Meghan Moran

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

“Tech growth equity investor by day, outdoor adventurer and sudoku addict by night.”

Hometown: Branchburg, NJ

Fun Fact About Yourself: I recently got my scuba diving license and swam with sharks in the Great Barrier Reef.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Pennsylvania, Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Bain Capital, Investor

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the Wharton School’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I was particularly interested in the McNulty Leadership Program at Wharton since successfully leading teams was one of the key skills I wanted to develop while in school. Even more, leadership is much better learned through practice than just through the classroom. As someone who loves adventure and travel, the Leadership Ventures seemed like a great fit for me. I’m hoping to make it on the Patagonia trek at some point during the program!

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at the Wharton School? Although I’ve never played hockey in my life, I’m super excited to join Wharton’s Hockey League! I had the chance to attend the championships at accepted students’ weekend and could see first-hand how fun the team experience was. The popularity of the hockey league is truly unique to Wharton, and I believe is the perfect representation for the school’s highly social environment.

When you think of the Wharton School, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? Collaborative. From everything I’ve heard about Wharton, it’s one of the most social and cooperative MBA programs. From the interview to pre-term assignments to the leadership ventures, teamwork and collaboration are heavily emphasized throughout the program.

What makes Philadelphia a great place to earn an MBA? Philadelphia has all of the perks of large cities – great connectivity, amazing restaurants, and incredible diversity – while also having a small campus feel as an oasis inside the city. Penn and Philadelphia feel like one in the same to me, and the university has so much influence on the city that it truly opens many doors for its students.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I spent a few months externing full time at a portfolio company that I had been working with for several years, with the goal of expanding and formalizing their internal and external AI strategies. In the span of three months, I was able to spearhead the development of an employee AI committee, draft an AI policy, receive funding approval for new AI product development, and execute a company-wide AI hackathon that changed many individuals’ perspectives on AI usage. After the externship ended, these accomplishments were used as the template for AI initiatives across our team’s portfolio.

What is your biggest passion – and how has it helped you make an impact? I love reading and learning about new technologies, which has helped both in portfolio company operations and generating new investment ideas. My willingness to take deep dives into areas of tech that my team hadn’t explored helped us build domain expertise and build credibility with deep tech founders and allowed us to expand our top of the funnel and bring more opportunities to our investment committee. On the portfolio side, my excitement for researching new AI technologies for different business functions allowed our companies to develop a more educated view of how different tools compare on value, usability, and cost, and expedited AI tool access into our companies.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? Currently, my plan is to be a hardware and software investor at a later stage VC or growth equity firm.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the Wharton School’s MBA program? I would advise prospective students to not downplay the importance of the Team Based Discussion, as teamwork is a focal point of the MBA program. Be yourself, figure out what kind of role you succeed in when working with a team, and focus on listening just as much as speaking yourself.

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