June Pan

INSEAD

“Derivatives trader and professional singer combining analytical thinking with creativity and community leadership.”

Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan

Fun fact about yourself: I built a career trading derivatives while performing music and releasing my own songs.

Undergraduate School and Degree: National Tsing Hua University, Quantitative Finance

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Yuanta Financial Holdings, Derivatives Trader

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? N/A

Where will you be working after graduation? Targeting private equity firms.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: Vice President of Events for the INSEAD Music Club, where I organize performances and cultural events that bring students together through music. This semester, the Music Club will collaborate with the Robin Hood fundraising campaign, which aims to raise funds to support scholarships for future students. I am honored to help organize what will be one of the largest Music Club events of the semester while contributing to a meaningful cause.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? One thing I am proud of during my MBA experience is actively stepping outside my comfort zone to engage with the diverse INSEAD community. As someone who naturally identifies as an introvert, participating in many social events and cultural activities did not come easily at first. However, I made a conscious effort to embrace new experiences, learn about different cultures, and connect with classmates from around the world.

Through these interactions, I discovered how much personal growth can come from simply being open to new perspectives. I also try to support classmates whenever I can, whether through conversations, collaboration, or small acts of help. For me, the achievement is not a single event, but the progress I have made in challenging myself to grow and contribute more actively to the community.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? In my professional career, I am most proud of building the short selling system under significant time pressure and uncertainty. During volatile market conditions, I had to design and implement strategies quickly while managing risk and incomplete information.

This experience tested my ability to build solutions from the ground up while maintaining performance under stress. It strengthened my analytical thinking and taught me how to execute decisions effectively in complex and high stakes situations.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose INSEAD because of its highly international and fast-paced learning environment. The diversity of the student body allows students to constantly exchange perspectives with people from different countries, industries, and professional backgrounds.

For someone coming from a quantitative finance background, this global exposure was extremely valuable. It pushes me to think beyond familiar frameworks and approach problems from multiple viewpoints.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite professor so far has been my Organizational Behavior professor, Marwan Sinaceur. His classes bring cases to life through discussion and role playing exercises that simulate real organizational situations.

The course encouraged us to think carefully about how communication, incentives, and strategic interaction influence outcomes. I appreciate how practical the lessons are, since the frameworks we learn can be applied directly in real life conversations and negotiations.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course has been Organizational Behavior. Coming from a quantitative finance background, this was a topic I had not previously explored in depth.

The course helped me understand how communication, trust, and influence shape outcomes within organizations. I also applied some of the frameworks we learned during extracurricular negotiation activities, which made the course especially practical and relevant.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? One of my favorite events was the Holi celebration organized by the Indian community at INSEAD. It was a colorful festival where students celebrated by sharing colors, laughter, and cultural traditions.

For me, it was a memorable experience because this type of celebration is very different from what we normally see in Taiwan. The event reflected the openness and diversity of the INSEAD community, where students actively share and celebrate their cultures.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? The MBA program moves very quickly, so one thing I would do differently is manage my time more strategically from the beginning.

There are many opportunities happening simultaneously, including classes, networking events, clubs, and social activities. Without clear priorities, it is easy to experience fear of missing out and try to do everything. More intentional planning would allow me to focus on the experiences that matter most.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? One of the most impactful case discussions for me focused on decision-making under uncertainty. The case explored how leaders must make strategic decisions despite having incomplete information and conflicting stakeholder interests.

What struck me most was how easily teams can become overconfident in their assumptions. During the discussion, different groups proposed completely different strategies based on the same information. This made me realize that leadership is not about finding the perfect answer, but about making thoughtful decisions while acknowledging uncertainty.

The biggest lesson I learned is that strong leaders develop frameworks for thinking rather than waiting for perfect information. In fast-moving environments such as financial markets, the ability to act with discipline under uncertainty is often more important than having complete certainty.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Fontainebleau is a charming small town that creates a unique MBA experience. Most students live within walking distance of each other, so it is easy to meet friends frequently and spend time together outside the classroom.

This close proximity allows students to build stronger relationships and creates a very supportive community. The town encourages connection and conversation in a way that larger cities often cannot.

What business leader do you admire most? One business leader I admire is Aaron Wu, a Taiwanese entrepreneur who previously worked as a trader on Wall Street before transitioning into private equity and eventually building his own hotel business.

I admire his clarity of vision and his confidence in pursuing new directions. His career demonstrates the importance of understanding one’s strengths, having the courage to pursue ambitious ideas, and remaining open to new opportunities across industries.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? In several strategy related courses, AI tools have been integrated into the learning process through interactive simulations. These platforms allow students to role play different business scenarios and interact with AI generated stakeholders.

This approach makes case discussions more dynamic and practical because we can experiment with different strategies and observe how situations might evolve. Using AI in this way showed me that technology can enhance learning by allowing us to test ideas quickly and receive immediate feedback.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire Saurabh Bhatia. He is not only intelligent but also genuinely supportive of the people around him.

During exam periods, he often studies early so that he can organize tutorial sessions to help classmates prepare. To me, this willingness to invest his own time in supporting others reflects a generous and collaborative spirit.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? One item on my professional bucket list is to start my own investment fund. I hope to build a platform that combines disciplined financial analysis with long term value creation.

The second is to operate and run a hotel. Hospitality has been a childhood dream of mine, and creating a place where people can gather and share meaningful experiences would be deeply fulfilling.

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

“June Pan has distinguished herself as an intellectually curious and collaborative student in my MBA classroom. In the INSEAD course Uncertainty, Data and Judgment, she demonstrated exceptional quantitative reasoning and helped classmates without technical backgrounds understand complex analytical tools, drawing on her experience as a derivatives trader. In the spirit of Poets and Quants, June also contributes to the broader INSEAD community as a professional singer who serves as Vice President of the Music Club, organizing cultural events for fellow students. June combines analytical thinking with creativity and leadership in the arts, which improves our classroom exchanges and the lives of other INSEAD students.”

Johannes Eichstaedt
Visiting Assistant Professor, Decision Sciences
INSEAD

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