Jonny Amon

The University of Florida, Warrington College of Business

“Energetic renewable energy professional who believes in building bridges and lifelong learning.”

Hometown: Daytona Beach, Florida

Fun fact about yourself: I was a sports reporter for the Georgetown Voice, my college newsmagazine, for all four years of college.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Georgetown University, Bachelor’s in Finance and Marketing

Graduate School: University of Glasgow, Master’s in Sustainable Business Development

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Tetra Tech – Sustainable Energy Finance Associate

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? N/A – One year MBA Program

Where will you be working after graduation? Senior Business Rotation Associate at NextEra Energy

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

UF Business Graduate CAP Mentors – Co-Lead: I co-led a peer mentoring program that provides career advising and professional development services to students across all graduate business programs. I conducted one-on-one resume reviews and mock interviews, helping students from diverse academic backgrounds, including specialized master’s and doctoral candidates, refine their job search strategies and build confidence heading into recruiting season.

MBA Association – Vice President of Funding: In this role, I managed the allocation of student activity funds for MBA sponsored events and initiatives. I worked closely with MBA students to evaluate proposals, ensure a fair distribution of resources, and maximize student programming. As a team, we funded events that drew the MBA community together.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Leading the Graduate CAP Mentors program stands out as my proudest achievement. UF draws students from a wide range of programs and backgrounds. We worked with students across various business masters including international students navigating U.S. recruiting for the first time and older students pivoting into new industries. Many of these students had never gone through a structured recruiting process before.

I am proud I contributed to this program and helped make changes that made us more effective. We hold weekly drop-in office hours, contact every graduate business student periodically, and host various workshops to help build skills throughout the semester. Seeing someone’s trajectory change because of guidance you provided is very rewarding.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Earning my role at Tetra Tech in sustainable energy finance was the culmination of years of intentional career-building. Experiencing the international development world and working on renewable energy projects were long term goals of mine. During my master’s program, I wrote a thesis on blue bonds, and I was able to work on sustainability linked bonds at Tetra Tech. I had a chance to put my interests to work in a tangible way.

I supported the financial structuring of renewable energy projects in markets where access to electricity remains a barrier to economic growth. I worked with developers in Ecuador and a government owned utility in Uzbekistan. Those experiences cemented my belief that finance is one of the most powerful tools we have for driving sustainable development.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose the University of Florida because it offered an unrivalled combination of value, rigor, and speed. As someone who had already completed a specialized master’s degree, I wanted a program that would expand my general management skills without requiring me to step away from my career for two years. The one-year MBA was perfect for me.

Outside of the structure, I was drawn to the caliber of the faculty and the strength of UF’s alumni network, particularly in the energy sector. The supportive, close-knit community of the one-year cohort made the experience even better.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Carolyn Takeda. I took two courses with Professor Takeda, Investment Finance and a finance fundamentals course, and both were among the most rigorous and rewarding experiences of my MBA. Professor Takeda pushes her students to think critically, and she does so with sincere care for each student’s development. “Don’t memorize anything. Think about it logically.”

I left her courses with a much deeper command of valuation, portfolio management, and Bloomberg software.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Investment Finance with Professor Carolyn Takeda. This course was the capstone of my finance education. We used Bloomberg Terminals extensively to conduct equity research, craft investment strategies, and build portfolios grounded in real market data.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? One-year MBAs start over the summer at UF. Our one-year cohort was on campus taking a full course load while most of the university and city were empty, which created a fun environment. We spent weekends in study rooms working through problem sets together, grabbing Chipotle between classes (no line in summertime), and getting to know one another. It was an intense period, but I really enjoyed building that camaraderie with my classmates without any other distractions.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would have been more intentional about building relationships outside of my immediate MBA cohort earlier in the program. UF has students in a wide range of programs, including specialized master’s, doctoral candidates, and executive MBAs. Through the CAP program, I saw that some of the most interesting perspectives came from students in completely different disciplines. I would advise future students to reach out to different professors and programs and try to build relationships all over campus.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? Within the MBA program, we worked on a case competition focused on the leisure and travel industry. Teams were tasked with coming up with a business plan from the perspective of a private equity company. Judges from Disney offered advice on recent trends and how to best position our companies in the future. The competition was a great experience, and I learned how to adjust strategy on the fly.

What business leader do you admire most? Jensen Huang, the co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA. I admire Huang because he demonstrates what it means to lead with conviction over an extended time period. I appreciate his frankness about the sacrifices required to build a successful business and his willingness to speak openly about the personal and professional challenges he faced.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? A recent UF MBA case competition stands out. Most teams leaned on tools like ChatGPT and Claude to iterate their strategies, and the result was a noticeably higher bar across the board. Our team used AI to rapidly test different approaches and refine our pitch, and the judges appreciated the depth we brought. AI definitely compresses the distance between a rough draft and a refined proposal.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Kassy Perez. Kassy is a consistent source of energy and encouragement for our entire cohort. She is always the first to celebrate someone’s win and often shows up with a cake to celebrate. She genuinely loves to see the people around her succeed.

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

I would like to teach an MBA course in the future. I enjoyed learning from my professors who brought their real-world experiences into the classroom. I know I would enjoy teaching and working with students. Teaching and mentoring are important parts of building a community, and I think this would be a great way to continue growing.

I want to build businesses with the people closest to me. A close friend of mine runs an IT services company, and we regularly go back-and-forth on how to win new clients, service expansion, and handling operations. My mom and I are often exchange ideas about real estate and AI. When I start a company of my own, I see it as something I’ll build alongside the people I am close to, across whatever industries those opportunities take us.

What made Jonny such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“I am pleased to write a short recommendation about Jonny Amon for P&Q.” When this nomination form went out, I did not hesitate to nominate him. He is one of those students who will have a lasting impact on the Warrington MBA program.

Jonny has been a pleasure to work with during his year in the MBA program. I remember meeting him for lunch at orientation, and we started a conversation about world travel. I was impressed with the amount of life experience he brought from working in DC and collaborating with people from Colombia and Germany. Jonny exemplifies what it means to be a Global Leader and an eager student.

Jonny has always been thoughtful and engaging throughout his process. Originally wanting to be in consulting, Jonny and I explored options for months during the summer. He would take tough feedback and turn it into actionable next steps every time we met. His hard work and dedication to the career search set the tone for his cohort. Ultimately, his passion for sustainability led him down another path, where I have no doubt, he will succeed.

Jonny, always eager to give back, has been a vital part of our Graduate Career and Peer (GCAP) mentor program. As it is now his turn to pay it forward, Jonny spends part of his week coaching students on their career goals. He recognized the importance of his career journey here at Warrington and wanted to ensure those around him had the same opportunities. His personable attitude and willingness to give feedback to students have made him a leader in the GCAP program.”

Jared Rizzo
Associate Director and Career Coach, Business Career Services
Warrington College of Business, University of Florida

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