Meet the Cambridge MBA class of 2026

Adiba Arif joins the Cambridge MBA from a career spanning talent, organisational effectiveness and inclusion, most recently as Head of Talent, Org Effectiveness & Inclusion – APMEA Central. 

One of her proudest achievements was leading a cross-geographic, cross-functional team through the largest organisational transformation of the South Asia business of a Fortune 500 company. The experience involved using data to navigate complex decisions, bringing diverse stakeholders together and helping reshape the organisation to become leaner and more future-ready. 

Adiba was drawn to the Cambridge MBA by its fast-paced, experiential approach and the opportunity to study within a university ‘steeped in centuries of breakthroughs’. 

Ultimately, she wants to leave Cambridge equipped to become a truly global leader, ready to tackle complex problems alongside people with different perspectives. 

“A world-class education, meaningful connections with people from all over the world, healthy debates that rewire my brain, and the key to unlock doors I haven’t even thought to knock on yet.”

AI strategy and product consultant Cathy Wu comes to Cambridge with experience at the intersection of technology, financial services and innovation. 

Earlier in her career, Cathy helped launch one of Malaysia’s early end-to-end mobile digital banking experiences. Taking responsibility for digital payments and cards, she worked with teams across more than 5 countries to build the offering in under a year. 

The experience sparked an interest in technology that ultimately led her into AI strategy and product management. Cambridge’s technology ecosystem and emphasis on experiential learning were important factors in her decision to join the MBA. 

Her next ambition is to move into AI governance, helping organisations interpret emerging regulation and translate it into sustainable practices that support the safe use of AI. Longer term, she hopes to contribute to shaping regulation that genuinely serves the people and organisations working within it. 

US Navy officer Isabel Buzbee joins the Cambridge MBA as she prepares to make the transition from military service into finance. 

Her career in the US Navy has included serving as a Supply Corps Officer, Executive Assistant to the CEO of NEXCOM and Flag Aide. Among her proudest achievements is earning the Surface Warfare Supply Corps Officer qualification, an intensive process taking approximately 18 months and culminating in an oral examination with the ship’s Captain and senior officers. 

At Cambridge, Isabel wants to deepen her understanding of financial markets, banking and how capital is invested across different regions of the world, while broadening her perspective on the career opportunities ahead. 

She ultimately hopes to take the skills and experience developed during her military career into development finance and international development, with the goal of working for a multilateral institution or development bank. 

Entrepreneur Enrique Bendana arrives in Cambridge as co-founder and CEO of Paraguayan fintech Vaquita. 

What began as an app for collecting money for group activities grew into a financial services business serving more than 150,000 Paraguayans. Of those users, 40,000 had never previously held a bank account. 

Building the company meant creating a team from scratch, developing partnerships with some of Paraguay’s leading companies and learning how to adapt his leadership as the business grew. 

Enrique sees Cambridge as an opportunity to combine that entrepreneurial experience with new frameworks, perspectives and connections. He is particularly looking forward to the Cambridge Venture Project and Global Consulting Project, alongside the opportunities offered by the wider Cambridge entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

He wants to continue building products and companies that create positive change, wherever that path takes him. 

“As the only Paraguayan in the cohort, I feel the duty to carry the Cambridge legacy forward by driving positive impact back home.” 

Federico Grumo has taken one of the class’s more unconventional routes to an MBA. 

With degrees in performing arts and musicology, his career has taken him from opera houses and live entertainment to international project management, media, marketing and strategic partnerships. Along the way, he has worked with internationally renowned artists including Zubin Mehta and Plácido Domingo. Most recently, he worked in content strategy, marketing and strategic partnerships at Sky Italia. 

For Federico, the Cambridge MBA is a bridge between his background in music and the performing arts and a future in business. He was particularly attracted by Cambridge’s combination of technology, entrepreneurship and creative industries, as well as the opportunity to learn through practical projects. 

He hopes to build a career in consulting or strategy within media and entertainment, combining his knowledge of the creative industries with stronger managerial and strategic skills. 

“Cambridge really is the place where my past and my future meet, but above all, it is a place where I feel I can be myself.”

Mandy Chan joins Cambridge after 5 years working with international organisations, from the United Nations Human Rights Office to the World Economic Forum. 

At the World Economic Forum, she helped build a community of more than 100 chief procurement officers seeking to harness corporate purchasing power to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors. The community’s members represented approximately $19 billion in annual clean demand by 2030. 

She later joined the team behind the GAEA Awards, working to bring together stakeholders including investors, policymakers and public figures and helping award recipients expand their networks, visibility and access to resources. 

Mandy chose Cambridge for its focus on responsible and sustainable business and the opportunity to strengthen the commercial knowledge behind her sustainability experience. 

Her ambition is to build a career at the intersection of sustainability, finance and policy. In the near term, she hopes to work in impact investing or philanthropy, helping channel capital towards promising sustainability solutions and enabling them to scale.

Filmmaker and producer Solveig Herzum joins the Cambridge MBA after building a career across film, media and the creative sector. 

A graduate of Northwestern University and the UK National Film and Television School, where she completed a master’s in Directing Documentary, Solveig most recently worked as a Shooting Producer at Into Film. 

Since moving to London in 2018 knowing almost no one in the industry, she has built a creative and professional network spanning the UK, Italy and the US. That community has enabled her to develop and produce projects, connect people with opportunities and support emerging creative talent. 

The Cambridge MBA’s Creative Industries in the Digital Age concentration was a major attraction, alongside the programme’s global, entrepreneurial and collaborative approach. 

After the MBA, Solveig hopes to move into strategic management and leadership within the media, creative and social impact sectors. Longer term, her ambition is to help build sustainable creative organisations that expand opportunities for artists, filmmakers and young people. 

“Cambridge represents an opportunity to step outside my existing world and dedicate a year to exploring new ideas, disciplines and perspectives.”