Kosi Aroh

Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford

“Engineer building systems to strengthen medicine supply chains and expand pharmaceutical manufacturing globally.”

Hometown:

Born – Enugu, Nigeria

Grew Up – Ocean City, Maryland USA

Fun fact about yourself: I love fried plantains. I could eat just fried plantains for a meal

Undergraduate School and Degree:

University of Maryland College Park – BSc in Computer Science & Chemical Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology – PhD in Chemical Engineering

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Director of Data Analytics at On Demand Pharmaceuticals

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Did not intern. Had a full-Time role at On Demand Pharmaceuticals as Director of Data Analytics

Where will you be working after graduation?

• Management Consulting in Africa/UK
• Venture Capital in USA

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Co-Chair of Climate Impact Sustainability and Healthcare Oxford Business Network
• Co Trek Lead for China trek to Beijing and Shenzhen visiting China and exploring its manufacturing ecosystem

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? One moment that meant a great deal to me was being chosen by my Impact Lab cohort to give a speech during our program’s graduation celebration.

Impact Lab brought together students committed to tackling social and environmental challenges. Being selected by that group to represent them was deeply meaningful. It reflected the trust and respect built through months of collaboration, debate, and shared exploration of what meaningful impact looks like in practice.

For me, the moment mattered less as a personal recognition and more as a reminder that leadership is often about representing the collective aspirations of a group.

What achievements are you most proud of in your professional career? One professional achievement I am particularly proud of was helping deliver a critical manufacturing software project that had fallen significantly behind schedule.

I joined the project midway through during a leadership transition, which created both technical and organizational challenges. The original project leader remained on the team, and we needed to quickly realign responsibilities while restoring momentum.

At the same time, I had to rapidly learn a new programming environment while managing the team responsible for delivering the system.

By focusing on the highest-impact deliverables and strengthening coordination between technical and operational teams, we were able to complete the project and bring the system into use.

The experience reinforced an important lesson: leadership often means stepping into ambiguity, stabilizing a team, and creating forward momentum when projects appear stalled.

Why did you choose this business school? Oxford Saïd stood out to me because of its deeply international community and strong focus on impact.

My professional interests sit at the intersection of technology, operations, and global health. Oxford’s student body brings together people working on challenges across climate, healthcare, policy, and entrepreneurship from every region of the world.

That environment makes it possible to test ideas and perspectives in a truly global context. For someone interested in improving medicine access and industrial development in emerging markets, being surrounded by peers focused on solving real-world problems was incredibly valuable.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Michael Gill, who teaches Organizational Behavior, was my favorite professor.

Each session felt like the gold standard of what an MBA class should be: engaging, thoughtful, and memorable. His classes combined literature, case discussions, and carefully- designed role-play exercises.

One particularly memorable exercise involved a scenario modeled after the Challenger disaster, disguised as a racing team deciding whether to proceed with a race despite potential technical concerns. The exercise highlighted how organizational pressures and incomplete information can shape decisions.

As someone with a data-oriented background, it was a powerful reminder that good decision-making requires both strong analysis and the willingness to question assumptions.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course was Executive Finance.

Coming from an engineering background, I had limited formal training in finance. This course helped me understand the financial lifecycle of companies – from early growth through IPO and, in some cases, bankruptcy.

Through case studies and discussion, the course helped me begin thinking more like an executive: understanding how financial decisions shape strategic choices and long-term organizational outcomes.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Oxford is full of traditions, but the one that surprised me most was matriculation.

The ceremony marks the official start of one’s studies at Oxford. Students across the university dress in sub fusc and gather for a short ceremony in the historic Sheldonian Theatre.

For MBA students, the celebration extended well beyond the ceremony. The entire day became a chance to take photos, explore the city, and celebrate the start of our Oxford journey together.

It was a moment that connected us not only with each other, but with centuries of academic tradition.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? The MBA experience is always a balancing act between coursework, extracurricular activities, and the social connections that make the program special.

Because I was exploring multiple career paths, I often found myself attending many events and opportunities at once. Looking back, I would have focused earlier on narrowing my primary direction while keeping other possibilities open.

Doing so would have allowed me to invest more time in building deeper relationships and developing a clearer personal narrative earlier in the program.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? The Oberoi case study on service recovery (HBS Case: “Train Whistle in the Tiger Reserve”) was particularly impactful for me.

With my background in manufacturing and operations, I tend to think about continuous improvement through process optimization and standard operating procedures.

