Polina Sarafanova

EDHEC Business School, Global MBA

“Lifelong learner. Three countries, three disciplines, one passion: connecting dots others miss.”

Hometown: Moscow, Russia

Fun fact about yourself: I can talk for hours about Chinese tea. I’m also known in my cohort for telling the best (worst?) dad jokes.

Undergraduate School and Degree:

Moscow State University of Lomonosov (Public Administration, Specialist Degree),

Moscow State Linguistic University (Law, Specialist Degree)

University of Hong Kong (Master of Education Policy).

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school?

theDesk (Hong Kong), Head of Operations. theDesk is one of Hong Kong’s most recognized co-working brands.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? I was still employed by theDesk, as my program started only in September 2025.

Where will you be working after graduation?

I am still in the program and actively seeking the right opportunities for my profile.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: Class Representative: Serving as class representative is one of my most meaningful leadership experiences during the MBA. My role is to act as the voice of the cohort and a bridge between students and the administration, ensuring concerns are addressed and ideas are heard. In a highly diverse group, this requires active listening, clear communication, and the ability to balance different perspectives. The experience strengthened my emotional intelligence and judgment. It reinforced for me that leadership is not about authority, but about responsibility, building trust, creating clarity, and enabling others to feel heard.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of being selected for the Plug and Play University Fellow Program. Plug and Play is one of the world’s largest innovation platforms, connecting startups, corporations, investors and universities. Its global network includes partnerships with over 400 corporations, such as Siemens, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, and Mercedes-Benz, and the fellowship gives MBA students hands-on experience and insight into the venture capital world by having them review early-stage start-up pitch decks.

As a Fellow, I analyzed 30–40 pitch decks per week. This requires quickly and critically assessing business models, market size, traction, team strength, and financial logic. It sharpened my ability to distinguish strong fundamentals from just good storytelling.

The experience expanded my perspective on innovation. Most importantly, it strengthened my ability to evaluate potential by combining data, finance, and critical judgment. For the first time, I was on the other side of the table, playing the role of evaluator, and I now understand how investors identify the real potential behind early-stage startups.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I helped build one of Hong Kong’s most recognizable co-working brands from day one.

In 2016, after several years in academia, I felt the need for a reset. I wanted to move beyond theory and turn ideas into reality. So, I took a leap of faith, relocating to a new country, entering a nascent industry, and stepping into the startup world with zero prior business experience.

The difficulty level was high: a different culture, an untested market, and the steep learning curve of building a business. I often joke that I’m still not sure who was crazier, me or the founding team. But that leap changed everything.

Over nine years, I learned by doing, immersing myself in operations, sales, marketing, partnerships, and strategy. I grew alongside the company, navigating uncertainty, pressure, and rapid growth (in 2020, theDesk had 13 locations across Hong Kong and China). This journey shaped me into a resilient, adaptable, and execution-driven leader.

Why did you choose this business school? (Focus on one area and why it was so important)

After building theDesk from the ground up, I realized I had developed strong operational instincts, but I still had a blind spot that was limiting my potential: my lack of experience in finance.

In the startup world, I learned by doing across operations, sales, and partnerships. But I wanted to master finance as the language of business. I wanted to think confidently about capital allocation, valuation, funding structures, and strategic investment decisions. If I am to lead at a higher level, financial fluency is a must.

EDHEC stood out for two reasons. First, it is one of Europe’s leading business schools in finance, so I knew that I would have access to top professors in the field. Second, its strong and active alumni network, with 60K+ graduates around the globe, reflects a culture of connection and long-term impact.

I also appreciate the fact that EDHEC is in France. I was ready for a new chapter, and my knowledge of the French language allowed me to fully immerse myself both academically and culturally.

Choosing EDHEC was not just about earning an MBA; it was about closing a critical knowledge and skills gap, expanding my leadership toolkit, preparing for the next level of responsibility, and building a strong support network.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Ghassan-Paul Yacoub. What stood out most was his ability to keep the conversation about AI grounded and real. He looked beyond the buzzwords and challenged us to think critically about AI’s impact on industries, business models, and our own future roles as managers. He asked uncomfortable, unsettling, yet necessary questions: Where is real value created? What becomes obsolete? How do leaders stay relevant?

I was also inspired by how he structured his lectures. The clarity, logical flow, and precision in the way he built each session made complex topics accessible without oversimplifying them. That level of structured thinking and reflection is something I want to develop further in my own leadership and communication style.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? One of the traditions I appreciated most was how the MBA team intentionally brought local French culture onto campus, through celebrations like the Carnival in February or La Fête des Rois in January.

These moments reflected something deeper about the school’s identity. EDHEC is undeniably global, with a highly international cohort, teaching staff and outlook. Yet it does not forget its roots. Instead, it actively integrates French culture into the student experience.

As someone who has lived and worked across different countries, I found that balance particularly meaningful. It demonstrated that an institution can be both globally minded and locally grounded, drawing strength and inspiration from both dimensions.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? The MBA is intense, academically demanding, fast-paced, and filled with overlapping deadlines. I focused heavily on mastering the technical aspects that I came to EDHEC to strengthen, particularly finance and data.

If I were to do one thing differently, I would be even more intentional about carving out time for deeper, more meaningful networking with alumni, especially my peers. An MBA is a unique ecosystem, and every conversation with a classmate carries real-world insight. In many ways, we learn as much from each other as we do in the classroom. Looking back, I would have invested more structured time in those exchanges, seeking out more one-on-one conversations, challenging perspectives, and shared reflections.

