We are excited to introduce our new Sloan class, which kicked off Orientation Week on Monday, December 9th. This cohort consists of 36 students coming from 21 different countries and 25 cities, with over a third being outstanding women leaders in their respective fields. Notably, the average work experience among this group has increased from 17 to 18 years, highlighting the seniority of this year’s class.
In terms of diversity, we are proud to have representation from nearly every continent. While Asia remains the largest contributor, Africa and the UK each account for 14%, showing a significant increase in interest from these regions. This year’s cohort also includes participants from Latin America, North America (the Caribbean), Australia, and Europe.
The distribution of job functions is quite balanced, with managerial roles leading the way, followed by general managers, consultants, bankers, entrepreneurs, and business developers. A significant portion of the class, about one-third, comes from financial backgrounds, including asset management, private banking, commercial banking, investment banking, insurance and pension services. Consulting and IT sectors each represent 11%, both of which continue to grow annually.
Our students are also committed to furthering their education, with nearly 40% holding an additional postgraduate degree, such as a Master’s, MSc, or MBA, and two students even possessing PhDs. Additionally, we have several professional chartered accountants among us.
Beyond their diverse backgrounds, this class is exceptionally talented, showcasing a range of artistic and athletic abilities. We have salsa and Bollywood dancers, a kickboxer with a red belt, qualified ski and scuba diving instructors, a taekwondo practitioner, and a professional drummer. One remarkable student even swam across the Bosporus, a distance of 6.6 km!
It has been a true honour to work with all of our students, and we extend our gratitude to them for choosing LBS and the Sloan community as their home, not only for the coming year, but for a lifetime.