Manali Chavan

UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business

“Story-driven marketer passionate about transforming brand narratives into immersive, memorable consumer moments.”

Hometown: Chandler, AZ

Fun fact about yourself: I spent time working as an intern on a matcha farm in Wazuka, Japan.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Arizona State University, Journalism & Business Marketing

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Primal Kitchen (a KraftHeinz brand), Content Manager

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Mattel | El Segundo, California

Where will you be working after graduation? I am targeting Brand Management roles in CPG or entertainment.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Co-President, Challenge for Charity
• Co-Vice President of Social, Merage Student Association Executive Board
• MBA Student Ambassador
• Recipient of the Michael Johnson Spirit Award

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? As Co-President of Challenge for Charity, I helped organize a cross-program softball tournament supporting Special Olympics, Second Harvest, and Junior Achievement. The event brought together 40 students across 5 Merage graduate programs while raising funds and awareness for local nonprofit partners. Leading this initiative strengthened my ability to coordinate teams, manage logistics, and create experiences that align community engagement with meaningful social impact.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? During the pandemic, I led content strategy for marthastewart.com at a time when consumer demand for comfort-driven content surged. I identified high-performing evergreen content and implemented a refresh and redistribution strategy while guiding new content production aligned with emerging consumer behaviors. These efforts contributed to nearly a 150% increase in site traffic and strengthened the brand’s role as a trusted resource during a period of uncertainty. This experience reminded me of how impactful content can be for consumers.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose UCI because of its strong community and deep roots to Southern California. When I first began interacting with UCI through prospective students, I immediately felt the tight-knit student community. Everyone from students to faculty to staff felt like they truly cared for one another. I could tell this also extended out into the community based on the strong alumni network and relationships with companies in the area. UCI has built a strong, integrative community that I’ve had the pleasure of continuing to see grow.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor is Professor Loraine Lau-Gesk, with whom I’ve taken both Global Consumer Insights and Market Research. Professor Lau-Gesk brings a wealth of knowledge to the classroom as a former marketing researcher for a major consumer packaged goods (CPG) company. Professor Lau-Gesk struck the perfect balance of teaching us fundamentals of marketing research while also ensuring that the material was relevant for modern day business issues by bringing in several guest lecturers. These guest lecturers came from diverse industries from CPG to fast food to gaming. All of them were also former students of Professor Lau-Gesk, which really spoke to the impact she has on her students. Professor Lau-Gesk was actually one of the first professors who remembered my name and continued to remember my face even when I just saw her on campus. Her ability to engage her students and provide specialized attention truly sets her apart.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course during my MBA is Negotiations. As most MBA courses, each class is based on a case study in which our weekly negotiation is based off. After negotiating, we then diagnose the scenarios and the tactics one can use in difficult negotiations. This has been especially beneficial because negotiation skills are not a soft skill the average person gets to set aside time to study. This course strengthened my ability to advocate strategically while also learning to preserve long-term relationships. I learned how preparation, framing, and understanding your counterpart’s motivations influence outcomes.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Prior to the school year starting, UCI conducts a course called Intensive. This is separate from our orientation and is taught by Professor John Joseph. We heard rumors about late nights previous students had completing the work and were shocked to find out it was actually true! The course is a fantastic way to put you back into an academic mindset and bond with your study group that you will be working with for the rest of year one. The intensive is the perfect introduction to the start of your MBA program and truly comes full circle when you take your formal strategy course in the spring with Professor John Joseph.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? One thing I would do differently is take classes focused on industries outside of my primary area of interest earlier in the program. Initially, I concentrated heavily on marketing. While this helped me build depth in brand management, I later realized that courses focused on industries such as healthcare provided valuable strategic frameworks and perspectives that applied across all business contexts. I gained a deeper understanding of how factors such as regulatory environments, cost structures, competitive dynamics, and technological disruption influence strategic decision-making. It also helped me recognize that while industries differ, the underlying principles of strategy are broadly transferable.