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 experiences was a live case for Fleury Michon, a French agri-food company, in which our team was tasked with evaluating a potential M&A route to develop one of their business units.

At first glance, the assignment seemed straightforward: identify attractive acquisition targets and justify strategic expansion. But as we went deeper into analyzing financials, market positioning, operational fit and long-term synergies, we realized that the more important question was not what to acquire, but whether to acquire at all.

The biggest lesson I learned was that a strong strategy is not only about knowing what to pursue. It is equally about having the clarity to define what not to pursue. This case reinforced something critical for me: as a leader, my job will not simply justify action at all costs. My role is to sharpen judgment. And sometimes the most strategic decision is to say no.

What business leader do you admire most? I don’t have a single business leader I admire above all others.

Instead, I’m drawn to studying the leadership journeys of C-level executives, founders, and inventors across industries. What interests me most is not just their success but the underlying factors that made it possible.

When I look closely, I often see that breakthrough achievements are rarely the result of individual effort. They are supported by strong systems that sustain leaders through setbacks and uncertainty. That’s why it’s important for me to focus not only on my technical skills but, above all, on building support structures that will give me the resilience I need to go the distance.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? EDHEC integrates AI both as a strategic subject and as a practical tool within the MBA curriculum. AI-related sessions were the very first courses we had in September, clearly signaling that understanding AI is foundational for modern leadership.

A key component was the AI for Business course, which focused on helping us make sense of emerging technologies. The course addressed core questions: How should organizations evaluate AI opportunities? What are the strategic trade-offs? How do you assess readiness and design an AI roadmap? We explored use cases, organizational implications, ethical considerations and the managerial challenges of implementation.

The integrated AI prompting workshop added a practical dimension, providing us with an understanding of how LLMs operate and equipping us with techniques that improve our work with the LLM tools. We also participated in AI-focused hackathons, including projects using Lovable.

The biggest insight I gained is that AI amplifies thinking, but it does not replace it. Its value depends entirely on the clarity of the problem framing, the quality of the prompts, and the judgment applied to its outputs. The more I used AI, the clearer it became that independent and critical thinking remain distinctly human advantages. For me, learning about AI was not just about mastering tools; it was about strengthening critical thinking and judgment for a technology-driven world.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire my classmate Frank Edousei. In many ways, Frank has already reached what many business professionals consider the “pinnacle of success.” As a Group Managing Director at BMW, he has built an impressive and fulfilling career, yet he chose to step away from that security and return to school.

To me, that decision reflects remarkable character. It speaks to curiosity, humility, and the courage to leave the known in pursuit of further growth. Frank embodies the belief that even after significant success, there is still more to learn, more to contribute, and more potential to unlock. His example resonates with me deeply because it reinforces the idea that growth is a conscious choice we can make at any stage. Ultimately, his journey is a powerful reminder that the only real limitation is often the one we place on ourselves.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? First, I want the chance to contribute to projects at the intersection of AI and the future of work. AI is reshaping industries, roles, and required skill sets at an unprecedented pace. I’m particularly interested in understanding how organizations can adapt responsibly by redesigning jobs, upskilling talent, and building systems in which technology augments rather than replaces human potential.

Second, I aspire to lead a business incubator or innovation platform, helping early-stage ideas take hold and flourish. Having experienced firsthand what it takes to build from zero, I’m drawn to environments where bold ideas are shaped into sustainable ventures. Supporting founders through strategy, financing, and growth would combine my background in building startups with the financial and analytical skills I developed during my MBA.

What makes Polina such an invaluable member of the Class of 2026?

“Polina Sarafanova is intellectual curiosity and human dynamism at their very best. From the moment she joined the program, Polina emerged as a natural connector, someone who not only energizes those around her but also brings out the best in her peers. Polina was elected Class Representative, and she has shown an instinctive talent for uniting people and creating meaningful, high‑quality experiences that strengthen collaboration, community, and the overall MBA journey at EDHEC.

Polina’s drive to learn and contribute extends far beyond the classroom. Selected by Plug and Play as an Investment Analyst through their University Partners program, which is an achievement in itself, she dedicates additional hours on top of an already demanding MBA workload to gain real‑time exposure to the investment landscape. Her commitment is exemplary: she actively studies how investors evaluate complex and innovative pitch decks, pushing herself to understand the nuances of venture decision‑making from the inside.

Her journey before EDHEC is bold and globally-minded. After a successful research career in Russian academia, Polina moved to Hong Kong to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Hong Kong. She then embraced an entirely new challenge by joining theDesk, a fast-growing startup in the coworking sector. This was an extraordinary transition that speaks to Polina’s adaptability, courage, and appetite for growth. This multicultural, multidimensional background gives her a maturity and perspective well beyond her years.

One of Polina’s defining strengths is her attitude toward challenges. When difficult problems arise, she does not hesitate; she steps forward. She consistently takes ownership, applies pragmatic, focused thinking, and works through complexity with a growth mindset that is both effective and inspiring. Her leadership style is hands‑on, intentional, and deeply rooted in a desire to create value for others.

I am confident that Polina will channel her unique combination of intelligence, energy, and cross-cultural experience to make a profound impact. Whether she joins a high‑potential scale‑up or an innovative international firm in Europe, her future team will be exceptionally fortunate to benefit from her remarkable talent and vision.”

Sandra Richez
Director of the EDHEC Global MBA

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