Stefan Sujansky

Stanford Graduate School of Business & Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

“I’m working to empower emerging markets to build energy resilience sustainably through high-impact renewables deployment.”

Hometown: Woodside, California

Fun Fact About Yourself: While working in rural communities across Ghana, I mastered (or tried to master) riding a motorcycle on unpaved roads.

Undergraduate School and Major: Georgetown University (Walsh School of Foreign Service) – International Political Economy

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Strategy and Business Development Associate, Otovo

What has been the best part of living in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley so far? After three years spent living and working abroad, it’s been amazing to live just 15 minutes from my family again. Beyond the proximity to home-cooked meals, living in the Bay Area has provided incredible access to investors and entrepreneurs driving the clean energy transition. Founders of leading battery, geologic hydrogen, and grid services companies regularly join my classes at the GSB, and I’ve loved taking trips into San Francisco for events such as SF Tech Week. These experiences have helped refine my post-MBA career aspirations and exposed me to ideas at the cutting edge of the fight against climate change.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Stanford GSB’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? More than any other MBA program, Stanford GSB takes an interdisciplinary approach to business education. Thanks to its emphasis on entrepreneurship, Stanford makes it very easy to take classes “across the street” and build relationships with students in engineering, physics, and computer science programs (as well as many others). As someone interested in working in energy, it was especially important that I get exposure to the people and ideas building the technologies that I hope to deploy.

The GSB also allowed me to apply directly into a joint degree program with the Doerr School of Environment, enabling me to earn an MS in Environment and Resources alongside my MBA. Given the complex policy and thermodynamic constraints of climate technology, I’m using this joint program to build specialized expertise in both fields.

What has been the most important thing that you’ve learned at Stanford GSB so far? By far, the most important thing I’ve learned here is the power of clear and honest storytelling. Prior to coming to the GSB, I placed little weight on how ideas and experiences were presented to others, believing instead that good ideas will always naturally bubble to the top. Two activities have changed my perspective on this. First, the GSB holds weekly TALK sessions, in which my classmates give 30-minute presentations on influential life experiences and the lessons that they derived from them. Each time I attend, I’m enraptured by their stories. Moreover, I find that I have a much easier time remembering their takeaways because the stories associated with them were told so artfully.

The second activity that helped teach me this lesson was Leadership Labs, a quarter-long course in which students work through leadership scenarios with a small group of peers. This class allowed me to experience a diverse range of leadership styles firsthand. During Lead Labs, I found that the classmates who motivated me the most were those who wove their decisions and points into a compelling story that helped me understand their motivations and thinking more clearly.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Stanford GSB? This quarter, I’m working with a second-year student to organize a panel focused on emerging markets for the annual Stanford GSB Climate Conference. While the conference hasn’t yet taken place at the time of writing this, I’ve loved working on this activity for several reasons. First, it served as a great opportunity to collaborate and meet with students in the year above me who have their own unique life experiences and can share lessons on how to navigate challenges within the program. I’ve also valued the direct access to global business and policy leaders at the GSB, especially the opportunity to engage with them while preparing for student-led panels. Lastly, I’m grateful for the opportunity to work on issues related to emerging markets, which can sometimes feel very distant here in Silicon Valley.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: During my time working for an agricultural social enterprise in West Africa, I led the research and design of the company’s entry into the shea value chain. Shea is a high-value tree nut harvested in Ghana primarily by women, for whom the nuts are a significant source of income. These female farmers, who typically lack the economic access of their male counterparts, often struggle to find a consistent and transparent market for their product. Thanks to this project, we were able to provide a much more fair and liquid market for shea in over 100 rural communities across northern Ghana, supporting the economic empowerment of thousands of women.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? By far, the greatest challenge that I’ve faced so far is navigating the many competing commitments at business school, including attending social events, completing class and extracurricular assignments, and attending to one’s physical and mental health. When I first arrived, I struggled to maintain a balance between each of these, often over-committing myself and sacrificing healthy habits. However, in recent months (and after many hard-earned lessons), I’ve gotten much better at evaluating my own capacity, assessing what’s most important to me, and learning how to say “no” to things that would force me to neglect important habits and commitments. Together, these changes will help me get the most out of my experience at the GSB.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? During each Winter Quarter, first-year students are organized into sections. Together, we take several core courses together such as Organizational Behavior and Leading with Values. After our midterms, the GSB organizes a section Olympics, in which sections compete against each other in activities ranging from basketball to trivia to water balloon tosses. It was great to leave the classroom and networking behind for an afternoon and just spend a few hours playing games with friends. While my soccer team didn’t take the tournament, the collective energy of Section 6 carried us to a decisive overall victory. These shared moments solidified the friendships that I know will define my time at Stanford and beyond.

What advice would you give to a prospective applicant looking to join the Stanford GSB Class of 2028? One of the things that makes the GSB so special is the authenticity and energy with which its students show up every day. While you might feel pressured in your application to present yourself in a way that conforms to what you believe the school is looking for in its student body, don’t dilute your story by sacrificing your authentic voice. As you consider “what matters most to you and why,” take the time to reflect on what experiences and relationships have genuinely impacted you the most, and go from there. This part won’t be easy, but the more time you spend reflecting on this, the easier it will be to write a powerful application that feels true to who you are.

Regardless of which program you ultimately attend, it’s also important to remember that you get out of it what you put in. Your work doesn’t end once you receive a letter of admission! Be thoughtful about what you hope to get out of your MBA experience and commit fully to the events and activities that you believe will help you achieve these goals.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE STANFORD GSB MBA CLASS OF 2027

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