Some members of the Class of 2019 at Harvard Business School
People love to knock Harvard. Why not? The school sets the bar, always has. In graduate business education, Harvard is the biggest and the best. The name carries the brand equity of Disney, conveying influence, affluence, authority, and prestige. Even more, it possesses a Google-like omnipresence; with faculty who’ve shaped thought for generations and alumni who’ve held top posts everywhere from the Fortune 500 to the body politic.
So you’d expect the Class of 2019 to be filled with the sons and daughters of the well-heeled and well-connected, right? Think again. Take Darrin Rahn, who describes himself as an “extrovert, passionate marketer, proud LGBT advocate, curious traveler, retail/CPG enthusiast, popcorn lover, and unapologetically myself.” He grew up on a family farm near tiny Chadwick, Illinois. Exposed to crops and livestock as a young man, he became “fascinated” with how food fosters community. This “farm-to-fork” perspective eventually led him to Iowa State University, where he studied agricultural economics, marketing, and entrepreneurship before landing at Target and General Mills.
How did Rahn get into HBS? Simple: He sent in an application. “I was initially unsure about applying to HBS,” he admits, “but a close work mentor and proud HBS alum insisted I apply. My big lesson here: never self-select out and limit yourself from opportunities, have the courage to take the first step.”
A WEALTH OF RICHES AND RESOURCES
You won’t regret it. Harvard Business School has the best of everything: a roster of teaching royalty, an exhaustive menu of courses, and a wealth of opportunities that only come with deep pockets and raw power. This mystique – coupled with a wealth of riches and resources – is why HBS draws the best students and the best companies to campus.
It is a campus unto itself, with 37 buildings sprawled across 40 acres – making it larger than many universities. The same is true of its endowment — $3.3 billion dollars at last count – which enables the school to quickly scale up for when the next Blockchain rolls around. Despite being a luxury brand, HBS is very generous with financial aid. Each year, it doles out $35 million dollars to its first and second years, a bonus reaped by half of each class to the tune of $37,000 a year.
One of four temporary sculpture installations on loan at Harvard Business School. This cast iron piece is by Barcelona-born Jaume Plensa.
Such abundance also enables the school to attract a hall of fame faculty, master teachers who enjoy the privilege of teaching top minds along with the time for introspection and research. As a result, HBS students have always been exposed to the very best new ideas. It is the home of Porter’s Five Forces and Christensen’s Disruptive Innovation. It is the place where management became a profession and leadership was turned into a science. Here, the faculty honed concepts like shareholder value and globalization, all while the Socratic Method was elevated to heights unseen since Classical times.
JUST TOO GOOD TO PASS UP
Not surprisingly, HBS has produced rock star alumni like Jamie Dimon, Michael Bloomberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Salman Khan – not to mention CEOs at firms ranging from BCG to GE. More important, HBS boasts over 80,000 alumni living in 171 countries. Translation: Students can find support in nearly every role, industry, or region imaginable.
For the Class of 2019, this total package was hard to pass up. Rahn, who plans to pursue product strategy and branding in the food and beverage industry, touts HBS’ “brilliant faculty,” “globally diverse perspectives,” and expansive “extracurriculars and travel immersions.” Mike Young, a Bain and Facebook alum, found it equally difficult to center on just one reason to attend the school.
“I think it will give me the best opportunity to learn and grow as a person, through a combination of 1) a rigorous academic curriculum that combines breadth and depth and pushes me to think about problems and areas of business that are outside my comfort zone; 2) endless conversations and vigorous debates with new friends, especially those I meet in my 90-person section, facilitated by Harvard’s use of the case method to structure classroom discussion; and 3) the vast pool of resources Harvard provides, including an unmatched global alumni network and more extracurricular and research opportunities than I can count.”
BAIN CONSULTANT SINGS A CAPPELLA ON GLEE
Such resources has enabled the school to attract one of the most diverse classes you’ll find anywhere. Kenya Hunt, an Alabama native and self-described “crime novel connoisseur” and “beauty product hoarder,” earned a chemical engineering degree before spending her days “200 miles off the coast of Louisiana” on a floating oil rig. Anirudh Banarji wrote his first line of code when he was just eight years old. Think Rahn comes from the rural heartland? Let me introduce you to Australia’s Jonathon McCarthy, who grew up in Arnhem Land, “a region larger than the state of Maine with a population of only 16,000 people but over 40,000 saltwater crocodiles!” When Rahn wasn’t tending to chores, he was donning a top hat and waving a magician’s wand. “I perfected all the classics – card tricks, linking rings, rope tricks, you name it! I was never successful in convincing my parents to let me buy multiple live doves.”
