2026 MBA To Watch: Jared Caine, EDHEC Business School

“Kindhearted, family-centered, spiritual, impact-driven, true to my word, balanced in all things”

Jared Caine

EDHEC Business School

“Kindhearted, family-centered, spiritual, impact-driven, true to my word, balanced in all things.”

Hometown: Tamarin, Mauritius

Fun fact about yourself: I love interacting with wild animals. I’ve ridden an ostrich in South Africa, walked with fully grown lions in the wild, petted cheetahs, and snorkeled with dolphins and whales in the open ocean. I did this mostly across the island nation of Mauritius, where I grew up, and the African continent that shaped me.

Undergrad school and degree: Brigham Young University (Bachelor of Science in Economics, 2021)

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Artemis Power (formerly Monalee), Chief of Staff. Artemis is a climate-tech startup reimagining the residential solar experience. Powered by AI and machine learning, the company’s platform generates a custom solar proposal for any home address in under 10 seconds, eliminating the need for salespeople and passing those savings directly to homeowners. I joined as Chief of Staff to the CEO and founder, Walid Halty. As his right hand, I was involved in every layer of the company: finance, operations, HR, marketing, sales, and the tech team. I helped to translate his vision into operational reality as we scaled to 26 states across the US.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? NA; I was working full-time.

Where will you be working after graduation? I’m in the process of finalizing, but my goal is to work in renewable energy investment in Africa. I have an energy background, and Africa—the continent that raised me—is where I want to make a lasting impact. Africa receives less than 3% of global energy investment, and over 600 million people still lack access to electricity. My goal is to connect investors with well-structured renewable energy projects in Africa, helping de-risk deals and unlock capital for a market that is far less risky than Western investors typically assume. The continent’s emerging labor force and growing energy demand create the perfect environment for the next energy boom, and I am determined to be part of it.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: I serve as President of the EDHEC Clubhouse, overseeing a network of clubs spanning Finance, Consulting, Luxury, Entrepreneurship, and Tech, as well as the events and initiatives they host throughout the year. Alongside my studies, I also hold a leadership position in a local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nice, where I help coordinate community service projects. We have helped hundreds of individuals and families in need through food banks, emergency housing funds, and other grassroots initiatives. Getting involved in the local community and giving back has made my MBA experience even more satisfying and memorable.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am currently working on a sustainability impact challenge with the Bel Group, which markets Babybel cheese and other brands worldwide.  We are under a non-disclosure agreement, so I can’t share details yet. Still, I can say it has been an eye-opening experience to engage with an industry leader at this level, diagnose a real strategic challenge, and develop solutions that are both commercially viable and meaningfully sustainable. If it lands the way we hope, the impact will be significant. The challenge has pushed me to think rigorously about what sustainability actually means in a global business context.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Just two years into my career, I was hired as Chief of Staff at Monalee, now Artemis Power. It was a sink-or-swim role. Working alongside a talented team, we cut our operational timeline by 50% within a year and tripled revenue to meet investor targets. I learned to manage five independent teams, sit across the table from investors and suppliers in high-stakes negotiations, and keep the engine running while the company scaled rapidly across the US. I’m proud that I was able to build systems and trust simultaneously and prove to myself (and investors) that sustainable results are possible.

Why did you choose this business school? EDHEC is a world-class institution in Finance, which is exactly the direction I wanted to pivot my career. But what sealed the decision was the school’s genuinely global DNA. I came in with a strong North American network and wanted to build something broader. EDHEC’s Global MBA cohort of 25+ nationalities, along with its established alumni presence across Europe, gave me that.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Economics Professor Mayssun El-Attar Vilalta. I say this with particular appreciation because I know firsthand how hard it is to teach economics well. I spent two years as a teaching assistant for economics courses at Brigham Young University. She compressed entire macro and microeconomics frameworks into a single week and made them feel not just accessible but genuinely exciting. That is a rare skill. She is clearly passionate, her energy is contagious, and she has the gift of making complexity feel natural rather than overwhelming.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? “Managing the Internationalization of the Firm,” taught by Professor Louis Hebert. I came in with practical questions from real-life work experience, such as how firms navigate regulatory environments across borders, how to sequence international expansion, and how to manage the tension between global consistency and local adaptation. This course answered these questions and more. It was also the most tailored to why I chose a Global MBA in the first place, because it gave me the international management mindset I was seeking.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? It was meeting EDHEC alumni in Luxembourg during our business trek in October 2025. The school has a strong presence in the banking industry there, and we were able to connect with dozens of alumni at a networking event. What struck me wasn’t the credentials in the room but the stories. These were people who had sat exactly where I’m sitting now, and they had gone on to build careers across continents.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? In January 2026, our cohort participated in a hackathon in Paris centered on a real strategic challenge from AkzoNobel, a leading paints and coatings company. They presented a problem to a small team of us and asked us to develop actionable solutions. The experience was intense, fast-paced, and completely authentic. The company is now implementing the solutions we developed. The biggest lesson: the best ideas don’t come from the smartest person in the room. They come from diverse teams with the psychological safety to say the unconventional thing.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? One of the reasons I chose EDHEC is because of the location. Nice is among the most beautiful cities in the world. I love walking down the coastline and soaking up the sun while enjoying the view of the azure Mediterranean. There are also dozens of museums and historical sites in the area, which are great to explore. As Nice once belonged to Italy, there is a strong Italian and French influence here in the colours, cuisine and architecture. Having grown up in the tropics, I find that the sea, temperate climate and vibrant lifestyle make me feel at home while still being far away.

