Business Students Most Admire A New Generation of Leaders

Sheryl Sandberg

And aspiring business leaders won’t find any more access and attention than with family. Emory University’s Max Mayblum was lucky enough to learn from his father, a late-blooming entrepreneur who instilled in me an attitude of always sticking to my values, reaching high, and never giving up.” And Georgia Tech’s Nick Cardamone learned something equally precious in business from his jet-setting CEO uncle Anibal Obando: Never taking your loved ones for granted.

“Anibal showed me what it meant to be a family man. Family was prioritized before business, wealth, and success. He sacrificed traveling back and forth to Colombia on a weekly basis from Miami to show me that family should be everyone’s number one priority. He preached that family would help me establish a high moral compass and ensure that I understood the value of giving back to my local community.”

Here are some of the other business leaders who’ve earned the esteem of the best and brightest business majors from the Class of 2016:

The Philanthropists

James Mwangi

“Dr. James Mwangi. He has completely changed the microfinance landscape in Kenya by making banking services available to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Additionally, his philanthropic activities in the education field have enabled quite a number of economically disadvantaged kids in Kenya to achieve their dreams.” – Alex Muchoki, Cornell University (Dyson)

“Bill Gates. I admire him for his innovation and incredible drive for success. More importantly, I think it is most impressive that he has created such a strong initiative for giving back to the community. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has had profound impact on many organizations and I would love to be involved with them at some point.”  – Marissa Giannetto, Boston College (Carroll)

“I most admire Bill Gates for his humanitarian efforts and his sharp ability to recognize a problem and utilize his resources to find a solution. His ingenuity has led him to revolutionize the technology world, and his business acumen led him to create arguably the best tech firm in the world. Furthermore, his dedication to the education of the world’s youth demonstrates his ability to see that the future depends on our youth and their creativity for progress and the solutions to the world’s biggest problems.”  – Amjed Osman, Ohio State University (Fisher)

“I admire Mark Zuckerberg for his innovative Aquila Project. The Aquila Project will empower African communities and third-world economies with internet access and better education through laser-beam enabled aircraft with wide internet providing radii. I also admire Mark for his continuous and strong support of women in the workplace.”  – Rupinderpal Singh Grewal, University of California, Berkeley (Haas)

The Advocates

“I admire Sheryl Sandberg the most because of her passion for women in business and dedication to ensuring gender equality in careers becomes the status quo. She is an advocate for successful women and strives to see that women understand their full potential. Being a woman in business, I only hope I can be half the advocate like Sheryl.” – Alison McAuliffe, University of Illinois

Sallie Krawcheck,

“I most admire Sheryl Sandberg for her positive influence in her field and for empowering women in leadership positions. I admire her for her critical look at the issues facing women in the workplace and the approach that she takes to inspire women to achieve their career goals. I also admire her because I one day hope to be in an executive position such as hers.”  – Katie Malley, Penn State University (Smeal)

“Sallie Krawcheck is the executive and entrepreneur I most admire. A Carolina alumna and former senior executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Smith Barney, Krawcheck has shown incredible resilience throughout her career. She emerged as one of the most influential voices in the financial services industry, advocating for integrity and innovation. Now as the CEO of Ellevate, a global women’s professional network, and founder of Ellevest, a new digital investment platform for women, Krawcheck continues to challenge the status quo and inspire change in the industry.” – Anne Burke Baldridge, University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)

“Florencia Garcia Carcagno (aka TRAGIK). When one thinks of an executive or entrepreneur, TRAGIK is generally not the first person who comes to mind, which is something that I admire. As someone from Argentina who fights against oppression, TRAGIK embodies the hustle mentality and works hard to pursue their passion – creating art – without allowing others to put them down or marginalized them by prejudices.”  – Teri Tan, New York University (Stern)

Indra Nooyi

“Sarah Blakely, the founder and owner of Spanx. I admire Blakey’s willingness to commit to an idea she thought was valuable, even though many others dismissed her idea as unimportant. Additionally, her commitment to working with other female lawyers and business people is admirable, as is her dedication to helping other female entrepreneurs.”  – Vanessa Mariscal, University of Wisconsin

The Trailblazers

“One executive I admire is Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo. Nooyi has not only reinvigorated PepsiCo through restructuring and acquisitions, but has also successfully guided her team with her compassionate leadership philosophy.”  – Jessica Mersten, University of California, Berkeley (Haas)

“Indra Nooyi is someone whom I have admired throughout college, especially after reading about how she’s had to balance being a mother and a CEO in The Atlantic in 2014. As one of the few Asian American CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, her ability to overcome both the glass and bamboo ceiling is inspiring and pushes me to challenge the status quo throughout my career.” – Jeff Yu, University of Michigan (Ross)