Yes, the class even includes a token Yalie in Young, who once made a pitch perfect entrance into Hollywood. “As a member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs, the oldest collegiate a cappella singing group, I took a year off during college to perform in 40 countries across six continents,” he explains. “One of the highlights of the year was flying to LA to film a cameo appearance on the season four finale of the US TV show Glee. We play a rival singing group competing against the show’s main characters at “Regionals” (Spoiler Alert: it doesn’t end well for us).”
Luckily, Young fared far better in his externship at Facebook. He was part of the team that launched a tool targeted to 70 million businesses to help them find job candidates through Facebook. The results stunned him. “We met small business owners who had previously struggled to find the right job candidates, but had used our tool to hire more than a dozen new employees,” he relays. “We even met someone who had been unemployed for over a year before successfully finding a new job with our product. It was inspiring to experience first-hand the positive impact that a new technology can have on people’s lives.”
CONTRIBUTIONS FELT IN MINING, RETAIL, AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Members of the Class of 2016 celebrate Commencement Day at Harvard Business School
Young wasn’t the only member of the 2019 Class to make an impact before they re-located to Boston. As a business unit head for TerraComm, an Australian mining company, McCarthy worked closely with officials in Alberta, Canada to open a large mining project. Aside from the financial benefits to his firm and the local economy, McCarthy’s approach to reducing environment risk also provided regulators with a “benchmark for the mining designs and processing techniques that could be used in Alberta to safely and successfully deliver other mining projects.”
Rahn was equally adept at running high profile projects. At Target, he was involved in managing “limited time fashion collaborations” with brands like TOMS and Lilly Pulitzer. From there, he moved to General Mills, where he developed growth strategy for the company’s marquee brands like Betty Crocker, Bisquick, and Gold Medal Flour, even signing licensing agreements with partners like Hershey’s, Cinnabon, and Nickelodeon. At the same time, he championed LGBT causes inside these landmark firms.
“At Target, I helped develop merchandising and marketing initiatives aimed at improving the LGBTA experience for Target’s consumers, including the launch of Target’s first LGBTA Pride assortment (apparel, accessories, décor, etc.), the introduction of same-sex greeting cards nationally, and the overhaul of Target’s wedding registry,” he says.
CLASS EERILY SIMILAR TO ITS PREDECESSORS
Consistent excellence is the hallmark of any great MBA program. The 2016-2017 application cycle at HBS maintained this standard…and then some. 10,351 candidates applied to be part of the Class of 2019, up 6% over the previous year. In fact, this represents a 15.5% improvement over the past five years, another indication of the school’s ever-growing cachet. Overall, the class boasts 941 students who beat the 1-in-10 odds of being accepted into the program. That said, HBS is increasingly facing competitive pressure. Last year, 91% of accepted candidates ultimately enrolled at the “West Point of Capitalism.” However, that number fell to 83%, with the program tendering 101 more acceptance letters than the year before.
Academically, the class arrives with a blistering 730 median GMAT – for the eighth consecutive year. Average GPAs rose slightly, however, from 3.67 to 3.71. In terms of majors, the class is relatively similar to its second year peers, though slightly more business-oriented. The percentage of business and economics majors climbed from 41% to 45% with the 2019 Class. At the same time, STEM and humanities and social sciences majors each slipped by 2%, coming in at 36% and 19% respectively. Among the 302 higher education institution represented in the class, just 146 are found on American soil.
Go to page 2 to see in-depth profiles of incoming Harvard Business School students.
Harvard Business School
The program also remained a vanguard for women, boasting its sixth consecutive class where women comprise 40% or more of the student body. 26% of the class also features American ethnic minorities, just a shade under the 2017 Class’ high-water mark. 35% of the class also hails from overseas – 70 countries technically – with Asia (14%) and Europe (10%) constituting the largest Non-American blocs.
The 2019 Class is almost a mirror image of its predecessor in terms of professional backgrounds, however. Last year, consulting, high tech, and venture capital and private equity each composed 15% of the class. Among first years, the numbers are identical…aside from consulting, which added a point. Financial services was the only other profession that reached double digits at 11% – the same size as last year. Healthcare gained a point at 7%, while government, education, and nonprofits (7%), consumer products (6%), and energy (6%) each lost a point. The percentage of the class who come from the military held steady at 5%.
