Katarina Montague

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

“Dedicated problem-solver committed to lifting others as I climb.”

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

Fun fact about yourself: I am a huge anime fan. Beyond the fun stories and beautiful animation style, I genuinely believe anime teaches meaningful life lessons including resilience, the importance of community, and always striving to grow stronger. Those themes of mission and growth resonate deeply with how I try to live and lead.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Southern Methodist University, dual-degree Mathematics and Engineering Management and Information Systems (EMIS, now the OREM Department)

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Senior Consultant, Capitalize Analytics

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (via Pronghorn)

Where will you be working after graduation? I am currently still recruiting.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Co-President, Graduate Women in Business (2024 – 2025)
• Student Ambassador (2025)
• Program Ambassador (2025 – 2026)
• Pivot Program Peer Mentor (2025)

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Serving as Co-President of Graduate Women in Business (GWiB) while simultaneously working as a Student and Program Ambassador gave me the rare opportunity to influence Georgetown’s MBA community from two directions at once, both from the inside and before students even arrived. The moment that crystallized why this mattered came at the student org fair during my second year. As I was promoting GWiB to incoming first-years, a student approached me and said that a conversation we had at a Spring Break event was the reason she chose to come to Georgetown. She had been on the fence, nervous about the investment, and our talk gave her the push she needed. Knowing that I had a role in her decision is something I will carry with me long after graduation. I came to Georgetown to grow, but what I did not expect was how much I would come to value helping others believe they belong here too.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? While at Capitalize Analytics, a client faced a sudden resourcing gap and asked our team to fill it. I had supported this type of work before but had never run the desk independently. I stepped in and successfully managed two midstream assets totaling over $23M in contracts across seven months, maintaining uninterrupted operations while simultaneously identifying process gaps that could cause problems for anyone new to the role. I built automations to close those gaps and created training documentation so that the two accountants ultimately hired for the position could hit the ground running. I think of it the way I think about the outdoors: you should always leave it better than you found it. The fact that I was handed something difficult, delivered results, and made it easier for the people who came after me is what I am most proud of in my career.

Why did you choose this business school? I never imagined I would pursue an MBA. However, the opportunity arose and as soon as I discovered Georgetown’s MBA program, I never considered anywhere else. What set McDonough apart was not any single ranking or program feature, but something harder to quantify: Georgetown’s Jesuit values and its genuine commitment to diversity and community. Those values were not just described in a brochure; they were evident in every interaction I had during the process. I felt a pull to be part of something larger than a credential. The more I have engaged with my peers and the program office, the more confident I have become that it was the right decision. Georgetown did not just give me a business education; rather, it gave me a community I am proud to represent.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Jonathan Stroud, who teaches the core Statistics course, stands out as the professor who most energized our cohort. From day one, the class had a momentum to it that I rarely experienced. What impressed me most was watching my peers, many of whom had long been intimidated by statistics, visibly light up when a concept finally clicked. Professor Stroud has a gift for making rigorous material feel genuinely accessible without dumbing it down. I would take that class a second time without hesitation.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Data and Society with Professor David Ashley has been my favorite course as an MBA. The caliber of guest speakers alone made it exceptional, but what made it truly special was how seamlessly it bridged my technical background with broader questions of policy and ethics. It also reminded me of something easy to forget in a business school curriculum: Georgetown is in Washington, D.C. – and I was fortunate enough to feel that in the classroom. The course challenged me to think about data not just as an analytical tool but as something with real social weight. That perspective will stay with me.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Georgetown’s Global Fest is one of the most joyful events of the academic year. It is a celebration where students showcase their cultures, traditions, and identities with one another. What it reflects about McDonough is something I sensed even before I enrolled: this is a community that genuinely values the whole person, not just the resume. Being surrounded by people from so many different backgrounds, and having the space to be receptive to all of it, is a privilege I have not taken for granted. That spirit extends beyond campus too. In October, I traveled with classmates on the Morocco Trek, which was an experience that deepened friendships and gave us the chance to explore a new culture together. Georgetown does not just teach global business; it finds ways to make global citizenship something you actually live.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would push myself to take courses further outside my comfort zone. My analytical background made quantitative courses feel like familiar territory, but I did not take Professor Comer’s or Professor Pinkowitz’s finance courses, and I already know I will regret that. The MBA is a rare moment to learn from experts in rooms designed for exploration. I would tell my first-year self to be bolder about sitting in those rooms, even when the subject feels unfamiliar.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? The Beleza Natural case, studied in How to Build Strong Brands with Professor Debora Thompson, is the one I found to be most impactful. Two co-founders built a brand from R$10,000 and a garage in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro into a national chain serving 100,000 clients a month. They did it not by chasing an aspirational market, but by going deeper into the one everyone else had ignored. What made it truly memorable was not just the business lesson, but the conversation it sparked in our classroom around identity, dignity, and whose needs the market has historically chosen to ignore. The biggest lesson I learned was that brands can succeed when they can close the gap between what a product does and what it makes someone feel about themselves. That case reinforced my belief that empowering people, truly seeing them and designing for who they actually are, is not just good ethics; it is the foundation of a brand that lasts.

