Meet UCLA Anderson’s MBA Class Of 2027

LOVIN’ LIFE IN LA

Los Angeles is also a tech, entertainment, transportation, and aerospace Mecca. Notably, it is home to Silicon Beach, a corridor stretching from Santa Monica to Venice that has nurtured home-grown companies like Hulu and Snap. It also features centers for large tech firms like Google, Amazon, and Electronic Arts. Having top tech and entertainment firms nearby “make(s) networking and recruiting uniquely exciting,” says Fernando Klüppel. For example, Michelle Hernandez, a 2025 alum, shares that she had the chance to visit firms like Wasserman, YouTube, and Disney (among others) while being a student at Anderson. Thus far, Reshmi Neogy has enjoyed similar opportunities, observing that she can take a course on supply chain disruption in the morning and then attend a panel of logistics executives from the Port of Long Beach in the evening.

“There’s something powerful about learning in a city where the business cases aren’t hypothetical,” she continues. “Your professors aren’t just academics – many are practitioners who split their time between the classroom and active industry projects. When they’re teaching you about venture capital structures, they might mention stopping by a pitch meeting after class…The city becomes your extended campus in a way that feels organic rather than forced. You’re not taking field trips to see how business works – you’re embedded in it.”

And her classmates’ work experiences only amplified this dynamic, adds Neogy. “Your study group might include someone who works in post-production, another in aerospace manufacturing, and someone building a direct-to-consumer brand. The cross-pollination of ideas happens naturally because everyone’s dealing with different industry realities simultaneously.”

And then there’s the quality of life in Los Angeles. Andrea Vo sketches a day-in-the-life, where an Anderson MBA can “surf at sunrise, take an accounting final, hike at sunset, and run into a Laker at dinner.” There is the year-round sunny, dry coastal weather. Not to mention, “access to every type of entertainment, adds Meshach Boyce, meaning no one is ever bored in LA. That’s particularly true for outdoors lovers, adds Fernando Klüppel.

“LA has it all: surfing the Pacific, hiking mountain trails, or even exploring the desert—all just a short drive away.”

CAN’T WAIT FOR THURSDAY ANDERNOONS

Closer to campus, alum Sebastian Esselens describes Westwood as “safe” and “walkable” – surrounded by famed neighborhoods like Bel Air, Brentwood, and Beverly Hills. “It is relatively centrally located to all the places you want to go to (except Downtown, but no one’s in a rush to go there anyway),” he adds. “The beach is 15 minutes away, LAX is about 30 to 40 minutes, and Beverly Hills is just 10 minutes down the road.”

The West Coast is often associated with a breezy, laid-back attitude. However, ’25 alum Grace Seekins counters that her classmates would be better described as “attentive, driven, intelligent, thoughtful, and so unbelievably on it.” That’s not to say Anderson MBAs don’t step back and chill sometimes – namely 4:30 on Thursdays each week. That’s the time when the school holds one of its most popular traditions: Andernoons. Think of it as happy hour that brings together students, faculty, and staff from all business degree programs for free food and drink – and priceless conversations.

“Everyone is welcome to bring their families, including significant others, pets, or children,” Seekins tells P&Q. “It’s a casual, welcoming environment where we can catch up with classmates we haven’t seen in a while and bond as a community. Each week, a different group sponsors the event and shares something unique, whether it’s performance, food, or information. Andernoons reflects Anderson’s commitment to community—after all, business is about relationships. We’re building our community now to grow with us throughout our careers.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH ALEX LAWRENCE

At Anderson, this year’s big news came in January, when the school tapped Emory Goizueta’s Gareth James as its new dean. What’s next on the agenda? In February, P&Q reached out to Alex Lawrence, a ’99 grad and Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid. From international student support to AI programming, here are Lawrence’s thoughts on the state of the Anderson program.

P&Q: What have been the two most important developments in your MBA program over the past year? What type of impact will they have on current and future MBAs?

Lawrence:

“The Appointment of Dean Gareth James

In January 2026, UCLA Anderson announced the appointment of Gareth James as its next dean, effective July 1, 2026. James arrives from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where as dean since 2022 he oversaw a significant rise in rankings (moving from No. 26 to No. 17 in U.S. News and World Report) and launched several new degree programs.

Dean James is an award-winning teacher and mentor. His vision and experience — which include his renowned scholarship as a statistician — will raise the already high bar Anderson sets for research, curriculum, and the synergy of the two.

The Transformative Leader Fellowships

UCLA Anderson offers students admitted to the full-time program the opportunity to apply for and receive Transformative Leader Fellowships. Applicants submit an essay detailing their personal vision of transformational leadership in academic areas and extracurricular activities at Anderson. Valued between $10,000 and $20,000, the fellowships help defray costs for students while offering the institution an opportunity to learn how the members of each new class will take on the challenges of a Transformative Leader.”