The Oberoi approach introduced a different perspective: empowering employees to deviate from standard procedures when necessary to meet a guest’s immediate needs. Those deviations were then analyzed to determine whether they should be incorporated into updated operating procedures.

The lesson was that effective operations are not rigid systems. They are living systems where well-trained employees are empowered to adapt while continuously feeding new insights back into the organization.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? The city offers a great mix of restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, sports facilities, and cultural spaces, while still being small enough to feel intimate and walkable.

One of my favorite aspects is how easy it is to get around. Most places are within a short bike ride, which makes the city feel both accessible and connected.

What business leader do you admire most? Masiyiwa built one of Africa’s most successful telecommunications companies while navigating significant regulatory and political barriers. Beyond his business success, he has consistently used his platform to support entrepreneurship, education, and leadership development across the continent.

What I find most inspiring is his long-term commitment to building institutions that create opportunities for others.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? AI has increasingly become integrated into both coursework and student-led programming at Oxford.

Student groups, such as the Technology, AI and Innovation Oxford Business Network, have organized events ranging from “vibe coding” workshops to discussions with technology leaders. These initiatives helped expose our cohort to how AI is shaping industries.

Academically, AI concepts were incorporated into core courses such as Analytics and further explored in the Machine Learning elective. AI applications were also discussed in marketing, strategy, and entrepreneurship courses.

One key insight for me was that AI may not always be a company’s core competitive advantage, but understanding how to integrate and apply it effectively is increasingly essential for competing in modern business environments.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? One classmate I greatly admire is Isabelle Thomas.

Isabelle is a Laidlaw Scholar and co-founder of the social enterprise BhuME, which transforms tailoring waste into educational toys while creating employment opportunities for underprivileged women.

During the MBA, she also held leadership roles across multiple student organizations, including co-chairing the Climate, Impact, Sustainability and Healthcare Oxford Business Network alongside me, serving as co-chair of the Pride Club, and contributing to Oxford Women in Leadership Alliance.

What stands out most about Isabelle is not just the number of roles she holds, but the energy and positivity she brings to each of them. Having worked closely with her in Impact Lab and our OBN, I saw firsthand the purpose behind her work and her commitment to creating meaningful impact.

She is someone who consistently turns ideas into action.

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

1) Launch a pharmaceutical manufacturing venture in Africa that expands regional production of essential medicines.

Many countries rely heavily on imported medicines, which creates vulnerabilities in supply chains and contributes to shortages. My long-term goal is to help build manufacturing capacity that improves both availability and affordability.

2) Teach at the university level.

Teaching has always been important to me. One of the reasons I pursued a PhD was because I wanted the opportunity to help students understand complex ideas and develop their own ways of thinking.

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

“Kosi Aroh has been an exceptional member of the Oxford MBA class, distinguished by intellectual rigor, collaborative leadership, and a deep commitment to strengthening global healthcare systems.

Kosi joined the programme as an Oxford Black Leaders Scholar, a highly competitive scholarship awarded to outstanding Black and ethnic minority students from the UK and the United States who demonstrate both academic excellence and leadership potential. His academic background reflects remarkable technical depth: he holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

At Oxford Saïd, Kosi has been a thoughtful and engaged contributor to the school community. He co-chairs the Climate, Impact, Sustainability and Healthcare Oxford Business Network, helping to foster interdisciplinary conversations about how business, technology, and policy can address complex global challenges. He also serves as a trek lead for the China Trek to Beijing and Shenzhen, guiding classmates in exploring one of the world’s most dynamic manufacturing ecosystems.

What stands out most about Kosi is his ability to bridge technical expertise with strategic thinking. In classroom discussions and collaborative projects, he consistently brings a systems perspective, drawing on his engineering and operational experience to analyse complex organizational challenges and identify practical pathways forward.

Kosi is also a deeply collaborative leader. One moment that captures this well was when his Impact Lab cohort selected him to deliver the closing speech at their programme celebration, reflecting the respect he earned among peers committed to social and environmental impact.

Looking ahead, Kosi plans to continue working at the intersection of technology, operations, and healthcare systems, with long-term ambitions to launch a pharmaceutical manufacturing venture that expands regional production of essential medicines. His vision is rooted in improving resilience and access in global medicine supply chains, particularly in emerging markets where manufacturing capacity remains limited.

Kosi embodies the intellectual curiosity, collaborative spirit, and impact-oriented leadership that define the Oxford MBA community. He is exactly the kind of thoughtful builder and systems thinker that business education seeks to develop.”

Amy Major
MBA Programme Director

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

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