a class to debrief the outcomes and connect them back to the behavioral science behind negotiation.

Seeing how different groups approached the same scenario and produced entirely different outcomes made the lessons tangible. Small shifts in framing, information sharing, or preparation could dramatically change the result.

As a woman entering business, learning negotiation frameworks felt especially important. The course provided practical tools to advocate for value, navigate difficult conversations, and approach negotiations with confidence. It reinforced that strong negotiation is not simply about persuasion, but about preparation, awareness, and understanding human behavior.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? One of my favorite MBA traditions at Georgetown was the McDonough Cup, a week-long series of competitions and events that bring the entire MBA community together. As a member of the Student Government Association, I was involved in both planning and execution, attending nearly every event as either a facilitator or participant while helping rally students and build excitement across campus.

One event I helped lead was the High Heels Race, hosted by the Graduate Women in Business club. I had the chance to hype up the crowd, announce scores, and keep the energy high throughout the race. For a moment, I felt less like an MBA student and more like a game show host—completely unserious in the best possible way.

Seeing the campus filled with laughter, cheering, and friendly competition made the long hours of planning worth it. The McDonough Cup felt like a week-long field day and perfectly reflected Georgetown’s collaborative culture, where students celebrate one another as much as they compete.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? One of the most impactful case studies I studied during my MBA examined how Zara built its competitive advantage through the design of its supply chain. The biggest lesson I took away was that strategy is not only about choosing where to compete, but it is about designing systems that consistently deliver that strategy.

Zara structured its operations so that design, manufacturing, and retail teams are tightly integrated, allowing the company to respond quickly to changing customer preferences and move new products from concept to store shelves in as little as two weeks. By producing smaller initial volumes and replenishing inventory frequently, the company minimizes excess inventory while staying closely aligned with real-time demand.

The case reinforced for me that sustainable competitive advantage is often systemic. When operations are intentionally designed to support responsiveness and efficiency, organizations can execute strategy in ways competitors struggle to replicate.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? What I loved most about studying at Georgetown in Washington, D.C. was the city’s incredible diversity and global perspective. I grew up in the DC area, moved away for several years after college, and then returned for my MBA. Coming back as an adult gave me a much deeper appreciation for the city and everything it offers.

The District sits at the intersection of business, policy, and international affairs. At any given moment, there are speakers, panels, and events happening across the city featuring leaders from government, global institutions, and industry. Having access to those conversations while studying business added a dimension to the MBA experience that felt truly global.

Returning to D.C. during this stage of life allowed me to see the city through a new lens: a dynamic hub where ideas and perspectives from around the world converge.

What business leader do you admire most? One business leader I admire is Ed Catmull, who built Pixar into one of the most innovative creative organizations in the world. What I find most compelling about his leadership philosophy is his belief that creativity thrives in environments where people feel safe sharing ideas and challenging one another constructively.

Catmull emphasizes that the best solutions often emerge when teams bring diverse perspectives to a problem and feel empowered to speak candidly. At Pixar, this approach is reflected in practices like the “Braintrust,” where teams openly critique ideas to strengthen the final product rather than protect individual ownership.

His leadership reinforces the idea that creativity is not just about artistic expression– it is a powerful tool for solving complex problems. By designing environments that encourage curiosity, candor, and collaboration, leaders can unlock better ideas and more resilient organizations.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? One example of how AI was integrated into my MBA experience was in a consumer analytics course where the professor created a customized GPT specifically for the class. Rather than relying on general AI tools pulling information from across the internet, this model was trained on the course materials, frameworks, and datasets we were working with. As a result, the responses reflected the same analytical approach and terminology used in the class.

Using the tool made the learning process much more interactive. It helped clarify concepts, test ideas, and work through problem-solving steps while staying grounded in the course methodology.