P&Q: What do you see as the main differentiator that distinguishes your MBA program from other schools? How does it enhance the student experience and make them more attractive to employers?

Lawrence: “The Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation: UCLA Anderson’s Price Center acts as a massive umbrella for the school’s entrepreneurial resources, including the Venture Accelerator, which provides 4,000 square feet of 24/7 co-working space and 1:1 mentorship. It facilitates a “lab-to-market” environment in which MBAs can partner with researchers from UCLA’s world-class medical and engineering schools to commercialize new technologies.

The entrepreneurial environment fostered by the Price Center is not just for students interested in launching the next great startup. Entrepreneurial culture permeates all aspects of the curriculum. Students benefit whether they’re headed to companies and corporations of all sizes, where they may apply an entrepreneurial mindset, or interested in launching companies while working in full-time positions, to generate additional income streams and opportunities for creativity.

UCLA Anderson also leverages its Los Angeles location by connecting with the city’s “living laboratory,” where MBAs gain direct, hands-on access to the primary engines of the West Coast economy. The program integrates deeply with the multibillion-dollar local property market through the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, connects students to the No. 1 hospital system in the west for health-tech innovation via initiatives like the annual Vitals conference, and serves as a premier talent pipeline for the aerospace and New Space corridor headlined by SpaceX and NASA’s JPL. Furthermore, a landmark partnership with the Port of Los Angeles at the new UCLA South Bay campus creates unique workforce opportunities in global supply chain management and sustainable maritime technology. The upcoming 2028 Olympic Games serve as a catalyst for pioneering business models in urban mobility and green infrastructure. This unparalleled geographic synergy ensures that Anderson graduates are not just observers, but active participants in the high-growth industries — from Silicon Beach tech to trans-Pacific trade — that define the future of global business.

In addition, among top business schools, UCLA Anderson’s enrollment per class is small, in some cases half the size of peer schools. This creates an opportunity for a tighter community with the same access to top hiring firms. Anderson students are permitted to take courses for MBA credit in all UCLA’s programs and professional schools, affording them access to the breadth of offerings at a world-class research university. This concept of “One UCLA” is a critical element in Anderson’s strategic plan. Students not only take courses in other areas of campus, they very often form partnerships with peers from other disciplines to embark on entrepreneurial ventures, including those incubated within the Venture Accelerator Anderson and those competing in the school’s annual Knapp Venture Competition.”

P&Q: What types of services do you provide to first-year MBAs to ease their transition into business school?

Lawrence: “UCLA Anderson provides a comprehensive onboarding experience for first-year MBA students that begins in late July and extends through mid-September. The Anderson Onboarding program entails foundational coursework in Inclusive Leadership alongside core business disciplines like accounting, marketing, and finance. The Office of Student Affairs operates with an open-door policy and connects incoming students to every resource they need for success — from on-campus parking and health services to tech support and academic advising — ensuring they can navigate both the practical logistics and academic demands of business school. Throughout the first year, students receive personalized academic advising for curricular planning, course scheduling, and enrollment, while also gaining access to wellness resources like UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services and the Center for Accessible Education to support their holistic well-being during this intensive transition.

UCLA Anderson offers a series of immersion courses in such areas as consulting, finance, technology, and media and entertainment to help students solidify career choices.”

P&Q: What types of support do you provide to international students before and during business school to enable them to better acclimate to your country?

Lawrence: “UCLA Anderson’s student affairs team provides personalized support to international students through dedicated personal advising and an open-door policy that ensures they have direct access to assistance as they navigate the administration associated with studying in the United States. With the amenities of the world’s No. 1 public university at their disposal, international students are connected to campus-wide resources that include comprehensive wellness programming and specialized support services to help them acclimate to both the academic environment and American culture. The school’s partnership approach extends to helping international students access everything from practical necessities like housing and medical insurance to cultural integration and leadership opportunities through the Anderson Student Association. Our International students have leadership roles in all of our Professional student clubs and in addition play a lead role in celebratory events like Chinese New Year, Nowruz and Diwali, representing the global diversity within the Anderson community.

Anderson students also avail themselves of the services provided by the Dashew Center, UCLA’s hub for international students and scholars. The Dashew Center enhances the UCLA experience for international students and scholars through multicultural programs and services. The center assists UCLA academic departments with visa services and serves as a resource and learning center for the entire UCLA community to promote global connection, international understanding and cultural sensitivity.”

P&Q: How does your program integrate other disciplines, such as the liberal arts and STEM, across your curriculum to provide students with a more interdisciplinary experience in business school?

