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Step back. Watch. Listen.<\/p>\n
The strangest things happen when you bring great people together. They start to feed off each other, They pose deeper questions and share promising insights that take conversations in unexpected directions. As a result, they don\u2019t settle for the cautious or conventional. Instead, they come together to form plans and take steps. In the end, their whole becomes greater than the sum of their parts.<\/p>\n
That dynamic also fuels the MBA Class of 2027 at USC\u2019s Marshall School of Business<\/a>. 176 members strong, the class has worked alongside luminaries as different as a Nobel Prize laureate and an American president. And they have held roles as different as a television actress, Air Force major, and Edtech entrepreneur. One has even published a book! That makes the class as fascinating as they are formidable.<\/p>\n AN AUTHOR, AN ACTRESS, AND A PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITER<\/strong><\/p>\n Take Autumn Boutin<\/strong>. She grew up in France before majoring in Human Regenerative and Developmental Biology (and minoring in Women and Gender Studies) at Harvard. On top of that, Boutin will earn her MD at USC\u2019s Keck of Medicine at the same time as her MBA. Her long-term goal?<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be known as a trailblazer in healthcare specifically in neurology,\u201d she tells P&Q. \u201cI believe it is important to show that physicians do not need to choose between taking care of patients and being entrepreneurial. There is a way to lead in business healthcare ethically. I want to be a mentor, a source of inspiration for other physicians to gain the courage to pursue entrepreneurship, scientific discovery, and clinical empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n Before business school, Tamen Jadad-Garcia<\/strong> published a book with Crown\/Penguin Random House: Healthy No Matter What: How Humans are Hardwired to Adapt. Time magazine even invited her to pen a corresponding article about it. However, Jadad-Garcia isn\u2019t the only accomplished writer in the class. Cy Brink<\/strong> notes that he had a desk in the West Wing for 926 days, working as a staff assistant in the White House Office of Speechwriting.<\/p>\n \u201c[I\u2019m] maybe the only man alive that\u2019s worked at both the White House and an esports organization,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n Think that\u2019s a distinctive background. Let me introduce you to Caitlin Chou<\/strong>, who describes herself as an actor-turned-product manager \u2013 not to mention a \u201cpowerlifting enthusiast.\u201d She has appeared in shows from the CW, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon and even been reviewed by the New York Times (and performed in front of Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Now, her goal is to \u201chelp others be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI plan to apply my blend of product skills and empathy for creators to the next generation of content discovery and personalization,\u201d she tells P&Q. \u201cI believe that by applying cutting-edge technology in the right places, we can shift the entertainment industry beyond traditional content gatekeepers to build an ecosystem where authentic storytelling can find its audience (no matter how niche) \u2013 and every audience member can discover content that truly resonates with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Graduate students outside USC Marshall School of Business. Courtesy photo<\/p>\n LEADING FROM THE LEDGER<\/strong><\/p>\n Daniel Seo<\/strong>\u2019s passion is finance \u2013 so much so that he collects rare currencies from across the world, which includes notes from North Korea and Cuba. A major in the U.S. Air Force, Seo supported service members as a military finance officer.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the opportunity to lead diverse multinational teams across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific\u2014often in high-pressure, mission-critical environments\u2014while managing payments on behalf of the Department of Defense. Along the way, I explored 30+ countries, deepening my understanding of diverse cultures, perspectives, and global financial markets while gaining a broader, more expansive view of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Seo isn\u2019t the only seasoned financier in the Class of 2027. Eko Bianto Putra <\/strong>served as an Assistant V.P. in Thailand\u2019s KASIKORNBANK, where he ran point on the firm\u2019s first M&A deal \u2013 one worth $650-million over 5 years. At BlackRock, Smith Saintil <\/strong>laid the groundwork with the Financial Planning Association for a series of financial education workshops. By the same token, Emily Mam<\/strong> landed at JPMorgan Chase after studying at Stanford. That\u2019s not the headline. Instead, she talks of beating the odds as a Cambodian-American, a group saddled with some of the country\u2019s lowest educational outcomes.