NEW OFFERINGS INCLUDE A STARTUP BOOTCAMP AND A MOCK BOARDROOM
Despite name appeal and heavy demand, HBS is one program that won’t rest on its laurels. It seeks out – if not creates – cutting edge practices, always turning the latest business passions into its strengths. That’s particularly true of entrepreneurship. For over a half century, HBS has dipped into its general management roots to build one of the world’s top entrepreneurship programs. In the past five years, the school has launched two dozen ventures with the highest venture capital-backed funding, which have raised a combined $618.29 million dollars. In fact, 47% of HBS founders find a partner at the school, with 42% of graduates eventually starting firms of their own.
Aside from requiring “The Entrepreneurial Manager” for first years during the second term, the school also launched an “Entrepreneurial Bootcamp” in April. A blend of case study and hands-on testing, the course slows down the startup process to make sure students cover all the bases before they pitch and launch. “It was an opportunity to sort of pressure test an idea you might have,” says Ruth Isenstadt, a second year who completed the program last spring. “It’s kind of a risk-free way to figure out if this is something you want to pursue,” adds Andrew Rothaus. “I think it has increased the entrepreneurial spirit on campus.”
Inside a Harvard Business School classroom (Photo by Natalie Keyssar)
In January, the school also introduced its HBS Boardroom, a capstone that puts student decision-making to the test. Think of it as the case method on steroids, where students play CEOs and must defend their viewpoints and actions from a case in front of HBS alumni who serve as board members. Not only does this give students the chance to practice cool under pressure, but also show their stuff in front of prospective mentors and employers – with the school drawing 400 alumni during its first run last spring.
“We wanted to do something meaningful, big, and interesting for the first-year students,” wrote Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee in a school statement. “The task is to draw on the wisdom in the room and for the students to apply everything they have learned this year. And it is an opportunity for alumni to have a meaningful experience with students and relive a little of the energy of HBS.”
CASE METHOD REQUIRES LOTS OF WORK – AND OFFERS NO EASY ANSWERS
The HBS Boardroom will undoubtedly be hit for the Class of 2019, many of whom cite the case method as their top reason for joining the HBS community. It is said that HBS is driven by drama as much as data. The case method combines both. At HBS, over three-quarters of the courses are centered around the case method, with students often reading three or more cases a day. Such courses are designed to teach students how to think through issues, identify solutions, and make decisions.
It can be a grueling exercise, requiring an intensive synthesis of information – most of which is insufficient and occasionally unreliable. Even more, the case method rubs against the grain of traditional education, with process superseding result in importance and right answers (if any) being derived from context and persuasion. Even more, this learning method is truly a public affair, where students must lay out their process and defend their conclusions in an atmosphere where grades are partially based on participation and substance. This creates an environment defined by camaraderie, with 90 students learning from the approaches, insights, experiences, and even foibles of their peers. Bottom line: it simulates the world of CEOs, who must make scores of decisions each day – most defying quick and simple solutions.
Make no mistake: The Class of 2019 knows exactly what it signed up for with the case method. “I have been fortunate to see many different business cases across the globe and strongly believe in the immersion and accountability that comes with the case method,” McCarthy acknowledges. “The method teaches you to analyze a situation with incomplete information and take a position — a daily requirement of all business leaders globally. The case method also encourages debate and discussion with highly skilled professors and peers, providing a chance to hone the skill of ‘seeking dissenting opinion’ on the way to making decisions.”
Harvard Business School students
In the past, Hunt has been criticized in the workplace for being too quiet. That’s why she is embracing the case method: It will force her out of her comfort zone – and develop c-suite skills in the process. “I’ll have to speak up as if my grade depends on it,” she jokes. “Learning from my sectionmates through the case method will also give me the tools to make decisions in the face of conflicting data, ask the right questions, hone my business judgment, address developmental gaps, defend and challenge viewpoints, and become versed on how to persuade, negotiate, and influence others. In my view, there is no better place to acquire these skill sets than at Harvard Business School.”
