Katya Johns

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (and Carey Law School (JD/MBA ‘23)

“A Literature/Law major turned venture capitalist, I enjoy reading court cases and financial statements in equal measure.”

Hometown: New York City, New York

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve traveled to 30+ countries, most of them thanks to my job at Endeavor, which took me to Malaysia, Mexico and everywhere in between in search of the best of the best high-impact entrepreneurs!

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University, B.A. in Government and Literature

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Endeavor Global – Head of Entrepreneur Search & Selection; Capital Markets Company (Capco) – Senior Strategy Consultant

What word best describes the Wharton MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far and why? Accomplished.

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 interested in pursuing a JD/MBA and Penn has the best and longest-standing three-year program in the country. The university is a big proponent of interdisciplinary education, so the two degrees feel well-integrated and complementary.

Separately, I was attracted to Wharton because of its emphasis on data-driven decision-making and financial acumen, both areas that I seek to strengthen. I also love that Wharton has a core that all students go through together in learning teams, which helps make a large class size feel small. Finally, Wharton’s incredible international diversity was a huge selling point. My career has been global, and I wanted to continue developing my network around the world with the help of Wharton’s 100,000+ alumni base!

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at the Wharton School? This past year, I was a Wharton Impact Venture Associate with WIVA, the school’s only professionally-run impact investing vehicle. This upcoming year, I’m looking forward to getting more involved with the PE/VC Club and the Wharton Fintech Club, which has its own podcast. For fun, I’m also the Co-President of the Wharton Art Club, which seeks to take advantage of the many impressive museums and cultural institutions that Philly has to offer. As a Non-Profit Board Fellow with the McNulty Leadership Program, I’ll have the opportunity to sit on a professional board for a local arts organization this year, pursuing my passion while gaining valuable training in board management and nonprofit governance.

When you think of the Wharton School, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? History. Wharton is the oldest business school in the world set in one of the oldest cities in America. However, the school doesn’t rest on its laurels. It also made history this year by admitting the first majority female MBA class, of which I am proud to be a member.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At my consulting firm, I had the opportunity to help turn around a 10,000-person portfolio company over a year-and-a-half long engagement. I led an incredible 100% female team that put together a five-year strategic roadmap to put this company on the path to profitability. We presented our findings directly to the CEO and the rest of the C-suite, recommending a mix of strategic cutbacks, digital investments, and market and product expansions. I am pleased to report that the company successfully IPO’d earlier this year!

How did COVID-19 change your perspective on your career and your life in general? COVID-19 was a poignant reminder of our global interconnectivity. During the pandemic, I did a remote pre-MBA internship with an African fintech unicorn, Flutterwave, based in Nigeria, which I would never have been able to do otherwise. I hope we carry these lessons learned into the future and embrace remote work since, with that, comes diverse hiring, flexible employment opportunities, and cross-border communication.

That said, the greatest takeaway from this dark period was probably, ‘Health above all else.’ The satellite imagery of pre- vs. post-pandemic air pollution levels on earth brought home the importance of taking the time to pause, heal, and renew. I hope to factor in more periods of resting and reflecting in my own career going forward.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? As a self-taught businesswoman, I felt like there were gaps in my business, legal and financial knowledge that I needed to fill in order to advance to the next stage of my career. With my JD/MBA, I want to execute more sophisticated, complex corporate M&A deals, especially in the highly regulated fintech space, which has enormous potential to expand access to services and markets. Beyond that, I thought it was the right time to invest in quality leadership training that would set me up for success and accelerate my career progression for what lies ahead.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? University of Chicago (JD/MBA), Yale (JD/MBA), Kellogg (JD/MBA), London Business School, Oxford University

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the Wharton School’s MBA program? Approach the application season as an opportunity for self-reflection and growth. In many ways, it is the start of your MBA journey towards self-transformation. Be thoughtful and authentic about your interests, passions, strengths and weaknesses. Invest the time upfront for introspection as it will pay dividends down the line when you get to campus. Wharton is a jungle gym of choices so the admissions team wants to see that you have the vision and conviction to navigate it, while also staying flexible and open to unexpected opportunities that might present themselves. Carpe diem!

DON’T MISS: MEET THE WHARTON SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2023