What business leader do you admire most? Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, whom I had the privilege of shadowing during my internship. What set him apart was not his title, but what his team said about him when he was not in the room. He received consistent praise for how he listens, how he manages competing stakeholder priorities, and how he leads rather than simply manages. Watching him operate gave me a concrete understanding of the difference between the two. A manager directs work; a leader shapes culture and earns trust. He showed me what that looks like in practice.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? One of the most tangible ways McDonough integrated AI into programming was through the development of JackBot, a custom GPT assistant built to support prospective students. As a Program Ambassador, I was part of the team responsible for quality assurance, testing response quality, evaluating infrastructure options, and ensuring the tool accurately represented the program. The biggest insight I gained was about the limits of AI without rigorous human oversight. AI can scale communication, but it cannot substitute for the judgment that comes from lived experience. Knowing when a response is technically correct but contextually wrong is a human skill, and one that becomes more valuable as AI becomes more prevalent.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Joy Lin. Her name could not be more fitting. Joy is a first-year student who serves both as a Student Ambassador and on the Graduate Women in Business board. In every interaction I have had with her – whether it is discussing leadership roles, navigating the program, or simply passing her in the halls of Hariri – she radiates a warmth and genuineness that is rare. I find myself hoping that I can make people feel the way she makes people feel. That is not a small thing. Leadership is often discussed in terms of strategy and execution, but the ability to make others feel seen and valued is a form of leadership too and Joy has it naturally.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? First, it would to be an active member of an Employee Resource Group and use that platform to support and mentor the next generation of leaders the way others have invested in me. Second, I want to build a career rooted in mission-driven work that genuinely helps people, where the impact of what I do extends beyond the bottom line. Lifting others as you climb is not just a personal philosophy; it is something I want to make a structural part of my career.

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

“Katarina Montague has been one of the most thoughtful, talented, and impactful members of the Georgetown McDonough MBA Class of 2026. She is exactly the kind of student who reminds me why I love working in higher education. Katarina is someone who genuinely cares about others and about making things better for the community around her. We have been lucky at Georgetown to see her combine her technical expertise, leadership, and kindness to make a meaningful impact across our MBA program.

With a background in mathematics, Katarina brings strong analytical thinking to everything she does. During her time at McDonough, Katarina has been deeply engaged across the community. She served as a Consortium Fellow, as well as the Co-President of Graduate Women in Business (GWiB), where she contributed to building a more supportive and inclusive environment for women in the MBA program. She also served as an MBA Program Ambassador, supporting both incoming and prospective students and helping strengthen the sense of community within the program.

One of the most practical contributions Katarina made to the student experience happened during orientation. Because she is known among her peers for her incredible organization, we invited her to lead a session for our new MBA students on time management and organization. Her session was thoughtful, practical, and incredibly helpful for students transitioning into the demands of the MBA program. In fact, we still use the recording of her presentation today to support new cohorts.

One of the most exciting projects I worked on with Katarina was JackBot, the MBA Program Office’s AI-powered virtual assistant designed to support students. Katarina quickly distinguished herself not only through her technical capabilities but also through her strategic thinking. She used Python and other technical tools to analyze the bot’s functionality and performance, and she developed a digital analytics dashboard that helped our team better understand the information and translate complex data into actionable insights. She also took the initiative to better understand how students were interacting with JackBot and how it could be improved. Her ability to define problems clearly and propose practical solutions is remarkable and very impactful.

Katarina completed her summer internship with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) through Pronghorn as a CEO Shadow. She worked closely with the DISCUS leadership on strategy, policy, and organizational initiatives affecting the spirits industry. Post-MBA, Katerina is exploring roles at the intersection of strategy, governance, and emerging technology.

Beyond her many contributions, Katarina brings positivity, professionalism, and kindness to every interaction. She is thoughtful, collaborative, always smiling, and a genuine pleasure to work with. It has been a true privilege to work with Katarina, and I am excited to see the impact she will continue to have in the years ahead. She leads with both intelligence and kindness, and that combination will take her very far.”

Juliana Olm
Assistant Dean, Strategy & Operations
MBA Program Office
Georgetown University McDonough School of Business

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2026

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