Laurina Zhang Named to the Poets & Quants Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors

Laurina Zhang, Associate Professor, Strategy and Innovation at the BU Questrom School of Business, was named to the Poets & Quants 2025 list of  Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors. Laurina Zhang is an award-winning researcher and educator whose work has earned national recognition, media coverage, and multiple teaching honors. Now in its 13th year, Poets&Quants’ 40 Under 40 honors the most talented young professors currently teaching in MBA programs worldwide. Selected from more than 1,700 nominations, this annual list highlights rising stars in academia based on excellence in teaching (70%) and research (30%). This year’s honorees represent 39 business schools—including 16 outside the U.S.—and include 14 outstanding women. The selection process weighs both the quality and quantity of nominations, teaching awards, and research impact, including Google Scholar citations. To date, the recognition has spotlighted 520 exceptional professors shaping the future of business education.

Laurina Zhang’s research has earned numerous accolades, including the Academy of Management’s Best Dissertation Award, the Kauffman Junior Faculty Fellowship, Questrom’s Shahdadpuri Faculty Research Award, and funding from the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Innovation Policy and Economics of Digitization groups. Her work has been featured in outlets such as Forbes, PCMag, Billboard, Boing Boing, and The Conversation—all in addition to multiple teaching awards from her time at Georgia Tech.

Laurina says, “I set a very high bar in the classroom and it can be an intimidating place to contribute to the discussion. But every year, I have at least a few students that change from timid individuals at the beginning of the semester to confident, articulate (and often top performing) contributors by the end of the term. These are some of my most gratifying moments as an instructor.” Regarding her opinion on social impact, she says companies could do a better job at “standing up for their core values and the communities they serve. “

Recent Questrom MBA Graduate Okthalia Adam says, “One of the most memorable aspects of her class was the final project, where she assigned students into two opposing teams to debate growth strategy recommendations for a case company. Each team had to defend a different strategic path—whether to expand aggressively or take a more measured approach—forcing us to analyze every angle, anticipate counterarguments, and refine our strategic reasoning in a high-pressure debate setting. This format transformed what could have been a standard case presentation into a dynamic, real-world strategy battle, mirroring how executives defend business decisions in boardrooms. It pushed us to go beyond just understanding frameworks—it made us own our recommendations, think on our feet, and challenge our strategic instincts.” 

To read the full article, navigate to the Poets & Quants article 2025 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Laurina Zhang, Questrom School of Business, Boston University here.