Oxford Saïd alumnae named on the 2016 Forbes 30 under 30 list
Two Oxford Saïd alumnae, Kate Machtiger (26, Oxford MBA) and Meg He (28, BA Economics and Management), have been included on this year’s Forbes 30 under 30 list for Education and Retail & Ecommerce respectively.
Kate Machtiger, Oxford MBA class of 2013/14, said ‘I’m incredibly honoured. It sets the bar very high for 2016!’ Forbes has included her due to her work at Luminary Labs, a consultancy company which has a five-year contract with the U.S. Department of Education. Kate has been responsible for launching an initiative, Ed Prizes, a series of competitions to help prepare students for tomorrow’s high-demand occupations.
‘The Oxford MBA was essential to getting me where I am now,’ said Kate. ‘My class with Marc Ventresca inspired me to seek out a role in the strategy and innovation space, and I was thrilled to find a connection between my classmate Chris Raine, founder of Hello Sunday Morning, and Sara Holoubek, CEO and Founder of Luminary Labs. I have always been passionate about sustainability, development, and social responsibility, which is what initially drew me to Oxford Saïd, but it’s the global network of friends I made this is what the experience special; I think the global, forward-thinking network that Oxford Saïd engenders has been one of the biggest benefits of the year.’
Meg He, a BA Economics and Management graduate, co-founded ADAY, a NY-based lifestyle brand which is focuses on both performance and aesthetics, meaning the clothes often feature technology which is usually seen in garments worn by Olympic athletes. She came up with the idea whilst working in the technology venture-capital industry: ‘I was surrounded by a lot of technology,’ said Meg, ‘and had just taken up exercising in a big way. It became clear that every part of our lives had been improved due to technology; however, we were still wearing the same clothing we’d always worn. That was the reason I decided to study for a BA Economics and Management at Oxford; I wanted to be academically challenged, yet work on projects relevant to the real world.’
Each year, Forbes names the 30 of the ‘brightest young entrepreneurs, breakout talents and change agents in 20 different sectors.’ You can see the full 2016 list here.
