Favorite Leaders Of Top Business Majors

Muhammad Yunus

“Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize winner. He changed thousands of lives in Bangladesh by pioneering microcredit and microfinance and set a classic example of how the power of business can be harnessed to promote social welfare and not just bottom line profit. What he did for Bangladesh, I want to do for Punjab/India.”
– Angad Singh Padda, U.C.-Berkeley (Haas)

“Danny Wegman – As a Rochester native, Wegmans has always been my favorite grocery store. One of the things I admire most about Danny Wegmans’ leadership is his ability to maintain a family feel both in the company and across all their stores. He understands that grocery shopping doesn’t have to be just going out to buy milk. Wegmans creates a unique experience for customers, making them part of the Wegmans Family.”
– Emily Woo, University of Richmond (Robins)

“Li Ka-shing. He is a visionary leader, voracious reader and independent learner. He most values loyalty and reputation and he said, “Anytime I say ‘yes’ to someone, it is a contract.” Most importantly, he is truly passionate about his work and even at age of 88, retirement is still not on his agenda.”
– Cathy Shi, University of Richmond (Robins)

“My answer here is a little bit of a throwback. The entrepreneur I admire most is the late Reginald F. Lewis, who passed away in 1993. I admire Lewis because he worked relentlessly to achieve his goals. He purchased McCall Pattern Company with an initial equity investment of $1 million; he would later sell it for $90 million. Yes, that is a 90-to-1 return. His biggest deal was the acquisition of Beatrice Foods for $985 Million, which at the time was the largest leveraged buyout of off-shore assets in history. It is not these huge business successes alone that I admire about Lewis. I am strongly encouraged by the consistent commitment to philanthropy that he displayed throughout every stage of his career. Also, his success paved the way for African-Americans and many other minorities to achieve on Wall Street.”
– Justin Flynn, Boston University (Questrom)

Jamie Dimon

“Sam Walton. He came from humble beginnings and created an empire. Mr. Walton was known to be respectful, wise, and insightful — all of which I aspire to be. I especially admire that Wal-Mart Stores generously donates more than any other company in the world.”
– Karen Burlingame, Penn State University (Smeal)

“One of the main reasons I wanted to begin my career with J.P. Morgan was my immense respect for Jamie Dimon. He has demonstrated great interest in serving the broader communities in which JPMorgan Chase operates, and he upholds a wonderful sense of classic American optimism that we will always strive to do better. As an executive, I admire how he has maintained the firm’s chief principle of doing ‘first-class business in a first-class way.’ Having had the pleasure of attending one of his presentations as an intern, I am impressed with how he speaks his mind and makes meaningful decisions in such a complex environment. The culture at J.P. Morgan is one of its greatest strengths, and I believe that it thrives under Jamie Dimon’s leadership.”
– Ronan McIntosh, University of Denver (Daniels)

“I most admire Howard Schultz because of how he connects with people and treats them with consideration and respect.  I also admire that he has maintained his character and integrity in spite of the obstacles that he faced on the road to achieving his success. As a fellow Brooklynite, I hope to do the same throughout my career.”
– Emmanuel Valery, Drexel University (LeBow)

“I most admire Oprah Winfrey because of how she overcame adversity to become one of the biggest media moguls of our time. From running a successful career as a talk-show host to building an empire centered around her own television network and magazine, Oprah’s business prowess and ability to connect with others, as well as philanthropic efforts, are what I admire most about her.”
–  Nazifa Nasim, Fordham University (Gabelli)

“Mark Cuban, who fits the role of both executive and entrepreneur, has always been someone that I have looked up to and have strived to emulate since I first met him at a Dallas Mavericks game when I was in elementary school. He got his start in business at such a young age by selling sets of trash bags in order to save up for sneakers that he wanted, and he continued his entrepreneurial ways in high school and college. Being someone myself who ran his own business all throughout high school, I immediately was able to relate to Mr. Cuban and his entrepreneurial endeavors. Mr. Cuban also saw a glaring need in the market, and was able to capitalize on that. Having moved to Dallas, he found it difficult to keep up with the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team, and no way to stream their games live. This lead to the creation of broadcast.com, which allowed for sports fans all around the nation to keep up with their alma maters. In my mind, what sets Mr. Cuban apart is the way he has given back, especially in the Dallas community. The Mark Cuban Foundation is omnipresent in the Dallas area, and the work he does with military families through the Fallen Patriot Fund is truly inspiring. If I could be half the business leader that he is, I would consider my career a massive success.”
– Greg Stringfellow, University of Missouri (Trulaske)

Richard Branson

“The executive and entrepreneur whom I most admire is Sir Richard Branson. He is the founder of Virgin Group, a British multinational conglomerate which owns business units in innumerable industries including music, telecommunications, health care, venture capital and transportation. I am inspired by how he expanded his original record label into the famous Virgin Megastores and then continued to strategically acquire companies until Virgin had grown into a global conglomerate and renowned brand.”
– Michael Inman, Ohio State University (Fisher)

“I deeply admire Mohnish Pabrai for his self-awareness and ability to break complicated investment strategies into simple frameworks.”
– Lauren Wedell, Boston College (Carroll)

“I most admire Seth Goldman, President and CEO of Honest Tea. He recognized there was practically no middle ground between high-calorie, sugary drinks and no-calorie bottled waters, and he decided to take advantage of this opportunity. I like how he partnered with a former professor to start the company, as it demonstrates the importance of developing relationships during higher education. I also admire the risk Seth took to start his company when he had a family to support.”
–  Sylviane Alexion, University of Maryland (Smith)