A CLASS SEEKING LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES…AND COMMUNITY
While Banarji is looking forward to case discussion, he has a more personal reason for joining the incoming class. He has witnessed the value of an MBA from observing Hiroshi Mikitani, an HBS grad and CEO of Rakuten where Banarji had spent his entire career before business school “Harvard has always stood for excellence, and the university and its principles have stood the test of time,” Banarji explains. “Success stories such as those of Rakuten have been made possible in large part because of the education and experience Mr. Mikitani had as a Harvard MBA student from 1991 to 1993. HBS personifies the values of personal transformation and widespread impact, values that have been an intrinsic part of my journey thus far.”
So what’s next for the Class of 2019? Rahn, for one, is seeking inspiration, friendship, and adventure, noting that he wanted an experience “that would push me to think bigger, more globally, more diversely, broadly and long-term.” Hunt too is hoping community (not to mention a leadership role and meaningful work as an intern). Young, however, intends to look back on his application to remind him of why he came to Harvard Business School.
“One year from now, I hope to have a much deeper understanding of what it takes to run a business and – just as important – of who I am, what makes me tick, and what areas of business and management most excite me,” he says. “My core beliefs will have been thoroughly pressure-tested and perhaps changed because of things I’ve learned in and out of the classroom.”
To read profiles of incoming Harvard Business School students — along with their advice on tackling the GMAT, applications, and interviews — click on the links below.
DON’T MISS: MEET HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2018 OR THE PIONEERING MBAs OF THE CLASS OF 2019 OR THREE HBS APPLICANTS, THREE SUCCESSFUL MBA ESSAYS
| Student | Hometown | Alma Mater | Employer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anirudh Banarji | Delhi, India | University of Pune | Rakuten Inc. |
| Kenya Hunt | Huntsville, AL | Tuskegee University | Chevron |
| Jonathon McCarthy | Brisbane, Australia | University of Queensland | TerraCom |
| Darrin Rahn | Chadwick, IL | Iowa State | General Mills |
| Mike Young | Commack, NY | Yale University | Bain & Company |
Anirudh Banarji
Harvard Business School
Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Wrote my first line of code when I was eight and have been trying to fix problems using technology ever since.
Hometown: Born in Delhi, grew up in six different states across India but the longest I have stayed in any one city has been in Tokyo (from 2011 to 2017).
Fun Fact About Yourself: I enjoy playing any sport that involves a racket. Every year, during our annual family reunion, my brother and I play squash against each other. The score is carried over from year to year and we have now been keeping track of the score for more than ten years.
Undergraduate School and Major: University of Pune, Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Science)
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
Rakuten Inc, Tokyo: Rakuten is Japan’s largest internet services company, providing a variety of consumer and business-focused services in sectors such as e-commerce, travel, banking, securities, digital contents, online marketing and sports.
Team Manager, E-commerce Incubation Department: As a team manager in the global headquarters, I led projects from idea to execution for Rakuten’s membership, video and review platforms that impact more than one billion users globally and over 44,000 small to medium enterprises across sectors such as retail, travel and fintech.
As an engineer in various capacities, I also helped build Rakuten’s affiliate platform, created android apps and led one of Asia’s largest digital storage services, handling petabytes of data.
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: There are two memories that stay with me. The first is when I was recognized company-wide for my work by my guide and mentor, Hiroshi Mikitani (CEO of Rakuten). The second is when my team that was working on a user review aggregator service managed to cross 200 million end-user reviews. We all gathered around a large screen that was counting up to the big number. It was a milestone that we all eagerly awaited, and it was a special moment to celebrate success together.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? The entire application process allowed me to take a step back and really reflect on the decisions that I have taken so far and my future dreams, teaching me to value what I have achieved and to work towards my long-term aspirations. It also allowed me to share my journey with those who have guided me over the years. I would therefore recommend that future applicants “introspect, reflect and share.” It is your story and your journey; make sure it truly represents who you are. And most important, apply to your dream school when you feel you are ready and do not doubt yourself.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I learn best through discussion and debate, and learning via the case method was exactly what I was looking for. Attending a class on campus only reinforced that belief. Harvard has always stood for excellence, and the university and its principles have stood the test of time. Success stories such as those of Rakuten have been made possible in large part because of the education and experience Mr. Mikitani had as a Harvard MBA student from 1991 to 1993. HBS personifies the values of personal transformation and widespread impact, values that have been an intrinsic part of my journey thus far. I was drawn to the program for all these reasons.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? I would like to engage with my classmates and help continue to build a community that does amazing things together in the future and lives up to the school’s mission of educating leaders who make a positive difference in the world.
Kenya Hunt
Harvard Business School
Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Crime novel connoisseur. Beauty product hoarder. Unapologetically passionate in my beliefs and convictions. Driven. Persistent.