What business leader do you admire most? Mitt Romney. It’s not for his politics, but for a specific moment of integrity that I keep coming back to. When he stepped in to rescue the troubled 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, the organizing committee was facing massive deficits and nervous sponsors. Many executives in that position would have found legal or financial justification to renegotiate aggressively or walk away from commitments. Romney chose instead to honor those contracts, restore trust, and rebuild credibility. To me, this example illustrates something I believe deeply: integrity is not a soft skill. It is a long-term competitive advantage. A reputation for honoring your word, especially when conditions change, is worth more than any short-term optimization. This is the kind of leader I want to be.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? EDHEC has embedded AI meaningfully into the curriculum, including a dedicated AI specialization track designed to prepare students for leadership in an increasingly automated world. In our Business AI course early in the program, the most important insight I took away was this: AI is most powerful when it amplifies human thinking as a brainstorming partner, a challenger, and a tool for refining and pressure-testing ideas. What it cannot do is replace genuine critical thinking. I’ve carried that framing into everything I do with AI tools now: I use them to go further, faster, but the judgment is always mine.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Mark Childerhose. He has spent his career working for USAID across Africa and Asia. That kind of sustained commitment to doing good is something I respect deeply. But what I also admire about Mark is his ability to listen. When I talk to Mark, I feel like I have his full attention. He listens in a way that makes you feel genuinely heard and then asks questions that make you think harder. Every conversation with him makes me want to be a better version of myself.

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

1. Mentor someone who goes on to become highly successful, and knows, at least in part, that our time together mattered.

2. Create a product or service used by over one million people. I want to build something that outlasts the moment and touches lives.

What made Jared such an invaluable member of the Class of 2026?

“Jared CAINE is a leader whose impact reveals itself with remarkable depth the more you engage with him. His warm, approachable demeanor is matched by an exceptional inner drive, clarity of purpose, and quiet confidence.

Elected President of the MBA Clubhouse, Jared has skillfully guided a diverse and talented team responsible for all extracurricular club activities for a cohort of 62 ambitious MBAs representing 25 countries. In this role, he has served as a vital bridge between students, the Career Center, and the MBA administration, demonstrating maturity, professionalism, and natural authority.

Jared’s leadership is defined by its inclusivity, humility, and effectiveness. He leads by empowering others, grounding decisions in pragmatism, and maintaining an unwavering focus on results. One of the qualities that has impressed me most is his generosity with his time and expertise. During the Economics course, Jared voluntarily organized and delivered ad hoc tutorials for classmates with no prior exposure to the subject. This initiative not only improved their academic performance but also strengthened the cohort’s cohesion and confidence.

His professional journey is equally compelling. Prior to the MBA, Jared built meaningful experience across the United States and Africa in solar energy operations, strategy and consulting. His multicultural perspective, combined with a bold vision for advancing sustainable development in Africa, sets him apart as a purpose-driven future leader. He brings to the program an authentically global profile, outstanding academic achievements, and a demonstrated commitment to leveraging business for positive environmental and societal impact.

Despite his impressive accomplishments, what distinguishes Jared most is his character: humble, attentive, and profoundly dedicated to learning, contributing, and elevating those around him. I am certain that he will translate his MBA experience into lasting impact and will play an important role in shaping a more sustainable and prosperous Africa for generations to come.”

Sandra Richez
Director of the EDHEC Global MBA

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