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents were Cambodian refugees who came to this country with quite literally nothing. Since childhood, I had to navigate a new country, new cultural values, and a new education system by myself. It is thanks to my parents\u2019 sacrifices and the support I found along the way that I am able to stand here today.\u201d<\/p>\n BE IT ENTREPRENEURSHIP OR SKYDIVING, YASH GUPTA IS A RISK-TAKER<\/strong><\/p>\n What does Mam hope the future brings after earning her MBA? Hopefully, it will be to humanize an increasingly automated, AI-driven world.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal is to preserve and celebrate the human spirit. When I say \u201chuman spirit,\u201d I am referring to our desire to create, our ability to evolve and innovate, and (above all) our resilience and passion for life. Maybe this is controversial to say as a business student, but I have some concerns about the consequences of the AI revolution. How do we move forward with embracing this new technology without losing sight of what makes us human? How can we make sure that we continue to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation in the arts? I hope that, through my career, I can bring myself closer to an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n Brock Settlemier<\/strong> once ran a kiteboarding school, where his students included \u201ceveryone from F-16 pilots to Fortune 500 executives.\u201d Later on, he expanded his circle even further.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking alongside Nobel laureates Richard Thaler and Daniel Kahneman was a masterclass in behavioral finance,\u201d he tells P&Q. \u201cI met with multi-billion-dollar portfolio managers to show how investor psychology creates market inefficiencies and how to capitalize on them. That experience helped raise $20M in new assets, honed my ability to present investment strategies, and cemented my confidence as an investment professional.\u201d<\/p>\n Bonnie Ji<\/strong>\u2019s career has spanned advertising to eCommerce, with stints at Unilever, Colgate, LVMH, Dyson, and Cathay Pacific. In contrast, Yash Gupta<\/strong> eschewed corporate to launch an edtech startup, FuncBox \u2013 a venture that enabled him to be recognized as one of the \u201cTop 10 Best Leaders\u201d from VIT by CEO Insights magazine. Outside of commerce, you could say that Gupta is a bit of a thrill-seeker.<\/p>\n \u201cMy fitness journey began with a dare to myself, skydiving over Dubai\u2019s iconic Palm Jumeirah. At the time, I weighed 231 pounds, but the jump had strict limits\u2026Determined to make it happen, I lost 60 pounds in just six months and finally made the jump. That rush opened the door to more adventures, some far riskier than I expected. While scuba diving once, we got caught in a sudden storm in the middle of the ocean during a full moon. Waves towered 20\u201325 feet high, and for a moment, I truly thought I wouldn\u2019t make it back. Somehow, I did and that experience only deepened my love for adrenaline-packed challenges. Now, I\u2019m chasing my goal of skydiving on every continent, constantly proving to myself that growth happens outside comfort zones.\u201d<\/p>\n USC Marshall Students<\/p>\n THE TROJAN FAMILY<\/strong><\/p>\n For Marshall MBAs, that process begins with the MBA Career Launchpad, a week-long introduction to the program that\u2019s broken into four career tracks: Consulting, Finance, Entertainment and Sports, and Product Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology. Each track featured industry and alumni speakers, who shared their journeys and offered career advice. At the same time, the school provided incoming students with workshops on resumes and interviews, while carving out time for networking. For career changers like Cy Brink, the Launchpad Week was a chance to \u201chit the ground running.\u201d For others, it was an introduction to Marshall\u2019s biggest asset: The Trojan Family.<\/p>\n \u201cI was genuinely impressed by how Marshall was able to mobilize such a strong network of professionals and create meaningful opportunities for students to learn directly from their real-world experiences,\u201d writes Eko Bianto Putra. \u201cAs an experienced professional myself, witnessing this level of commitment and the depth of the Trojan Network left a strong impression. It demonstrated not only the school\u2019s dedication to its students, but also the collaborative spirit and influence of the Marshall community.