Hometown: Huntsville, AL
Fun Fact About Yourself: I once worked on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that was floating some 200 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
Undergraduate School and Major: Tuskegee University, B.S. Chemical Engineering
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
Chevron – Houston, TX & Offshore Gulf of Mexico
- Subsea Well Intervention Engineer – Completion & Intervention Staff Team
- Subsea Well Intervention Engineer – Major Capital Project Team
- Subsea Well Intervention Engineer – Blowout Preventer Team
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I led a cross-functional team to complete a laboratory testing project under severe time and budget constraints. I delivered the project under budget and management leveraged the test results to make key decisions for a major capital project.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? I cannot stress the importance of positive self-talk. During a rough patch while studying for the GMAT, it dawned on me that some of the things I said to myself, I’d never say to a friend. I was beating myself up pretty bad: I constantly questioned my intelligence and adopted self-doubt as my default.
To begin challenging those negative thoughts, you must first become more aware of them. Make a conscious effort to slow down and pay attention to your thoughts. Stop and notice when you are feeling negative emotions (like frustration, doubt and worthlessness). Keep a log if it will help. Once you are aware of your critical voice, you will be in a better position to stand up to it. Begin replacing those negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend that you believe in!
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? In performance reviews, I frequently received the same constructive feedback: I could be too quiet in meetings. When I began reflecting on how to address this feedback, I realized that attending Harvard Business School and participating in classroom discussions would force me out of my comfort zone and help me to grow as a leader. I’d have to speak up if my grade depends on it! Learning from my sectionmates through the case method will also give me the tools to make decisions in the face of conflicting data, ask the right questions, hone my business judgment, address developmental gaps, defend and challenge viewpoints, and become versed on how to persuade, negotiate, and influence others. In my view, there is no better place to acquire these skill sets than at Harvard Business School.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? After my first year of business school, I’d like to be getting ready to assume a leadership position in a student club, doing meaningful work in a fantastic internship, and getting to know my sectionmates and other classmates on a deeper level.
Jonathon McCarthy
Harvard Business School
Describe yourself in 15 words or less: An intrepid and curious adventurer, always excited by the possibility of the unknown.
Hometown: Brisbane, Australia
Fun Fact About Yourself: I grew up in Arnhem Land (Australia), a region larger than the state of Maine with a population of only 16,000 people but over 40,000 saltwater crocodiles!
Undergraduate School and Major: University of Queensland – Bachelor of Mining Engineering & Bachelor of Business Economics.
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: My role prior to business school was Business Unit Head – Australia for TerraCom Limited, a listed mining company in Australia. Prior to this role I was the General Manager of Mongolia Operations based in the remote Gobi Desert. Before joining TerraCom, I worked in mining finance and project development roles with Coalspur Mines, Mitsui & Co. and Rio Tinto across Australia, Asia and North America.
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I was leading the environmental permitting and development of a new large-scale mining project in Canada that had been denied on several occasions by the province of Alberta’s regulatory bodies. Taking lessons and technology from other work my team and I had done, we were able to significantly reduce the environmental risk of the project and get government approval for it to proceed. This not only provided a platform for the development of the project, with a positive impact on the local economy but gave the regulator a new benchmark for the mining designs and processing techniques that could be used in Alberta to safely and successfully deliver other mining projects.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Harvard Business School makes it very clear that the GMAT is just one of many things they look at in evaluating an applicant. But it’s still something that most people worry about, so in my view it makes good sense to study hard for the GMAT. Use some reasonably priced GMAT prep software to assist with giving yourself the best chance of maximizing your score. A strong GMAT score is one indicator of your analytical ability and enables you to more fully focus on your other key attributes in your essay. Attributes such as leadership, teamwork, ethics, cultural diversity and strategic perspective will help set you apart from other analytically strong candidates.