The biggest insight I gained is that AI becomes most powerful when it is used intentionally. When models are given clear parameters and users ask precise questions, AI can dramatically accelerate learning and analysis while reducing the risk of hallucinations or irrelevant outputs.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? One MBA classmate I admire deeply is Manogna Ettireddy. We served together in Student Government and found ourselves in many of the same classes, often working on group projects together. Over time, our friendship grew beyond coursework because we discovered how closely our values aligned, even though we came from very different cultural backgrounds.

Manogna moved to the United States from India for business school, and I admire the courage it takes to fully immerse yourself in a completely new environment. What stands out most about her is how fearlessly she embraces new experiences while remaining authentically herself.

Through our friendship, we exchanged perspectives on everything from our childhoods to cultural traditions, creating a meaningful cultural exchange between our lives growing up in India and the United States. She is incredibly disciplined, hardworking, and adaptable, but what I admire most is her openness and curiosity.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

One item on my professional bucket list is to lead global brand strategy for a consumer company. I’m particularly excited by the challenge of building brands that resonate across cultures and markets while staying authentic to their core identity. Developing strategies that connect with diverse audiences around the world would allow me to combine my interests in storytelling, consumer behavior, and global perspectives.

A second goal is to launch a holistic wellness venture that helps people build healthier and more balanced lives. Wellness has long been a personal passion of mine, and I’m fascinated by how thoughtfully designed products, services, and communities can support mental, physical, and emotional well-being. I would love to build a company that integrates insights from health science, behavioral psychology, and consumer experience to make wellness more accessible in people’s everyday routines.

What made Lara such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Lara is one of the rare MBA students who does more than participate in a community—she actively elevates it. Through her commitment to service, wellness, and inclusion, she has helped cultivate a Georgetown McDonough MBA culture where students feel supported not only as future business leaders but as whole people.

In her role as Vice President of Community & Wellness for the MBA Student Government Association, Lara became a driving force behind efforts to strengthen student connection and well-being. Rather than simply adding more events to already demanding schedules, she reimagined how wellness could be embedded into the fabric of the MBA experience. She helped lead numerous initiatives, including Wellness Weeks, weekly Mindful Monday meditation sessions, a workshop on navigating stress, a regular wellness newsletter offering resources and encouragement to her peers, and a session on cultivating resilience. She also partnered with the MBA Program Office to design a full-day retreat focused on wellness, community engagement, and connection with each other and with nature. Through these initiatives, Lara helped normalize conversations about well-being within the MBA program, making wellness a visible and valued part of the student experience.

I saw Lara’s leadership most clearly while working with her to develop the wellness retreat. She approached the experience with remarkable intentionality, ensuring every element—from reflection to discussion to time outdoors—helped students reconnect with themselves and each other. At the end of a demanding academic year, it was a meaningful pause that students deeply appreciated.

Beyond her formal role, Lara is the kind of student leader every program hopes to have—someone who consistently shows up wherever energy, support, or encouragement is needed. From supporting the Global Festival and McDonough Cup to engaging with Georgetown Women in Business, she is a visible and enthusiastic presence across campus life.

Lara embodies the Jesuit ideals of service to others and cura personalis—care for the whole person. Her positivity is contagious, her laughter unmistakable, and her warmth brings people together. As a certified yoga and pilates instructor, personal trainer, and wellness advocate, she encourages peers to approach their MBA journey holistically, building resilience and balance alongside business expertise.

Lara carries these same values into her professional aspirations. She spent her summer as a Brand Management Intern on the Neutrogena Sun team at Kenvue, a consumer health company dedicated to advancing everyday well-being, and will return there as an Associate Brand Manager after graduation. Her desire to work at the intersection of business and human health reflects a clear throughline in her leadership: using business as a force to improve people’s lives.

Lara did not simply enrich the McDonough community—she strengthened its culture in ways that will endure. I can think of few students who better represent the spirit of our program, and she is exceptionally deserving of recognition as one of Poets&Quants’ Best & Brightest MBA students.”

Kerry Pace
Associate Dean & Director of Student Services, MBA Programs
Georgetown University McDonough School of Business

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