Smith’s Jaclyn Mathai Among Best & Brightest Executive MBAs in Class of 2026

Poets & Quants is spotlighting Smith’s Jaclyn Field Mathai, EMBA ’26, among its Best & Brightest Executive MBAs from the Class of 2026.

A UC Berkeley-trained cognitive scientist, Mathai, according to P&Q, represents “the top EMBA graduates from the top business schools based on measures like career achievements, academic achievement, and class leadership.”

Her selection reflects the kind of boundary‑pushing leadership Smith cultivates—leaders whose work sets direction for industries navigating rapid technological change.

In a Q&A for the publication, Mathai describes her EMBA experience from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in the following excerpts, as reinforcing her senior manager of data science role at the Walt Disney Company:

• What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? A major thread throughout the program was crafting our own Purposeful Leadership Journey, which gave us the time and space to reflect on our own visions for how we want to contribute to the world. [Professors] Rajshree Agarwal and Neta Moye guided us through creating a purpose statement and building actionable strategies to move us forward. One of the deepest lessons was that great leaders are comfortable in uncertainty, don’t have to be the expert in the room, and create conditions for others to thrive. Over the past year, this program gradually shifted how I show up as a leader, learning to integrate kindness with authority and empathy with boundaries as a necessary balance. I’ve brought this mindset into how I lead my team through uncertainty, advocating more intentionally for both the people around me and for myself.
• What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? I appreciated how every professor wove the implications of AI into the material and discussions, whether it was Data Models & Decisions or Marketing Strategy. The AI & Business Strategy course with Professor Balaji Padmanabhan was a particularly excellent deep dive, from the underlying mechanisms of Large Language Models to the strategic, ethical, and organizational dimensions of AI adoption and the future of agentic systems. Some of the richest learning happened alongside the cohort that was genuinely enthusiastic about sharing best practices and new tools, whether experimenting with research synthesis or vibe coding and deploying AI apps.
• Who was your favorite MBA professor?  This is a really tough question, as there were so many memorable professors. One who stands out was Professor Cristian Dezso, whose class…Global Economic Environment was one of the most conceptually new fields to me, so I valued the way he dedicated time in every session to connect the dots between lessons while breaking down complex real-world scenarios. He also infused each lecture with a vibrant sense of humor and wit that the cohort really enjoyed. Research indicates that humor enhances focus, recall, and retention in educational settings, so it didn’t hurt in solidifying the concepts of macroeconomics too.

Read more about Smith’s Executive MBA Program and Mathai in her ‘Best & Brightest’ profile.