Equally as important as the application process, I believe, is your personal preparation to attend business school. As a married international student with two children, I can attest to the massive effort required from those in your network to get you to your business school of choice. Everyone will have different circumstances but you will be amazed at the support you will require. From recommendations and interview preparation to dealing with financial matters, the move to a new city, and those in your professional network who will help you long after you graduate, you are relying on a lot of support to be successful. For me, my family have been the stars of this process and the enthusiasm they have shown throughout our transition to Harvard is testament to the fact that everyone needs a good team to succeed.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I chose to attend Harvard Business School due to the case method style of learning. I have been fortunate to see many different business cases across the globe and strongly believe in the immersion and accountability that comes with the case method. The method teaches you to analyze a situation with incomplete information and take a position — a daily requirement of all business leaders globally. The case method also encourages debate and discussion with highly skilled professors and peers, providing a chance to hone the skill of ‘seeking dissenting opinion’ on the way to making decisions. In this regard, the case method and the high calibre of the network at Harvard will give me the best environment to develop strong leadership capabilities for my career.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? After a year of business school, I hope to have a strong network inside and outside of my section and a strong internship position for the summer. I hope to have enhanced my knowledge of the key business drivers in many different industries and honed my skills in entrepreneurship, capital markets and strategy. Overall, success will be defined by my desire to make the most of the second year of the course on the way to defining the next steps in my career.
Darrin Rahn
Harvard Business School
Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Extrovert, passionate marketer, proud LGBT advocate, curious traveler, retail/CPG enthusiast, popcorn lover, & unapologetically myself.
Hometown: I grew up in the Midwest, a rural town of Chadwick, Illinois, population 550.
Fun Fact About Yourself: For over ten years my hobby was being a magician, I perfected all the classics – card tricks, linking rings, rope tricks, you name it! I was never successful in convincing my parents to let me buy multiple live doves.
Undergraduate School and Major: Raised on a family farm, my entire childhood centered around local agriculture and working with crops, livestock, and machinery. And starting as a young kid, I was fascinated with grocery stores – the notion of agricultural outputs in so many products used by millions of people daily. What I love about food is that it sustains life, brings people together, and is an expression of personal, cultural, and geographic values.
Consumer brands are the face of the global food industry, and I wanted to pursue a career where I could lead strategy and marketing for mainstream food and beverage brands, leveraging my farm-to-fork perspective.
Following this passion, I attended Iowa State University, double majoring in Agricultural Economics and Marketing with a minor in Entrepreneurial Studies.
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: After undergrad, I accepted a job with Target Corporation, headquartered in Minneapolis, working on a buying team as the sourcing analyst. At Target, I led global sourcing for a new apparel brand launch, supported Target’s first international expansion into Canada, and managed the production of limited-time designer fashion collaborations– Altuzarra for Target, TOMS for Target, and Lilly Pulitzer for Target.
After three years with Target, I transitioned to General Mills, where I worked on marketing strategy and business growth for Betty Crocker, Gold Medal Flour, Bisquick, and Annie’s Homegrown Organic food brands. Some of my favorite General Mills highlights include the successful launch of Annie’s into the natural and organic baking aisle. It became the leading category brand nationally after one year despite intense competitive pressure. I developed a turnaround Bisquick brand strategy to drive reappraisal for lapsed consumers, and I guided the recovery of Gold Medal Flour brand through three national product recalls. Finally, I collaboratively managed Betty Crocker licensing relationships and marketing strategy with Hershey’s, Reese’s, Krispy Kreme, Cinnabon, Welch’s, and Nickelodeon as external partners, growing sales volume and category share.
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At both Target and General Mills beyond my day job, I’m very active championing LGBTA diversity efforts through my leadership on employee diversity councils. At Target, I helped develop merchandising and marketing initiatives aimed at improving the LGBTA experience for Target’s consumers, including the launch of Target’s first LGBTA Pride assortment (apparel, accessories, décor, etc.), the introduction of same-sex greeting cards nationally, and the overhaul of Target’s wedding registry. At General Mills, I served as Director of Events within the LGBTA employee network, leading the planning of company LGBTA events, speakers, volunteering, inclusive trainings, Q&A panels, and casual gatherings.
I look forward to continuing LGBTA leadership during business school at Harvard and with Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA).
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Invest time in crafting your narrative and telling your story in a way that uniquely differentiates you (essays, resume, interviews, recommendations, etc.). Authentically share your life’s story and push yourself to go deep and take risks, as you show the multifaceted person that you are!
Who are you, really? What drives you? When were there turning points in your life? Why are you so passionate? Where are you heading? At times, the application process may not feel the most humanizing, but it’s your job to communicate how your well-rounded perspective is the right fit for the program.
Everyone has the insecurities of not getting in, but your admission essays should encompass who you are and not what you think b-schools want to hear. Let your closest friends and mentors read and give feedback on your application – ensuring it fully captures the real YOU behind the application.