\u201d<\/p>\n Now numbering over 100,000 alumni, the Trojan Family \u2013 often called the \u201cTrojan Network\u201d \u2013 carry a reputation for staying heavy involved in the Marshall community long after graduation, be it mentoring or leading career treks. Even more, they are known for being highly responsive to students, often going above-and-beyond to help Marshall students get their proverbial foot in the door in various companies and industries. Emily Mam points to the Trojan Family as a major factor in choosing Marshall\u2026and she hasn\u2019t been disappointed thus far.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the warm welcomes from the MBA team to the random farmer\u2019s market encounter with an alum, I\u2019ve always been met with a smile and an enthusiastic \u201cFight on!\u201d It\u2019s not just a network to tap into; it\u2019s a global family that I can continue to lean on.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent alumni like Patrick Li, <\/strong>a 2025 Best & Brightest MBA<\/a>, are equally bullish on the Trojan Family. \u201cI had heard about USC\u2019s pay-it-forward culture, but experiencing it firsthand was eye-opening. Even before starting at Marshall, students and alumni reached out to share their experiences and offer guidance\u2014genuinely willing to take time out of their day to help. That level of support made all the difference and reaffirmed that I was joining not just a school, but a lifelong community.\u201d<\/p>\n A CLASS PROFILE<\/strong><\/p>\n By the numbers, the Class of 2027 \u2013 the future Trojan Family \u2013 consists of 176 members who average six years of work experience between them. Women account for 31% of the class, with international students and underrepresented minorities holding 43% and 22% shares of the class respectively. Coming into Marshall, the class averaged a 742 GMAT and 322 GRE, along with a collective 3.55 GPA as undergraduates.<\/p>\n Academically, 31% of the class majored in field related to Business and Commerce. Engineering and Computer Sciences majors trailed closely behind at 28%, followed by Economics (11%). Social Sciences (10%). Sciences (7%), and Humanities (6%).<\/p>\n Professionally, 18% of the Marshall MBA class last worked in Financial Services. Technology and Consulting professionals make up 16% and 14% blocs of the class respectively. Media and Entertainment professionals represent 9% of the class, followed by Retail and E-Commerce (8%), Government (8%), Real Estate (8%), Healthcare (6%), and Manufacturing (4%).<\/p>\n Marshall School orientation<\/p>\n \u2018PRIMED\u2019 TO EXPERIENCE THE WORLD<\/strong><\/p>\n While the Full-Time MBA program is relatively small and intimate, it is backed by scale across the graduate and undergraduate level. As a whole, Marshall enrolled 2,753 business students across its graduate business programs in 2025-2026. On top of \u00a0that, there were 4,253 undergraduate Business majors populating the program (not counting 1,445 Business minors).<\/p>\n At Marshall, the quality matches the scale. This past year, Poets&Quants ranked the undergraduate program as the 5th-best<\/a>, with the online MBA program placing 8th<\/a>. In March, when the University of Texas at Dallas\u2019 Jindal School evaluated the scope and quality of business research<\/a>, Marshall finished 7th in the United States. A month later, when U.S. News & World Report surveyed business school deans and MBA directors about the caliber of programming at rival schools<\/a>, Marshall notched the country\u2019s highest score in Accounting (while ranking 10th for Entrepreneurship).<\/p>\n Experiential learning is one reason for Marshall\u2019s enduring popularity. A pioneer in hands-on learning, the school is best-known for its PRIME program. A required course held during the spring of students\u2019 first year, PRIME organizes student teams to partner with companies on overseas projects, which culminates with on-site presentations to executive leaders. Not only does PRIME enable students to practice what they learned during the semester, but also hone their strategic thinking and team-building skills in markets very different than their own.<\/p>\n In recent years, PRIME projects have taken Marshall MBAs to locations as different as Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, and the United Kingdom. For Yash Gupta, the beauty of PRIME is forcing students out of their comfort zones.