What’s getting everyone’s attention these days?

At Poets&Quants, readers are resonating with stories that detail what it’s like to be a new MBA hire at McKinsey & Co., who the most powerful CEOs are with MBA degrees on their resumes, why it’s a good time to apply to an international MBA program, and who gained our attention as the MBA professor of the year.

Check out these four of our most popular stories this week:

Meet McKinsey & Company’s MBA Class Of 2023

A Baker’s Dozen of the consulting firm’s MBA grads from 2023 describes what it’s like to work at McKinsey and provides their “only at McKinsey” moment thus far. The MBAs hail from many of the top business schools, including Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, Cornell, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, INSEAD, London Business School, and Minnesota. You’ll also get crucial advice on the consulting firm’s case interviewing approach to vetting job applicants.

The Class of 2023 illustrates something fundamental about McKinsey’s culture and capabilities. The largest of the MBB firms, McKinsey boasts 45,000 employees who operate across 130 cities in 65 countries and speak over 140 languages. With 100 years of experience – and people devoted to nearly every imaginable practice area – McKinsey has done it all.

“The sheer volume of knowledge and resources the firm has left me astounded,” admits Usama Arshad, who earned his MBA from Harvard. “You can think of any topic under the sun, and McKinsey can connect you to internal experts, external experts, knowledge documents—this place has everything.”

MBA Ranking: Nearly A Third Of Fortune’s Most Powerful Business Leaders Have MBAs

Fortune names its 100 most powerful people in business and we dissect the list to discover which of them have MBA degrees and from which schools. Among these names, you’ll find 32 MBA graduates or roughly 30% of the list. The most powerful MBA was Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, a 1997 graduate of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Looking for an advertisement for the benefits of an MBA? Nadella raked in $48 million in 2023 alone. The second-highest ranked MBA grad, JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, was awarded $36 million in 2023, after collecting $34.5 million the year before. Still, those wages pale in comparison to professional athletes. Exhibit A: Patrick Mahomes averages $52.7 million a year, excluding endorsements and other revenue streams. Exhibit B: This year, LeBron James is slated to collect $48.7 million.

Overall, Jamie Dimon reached 5th in the Fortune ranking, edging out Fuqua alum Tim Cook, who took the reins from Steve Jobs as Apple CEO in 2011. Stanford GSB’s Mary Barra and the Wharton School’s Sundar Pichai, the heads of General Motors and Alphabet respectively, also cracked the overall Top 10 at 9th and 10th. Overall, 8 members of Fortune’s Top 25 hold MBAs, including Citigroup’s Jane Fraser (Harvard Business School), Walmart’s Doug McMillon (University of Tulsa), and Starbucks’ Brian Niccol (University of Chicago’s Booth School). Amazon’s Andy Jassy, who earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1997 alongside Nadella, finished 26th.

Overall, Harvard Business School produced the highest number of leaders in the Fortune ranking with 9 graduates. The Stanford Graduate School of Business was the runner-up with five graduates – a number skewed by the fact that Harvard MBA class sizes are twice that of Stanford. Three Wharton MBA alumni made the list, along with two representatives each from the University of Chicago’s Booth School and Duke University’s Fuqua School.

Why Now Is A Great Time To Apply To International MBA Programs

The results of the U.S. presidential election have injected a large dose of uncertainty into the global arena. One thing is certain: business will remain an international endeavor.

While markets reacted favorably to the business-friendly agenda of the new administration, questions remain about the global business environment. Despite potential trade tariffs and shifting policies, one thing is certain: business will remain an international endeavor. As the former admissions director at INSEAD, I have long advocated for the benefits of an international business school education, and in the current environment, it’s a perfect time to consider earning an MBA abroad.

Whether you’re drawn to Europe, Asia, or beyond, international MBA programs offer distinct advantages, from often exceptional ROI to immersive global leadership training and unparalleled diversity in the classroom. Add to that the shorter program lengths and later deadlines offered by many international schools, and the timing couldn’t be better.

MBA Professor Of The Year: Wharton’s Ethan Mollick

For his dogged intellectual pursuit of one of the world’s most disruptive technologies and his unparalleled mastery of the subject, Poets&Quants is naming Wharton’s Ethan Mollick its Professor of the Year in 2024. With his expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation, Mollick brings an important lens to all the emerging angst and exhilaration over the rise of artificial brains. He does so without hyping AI’s fundamental importance. He concludes his book, for example, with not a single prediction but four scenarios for AI’s future because, Mollick concedes, “nobody actually knows the future of AI.” It could come to a quick plateau, experience linear or exponential growth, or become the technology that finally matches or surpasses human cognitive capabilities.

“People treat AI like Google, asking it factual questions,” he says, “but AI is not Google and does not provide consistent or even reliable answers.”

Instead, counsels Mollick, interact with AI as a new colleague. “Treat AI just like an infinitely patient new coworker who forgets everything you tell them in each new conversation…You want to work with it, not just give it orders and you also want to learn what it is good and bad at. Working with AI is a dialogue, not an order.” Just as you would with a coworker, Mollick believes it is crucial to give AI examples of good and bad responses along with step-by-step directions of what you want to accomplish.”You can also give it feedback just as you would another human being asking for improvement or just request that it ask you questions about anything that is unclear,” says Mollick.