Lawrence: “The UCLA Anderson full-time MBA is STEM-designated. Anderson students are encouraged to enroll in courses at UCLA’s other professional schools, such as the UCLA Luskin School of Public Policy and UCLA School of Law. Several UCLA Anderson professors hold joint appointments in the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, the Department of Economics, and campus research centers such as the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and interdisciplinary initiatives like UCLA Biodesign. Anderson’s nine centers of research excellence, including the newly established Center for Healthcare Innovation, offer students year-round opportunities to learn from and network with professionals in every industry. Initiatives like the Easton Technology Management Center’s annual Cross-Campus Innovation Challenge and the UCLA Draper Innovation Showcase support interdisciplinary campuswide collaborations by design.”

P&Q: What are two ways that your program is incorporating Artificial Intelligence into your programming? How do they better prepare students for the future world of work?

Lawrence: “UCLA Anderson is incorporating artificial intelligence into its programming in ways that emphasize leadership judgment, adaptability and repeated real-world application rather than siloed technical training.

First, AI is being integrated across the core curriculum, capstone projects, electives and co-curricular experiences so that students engage with it repeatedly in different managerial contexts. Core courses in data and decision-making, marketing, economics, and organizational behavior increasingly address AI’s implications for analysis, strategy and people management, while capstone experiences treat AI as a natural starting point for framing and solving complex business problems. In these settings, students learn not just how AI tools work, but how leaders should evaluate AI’s outputs, understand their limitations, and make responsible decisions when stakes are high and information is imperfect. This repeated exposure builds fluency through practice and reflection, preparing students to lead effectively in environments where AI capabilities — and expectations — are constantly evolving.

Second, Anderson is leveraging AI to help students develop as innovative, forward-looking leaders who can create and guide new initiatives rather than simply optimize existing ones. A growing portfolio of AI-focused and digitally-oriented electives, along with courses in product management and digital transformation, encourages students to move from “0 to 1” — enabling them to design new products, services and workflows that often rely on AI agents and automation. These curricular experiences are reinforced through co-curricular programming, including innovation challenges, conferences and workshops that explore agentic AI, its impact on work, and its competitive implications. AI is also being used to support students’ own learning and career decision-making, helping them navigate curricular pathways and professional opportunities more strategically.

Together, these efforts align with Anderson’s broader commitment to develop Transformative Leaders: individuals who are technologically fluent, ethically grounded, and capable of leading teams and organizations through uncertainty. By emphasizing judgment, iteration and leadership responsibility alongside technical exposure, the program prepares students for a future of work in which AI is a core — and continually changing — part of organizational life.”

P&Q: What types of educational and career support do you provide to alumni after graduation? How does it make them more valuable to employers during their careers?

Lawrence:

“1. The Parker Career Concierge: A Lifelong Strategic Partnership

UCLA Anderson doesn’t just launch its students’ careers, it secures their trajectory for life. Through the Parker Career Management Center, alumni enjoy unfettered, lifetime access to a bespoke suite of executive coaching and professional resources. Whether alumni are negotiating a C-suite package or pivoting into a new industry, they will always have a personal board of advisors led by elite coaches who provide the strategy and exclusive 12twenty market intelligence needed to command their worth in any economy.

2. The Evergreen Classroom: Intellectual Agility on Demand

At Anderson, students’ tuition is a lifetime subscription to the world’s most advanced business intelligence. Through the Lifelong Learning initiative, the walls of the classroom disappear, granting alumni the elite privilege to audit cutting-edge electives alongside current MBAs and refresh their mastery of the latest market disruptions. The Community app is Anderson graduates’ VIP pass to a curated, on-demand library of high-level workshops — from AI-driven financial modeling to predictive people analytics — ensuring their skill set remains as fresh and formidable as the day they graduated.”

Click on the links below to access 12 in-depth student profiles of the Class of 2027.

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Meshach Boyce	Memphis, TN	Cornell University	Red Robin’s Academy of Learning, Inc.
Natalie Doppelt	Deerfield, IL	University of Pennsylvania	FTI Consulting
Chloé Margrethe Fausa	Oslo, Norway	University of Utah	Norvestor
Brennan Hart	Pasadena, CA	New York University	PepsiCo, Inc.
Trennedy Kleczewski	Elgin, IL	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Northern Trust
Fernando Klüppel	Curitiba, Brazil	Federal University of Technology – Paraná	Red Venture Brazil
Nicholas McDonough	Saratoga Springs, NY	University of Vermont	U.S. Army
Reshmi Neogy	Kolkata, India	University of Calcutta	ABB
Silvia Orozco	Whittier, CA	California State University, Fullerton	Graticule
Cemil Revan Purington	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Princeton University	Levo
Melissa Venegas	South San Diego, CA	UCLA	San Ysidro Health
Andrea Vo	Rockville, MD	University of Maryland	Avison Young

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.