Miles LeBlanc   

Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School

“As a curious learner, I’m always looking for ways to improve physically, mentally, and spiritually.”

Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona

Fun Fact About Yourself: My college side hustle was hauling hundreds of pounds of game over multiple miles out of the mountainous northern Arizona backcountry as a hunting porter.

Undergraduate School and Major: Northern Arizona University, Finance and Business Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Indigo Partners LLC, Private Equity Analyst

What has been your favorite part of St. Lous so far? makes St. Louis such a great place to earn an MBA? As a city, St. Louis’ food impresses. 100 years ago, St. Louis was the 3rd largest city in the US.  All the immigrants who came to the city brought their delicious, vibrant, and diverse cuisine, creating the perfect setup for a former college football player who loves to eat.

Not growing up in St. Louis, I was nervous to see if I would be accepted into St. Louis business professional networks. I could not be any more incorrect. Since St. Louis is a medium-sized city, there are plenty of companies and business opportunities in the area AND you are only a few degrees from anyone. Plus, if anyone sees the WashU email, they will be happy to chat.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Washington Olin’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The entrepreneurship program and opportunities were a deciding factor in choosing Olin. While the official entrepreneurship program is amazing (highlighted by its top ranking in US News & World Report), I love how it is integrated into our core course work. For example, when students are in marketing class, our decisions are examined through the eyes of an entrepreneur or business executive, instead of a mid-level marketing manager.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Washington Olin? A common misstep that I have seen many of my MBA friends make is isolating themselves with their program. Here at Washington University, there are so many talented individuals across the university and numerous opportunities.  In my case, I saw the WashU Real Estate Club as the perfect opportunity to meet other students, mostly undergrads, from across campus.  It has been great to meet and learn from students with diverse interests that expand outside of business, including engineering, architecture, law, and more.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Since I joined a private equity firm directly out of undergrad, I was put into a lot of new, often high-pressure situations, from working on multi-billion-dollar deals to international travel for publicly traded company board meetings. Even though those opportunities are a blessing, they can often be daunting for a young person. A tremendous personal achievement was becoming confident in myself that not only I belonged in those rooms, but my abilities add true value.

Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far: Even though I am only a semester into the MBA program, I have grown so much. The MBA has given me the opportunity to put myself in foreign positions and expand my skillset. This semester, I was honored to be selected as a corporate ambassador for the WashU Boeing Center. In this opportunity, I acted as a project manager to a group of other masters and PhD students, who constructed an inventory management and supply chain tools over 12 weeks. This project was similar to a consulting engagement. During this engagement, I was able to apply my operations and supply chain technical skills, first learned in class, to a real corporation. However, I am most proud of orchestrating a group of students who have different backgrounds, native languages, and core skill sets to execute and present on a project that creates tangible business value.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far?  One of the most underreported stories of 2025 has been the tornado that struck St. Louis in May, mostly devastating the underserved northern neighborhoods of St. Louis. My favorite memory so far has been the numerous volunteer opportunities that specifically serve those communities. One of the first things our program did was to volunteer at the St. Louis Urban League. It not only brought our cohort closer together as a team, but also allowed us to positively impact the economic and food insecurities that spiked due to the effects of the tornado.

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