FYI: I was initially unsure about applying to HBS, but a close work mentor and proud HBS alum insisted I apply. My big lesson here: never self-select out and limit yourself from opportunities, have the courage to take the first step.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I wanted a business school experience that would push me to think bigger, more globally, more diversely, broadly and long-term, and as a general manager. The case method teaching approach at HBS was a true differentiator for me – discussing applied industry situations every day and then thinking like a CEO to make business decisions was very appealing.
HBS is a full-package school and perfect fit for me, giving me the ability to learn not only from the brilliant faculty but also from the large globally diverse perspectives in the classroom as well as through extracurriculars and travel immersions. Finally, HBS provides lifelong value in its alumni network and through the career opportunities it makes possible.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?
During my first year at HBS, I hope to build lasting friendships, travel to new destinations, and serve in several student leadership roles. I’m excited to learn and be inspired through the rigorous first-year general management curriculum. And professionally, I aim to complete a brand management summer internship at a leading multinational food and beverage company driving strategic industry transformation.
Mike Young
Harvard Business School
Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Wants to create technologies that improve the world. Also loves deep late-night conversations and dogs.
Hometown: Commack, NY
Fun Fact About Yourself: As a member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs, the oldest collegiate a cappella singing group, I took a year off during college to perform in 40 countries across six continents. One of the highlights of the year was flying to LA to film a cameo appearance on the season four finale of the US TV show Glee. We play a rival singing group competing against the show’s main characters at “Regionals” (spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well for us).
Undergraduate School and Major: Yale University, BA, Political Science
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
Bain & Company (management consulting)
- Associate Consultant, 2014-2016
- Senior Associate Consultant, 2016
- Consultant, 2017
- Monetization Product Marketing Manager, 2016
Six-month externship during a leave of absence from Bain
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At Facebook I was part of a team that launched a new tool to help the 70 million businesses that use Facebook Pages find and hire job candidates directly through Facebook. A few weeks after launching, we traveled to Chicago to meet with and learn from early users of the product, and I was blown away by their stories. We met small business owners who had previously struggled to find the right job candidates, but had used our tool to hire more than a dozen new employees. We even met someone who had been unemployed for over a year before successfully finding a new job with our product. It was inspiring to experience first-hand the positive impact that a new technology can have on people’s lives.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? For me, the most important and time-consuming aspect of the MBA application process was understanding and articulating my personal “story” – who I am, what my life ambitions are, and how going to business school right now will help me achieve them. Your story is the central theme that ties your entire application together. Ideally, you want the various parts of your application (your essays, resume, interview answers, etc.) to come together to tell a coherent story of who you are.
There’s one more benefit to investing the time up front to craft your story: It will probably teach you something about yourself. When I started my application, I didn’t have good answers to questions like “What are my long-term career ambitions?” and “What am I hoping to get out of business school?” The act of answering these questions not only strengthened my application, but also helped me to confirm that business school is the right next step for me (something you should probably know before committing the time and money to earn an MBA). I’ll use my answers as guiding principles to determine how I spend my time over the next two years.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? It’s difficult to come up with just one key factor, so I’ll cheat a little bit and say I chose Harvard because I think it will give me the best opportunity to learn and grow as a person, through a combination of 1) a rigorous academic curriculum that combines breadth and depth and pushes me to think about problems and areas of business that are outside my comfort zone; 2) endless conversations and vigorous debates with new friends, especially those I meet in my 90-person section, facilitated by Harvard’s use of the case method to structure classroom discussion; and 3) the vast pool of resources Harvard provides, including an unmatched global alumni network and more extracurricular and research opportunities than I can count.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? One year from now, I hope to have a much deeper understanding of what it takes to run a business and – just as important – of who I am, what makes me tick and what areas of business and management most excite me. My core beliefs will have been thoroughly pressure-tested and perhaps changed because of things I’ve learned in and out of the classroom. I’ll be working at a summer internship that allows me to devote my time to thinking about what the future will look like, and gives me the opportunity to put my ideas into practice in ways that can improve the quality of life for people around the world. And, of course, I hope to have made some new friends along the way.
Related Stories In Our Meet The Class of 2019 Series:
The Pioneering MBAs In The Class of 2019
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business
Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Management
University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business
Notre Dame University Mendoza College of Business
UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business
New York University Stern School of Business
University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business
University of Michigan Ross School of Business
Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business
MIT Sloan School of Management
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Emory University’s Goizueta Business School
Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business
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