Poets & Quants, a top news outlet for students considering business school, has named its “Best & Brightest MBAs” for the class of 2019. The annual list highlights the accomplishments of 100 graduate students from around the world. Among this year’s MBAs are three members of the Wharton community who each are notable for the boundary-pushing interdisciplinary studies they have pursued at Penn.
Medora Brown G19 WG19
Medora Brown’s interest in using business to stimulate developing economies can be traced in part back to her mom. Brown, who is jointly earning an MBA and master’s degree in international studies through the Lauder Institute, told P&Q that her mom modeled for her “how to use the power of the private sector to do good in the world.”
Since earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and French from Vanderbilt University, Brown has pursued a range of global work, including as a contractor at the State Department in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and as communications manager for Sanergy, a Kenyan company dedicated to improving sanitation in some of the world’s poorest communities. She also interned in Kenya last summer at Dalberg, which creates positive social impact through services focused on consulting, investment, design, data and research. Brown is slated to join Dalberg as a consultant after graduation.
Read more about her in P&Q’s full profile.
Jibran Khan C12 W12 WG19
Jibran Khan is considered a pioneer of sorts at Penn. As the first student to pursue a joint Wharton MBA and master of urban spatial analytics at PennDesign, he has immersed himself in a real estate-focused business curriculum while at the same time learning how to harness location-based data.
Also a Penn undergraduate alumnus, Khan spent three years working at travel-technology startup HotelTonight before returning to the university for his master’s studies. During his time as a graduate student, he has interned for real estate developer Crescent Communities and Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, a venture focused on advancements in urban design.
Khan’s classmates, he said, have exposed him to different leadership styles and work cultures, and have helped him to define what kind of environment he aims to foster in his future projects. “Thanks to business school, it’s become clear to me that success is not an act, but rather a habit,” he told P&Q.
Read more about Khan here.
Michal Benedykcinski G19 WG19
Michal Benedykcinski has carved his path in the realm of alternative investments and innovation. Benedykcinski, who joined Lauder for his MBA and master’s in international studies, previously has taken advantage of several opportunities at investment firms such as Ericsson Ventures and 3i Group. He also founded Dexio, a technology startup focused on the diamond industry, and is currently working at Manulife and John Hancock’s Lab of Forward Thinking incubator. Among Benedykcinski’s other notable achievements is his involvement as a member of the founding cohort of the Penn Blockchain Club, one of the world’s largest student-run blockchain groups.
So what’s next for him? At the top of his bucket list: launch the next great tech success and start a family. “Both require a comparable level of grit, sacrifice, and a healthy dose of good luck!” he told P&Q.
Read more about Benedykcinski here.