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 cases I studied was Taran Swan at Nickelodeon Latin America in the Emotionally Intelligent Leadership course. The case explores how Swan built and led a high-performing regional team during a period of rapid expansion.

What stood out to me was Swan’s emphasis on building a leadership structure that could operate independently of her day-to-day involvement. When she unexpectedly needed to step away from the organization due to pregnancy, the systems, delegation, and trust she had built within her leadership team allowed the business to continue operating effectively. This reinforced an important leadership lesson for me: strong leaders don’t just motivate teams—they build structures that enable teams to succeed without constant oversight. Earlier in my career, I sometimes overexplained or hesitated when giving direction because I wanted to ensure everyone felt supported. This case helped me realize that clear delegation and decisive leadership can actually empower teams by giving them confidence and ownership over their work.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? There’s a large emphasis on getting outside in Irvine, in part due to the wonderful weather! This was a huge motivation for me to pick up golf and tennis during my MBA.

What business leader do you admire most? Nick Tran, currently President & CMO of First Round (Diageo x Main Street Advisors JV) spoke as a guest lecturer for one of my MBA marketing courses. As a former UCI MBA student, he shared his journey of working for a sock company then moving into consumer electronics at Samsung before pivoting into tech at TikTok. He has held multiple additional roles and expressed his interest in one day teaching as well. I recall being so impressed with his ability to work across a multitude of industries, to which he mentioned that the throughline was always his passion for marketing. He was truly passionate about product/service and his tactics for getting that into the hands of the right consumer never had to be industry specific. I really admired his authenticity with us and his ability to trust his own gut.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? One way UCI has integrated AI into the curriculum is by incorporating AI tools into coursework for research and strategy development. In several courses, we were encouraged to use AI to conduct research, brainstorm positioning strategies, and generate mock imagery, while critically evaluating the accuracy and strategic quality of the output. What surprised me most was how AI changed how I approach the beginning of a problem. Instead of starting with one idea and refining it, I now use AI to rapidly generate a wide range of possible angles before narrowing to the strongest strategic direction. Through this experience, I learned that AI is most effective as a collaborative tool rather than a decision-maker. It can accelerate early-stage work such as research synthesis and idea generation, but human judgment is still essential to evaluate insights and translate them into real strategy.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The classmate I most admire is Jordan Menda. What stands out most about Jordan is his ability to stay calm and grounded in an environment where many MBA students—including myself—often feel pressure to pursue every opportunity at once. We first met through a mock interview group in our career preparation course. Even though we were targeting completely different industries, we continued practicing together throughout recruitment. Jordan consistently approached the process with patience and perspective, offering thoughtful feedback while reminding me to focus on preparation rather than stress. His ability to slow down and live in the present really stood out to me. In an MBA program where the number of possibilities can feel overwhelming, Jordan showed me that staying grounded and intentional can be just as powerful as ambition.

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

1) Serve as a board member for a non-profit.

2) Work on a marketing campaign that aims to entirely reposition a brand.

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

“Manali has been an invaluable addition to the Merage School’s Class of 2026 and the Merage Student Association. She holds numerous leadership positions including the MSA Executive Board Co-Vice President of Socials. Her exceptional organizational skills ensure that every project she touches is executed seamlessly, and her thoughtful, strategic approach elevates the quality and impact of student facing programs across our graduate community.

What truly distinguishes Manali, however, is her commitment to building a vibrant, connected student experience. She cares deeply about community and has played a central role in designing events that bring students together in meaningful, energizing ways. Manali approaches every interaction with a calm, friendly demeanor that makes her a joy to collaborate with—consistently uplifting to those around her. Her combination of initiative, dependability, and genuine warmth has made her not only a standout contributor, but a cornerstone of the Class of 2026 community.”

Rachel Schrader
Associate Director, Residentials & Events
UCI Paul Merage School of Business

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