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best learning happens when you\u2019re pushed into unfamiliar territory, and PRIME is exactly that: a chance to step out of the classroom and into real-world global business challenges,\u201d Gupta tells P&Q. \u201cThe idea of working with international companies, immersing myself in new markets, and solving problems alongside local leaders excites me because it mirrors the adaptability I\u2019ll need as a future founder. It\u2019s not just about seeing the world, it\u2019s about learning how to operate in it, make decisions when there\u2019s no playbook, and come back with insights that can shape something bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n Patrick Li<\/a>, a 2025 graduate and P&Q Best & Brightest MBA, echoes Gupta\u2019s sentiments about PRIME. \u201cAs part of the course, I had the opportunity to work on a consulting project for an arts company in Seoul, South Korea. It was an incredible experience that exposed me to how business is conducted not just in a different country, but also in a completely new industry. The combination of cultural immersion and strategic problem-solving made it truly unforgettable.\u201d<\/p>\n Downtown Los Angeles<\/p>\n LIVING THE L.A. LIFE<\/strong><\/p>\n As does Marshall\u2019s Los Angeles digs \u2013 a place Li says where \u201cthere\u2019s always something to do, explore, or eat.\u201d From a business standpoint, it is the center of the entertainment industry \u2013 home to the \u2018Big Five\u2019 studios: Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal, and Sony. That doesn\u2019t count the sizeable presence of Netflix, Amazon MGM, and A24. Of course, Los Angeles is known as a tech magnet, with \u2018Silicon Beach\u2019 stretching from Malibu to Culver City to Playa Vista. Here, you\u2019ll find offices for cutting edge gaming and internet incumbents like Google, Riot Games, Electronic Arts, and Apple. That all translates to potential partnerships, internships, and jobs for Marshall students.<\/p>\n With its sunny breezy climate \u2013 not to mention beaches for surfing, mountains for skiing, and deserts for exploring within a short drive \u2013 LA literally has something for everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a city where you can surf at sunrise, pitch a deal before lunch, and network at a rooftop event by night,\u201d writes Brock Settlemier.<\/p>\n AN INTERVIEW WITH MARSHALL LEADERSHIP<\/strong><\/p>\n Last fall, P&Q reached out to Marshall administrators to discuss the state of the Marshall MBA program, including new developments, alumni career support, and AI programming. Here are thoughts from the following leaders:<\/p>\n Raman Randhawa, Senior Vice Dean for Academic Programs<\/p>\n Leigh Tost, Vice Dean for MBA Programs<\/p>\n Scott Abrams, Academic Director, Full-Time MBA Program<\/p>\n Gohar Palanjian, Sr. Associate Director of Alumni Initiatives<\/p>\n P&Q:<\/strong> What have been the two most important developments in your MBA program over the past year? What type of impact will they have on current and future MBAs?<\/p>\n Raman Randhawa<\/p>\n Randhawa:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMBA+MS Dual Degrees<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve launched integrated dual-degree pathways that enable MBA students to earn a specialized master\u2019s degree alongside their MBA through strategically designed elective sequences. Drawing on our established portfolio of technical MS programs, students can now develop deep expertise in high-demand areas like Business Analytics and Finance while maintaining the breadth of their MBA education. These pathways respond directly to the market\u2019s growing demand for leaders who combine strategic business thinking with specialized technical capabilities\u2014giving our graduates a distinct competitive advantage in today\u2019s data-driven business environment.<\/p>\n Product Management Specialization<\/strong><\/p>\n This year, we introduced a specialization in product management (in the form of a graduate certificate)\u00a0 in direct response to the growth in product management job roles across industries, especially in the context of AI. While technology and finance have led this adoption, we are now seeing expansion into healthcare, media, and traditional sectors. Built on extensive stakeholder research involving industry leaders from companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Disney, and DoorDash, the specialization provides essential frameworks in product strategy, customer discovery, roadmap development, and cross-functional leadership. Students gain practical experience through industry practitioner sessions, hands-on exercises, and an applied capstone where they build working solutions. This program addresses the critical skills gap identified by employers: the ability to combine strategic product thinking with tactical execution, stakeholder management, and data-driven decision making\u2014capabilities increasingly essential for leadership roles across the modern business landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n Next Page:<\/strong> Scroll to the end to access profiles of 12 members of the MBA Class of 2027<\/p>\n \u00a9 Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Step back. Watch. Listen. The strangest things happen when you bring great people together. 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