Ambar La Forgia recognized as one of ’40 Under 40 Best MBA Professors 2025′

Assistant Professor Ambar La Forgia has been recognized as one of the “40 Under 40 Best MBA Professors for 2025” by Poets & Quants.

La Forgia teaches the core MBA course Leading People, where she likes to “write original skits that mimic real-world workplace challenges and have students act out and debate what they would do.” Her secret, as an ex-theater kid, is “committing to the bit.” 

At Haas since June 2022, La Forgia has received both the Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Inclusive Teaching Award at Haas. In her research she focuses on the business of healthcare, specifically how healthcare mergers and acquisitions affect patients. Her studies have informed federal antitrust cases and policy reports. 

La Forgia recently published research that found that the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF) improved after fertility clinics were acquired by corporate chains.

“This surprising result goes against most of the literature on corporate acquisitions in healthcare, perhaps because the fertility sector has more quality and price transparency and operates more like a retail business than traditional healthcare settings,” she said. Such transparency may help align corporate and patient interests, she added.

In recommending La Forgia for the P&Q honor, Adriana Mendez, MBA 27, said that as a Latina she was “profoundly moved to see someone who looked like me” as her professor.

“At minute 13 of my very first Leading People class I wrote in my notes, ‘I already love her,'” she said. “And truly, that’s all it takes to fall in love with Professor Ambar La Forgia’s presence: her energy, her brilliance, and the way she instantly captivates a room. She doesn’t just teach leadership; she embodies it.”

The experience “made me braver,” she added. “I took bigger risks in her classroom and, in turn, began taking bigger leaps in my career. That kind of impact can’t be measured in evaluations or awards.”

Asked what she enjoys most about teaching Haas business students, La Forgia said that they embody the school’s four Defining Leadership Principles: Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself.

“I have been really struck by my students’ commitment to these principles, particularly their genuine desire to build ‘healthy” organizations that invest as much in people as in the bottom line,’ she said.

This was the 13th year that Poets & Quants published the 40-Under-40 MBA Professors list to “celebrate the most talented young professors currently teaching in MBA programs around the world.” The publication received more than 1,700 nominations and evaluated nominees based on teaching (given a 70% weight) and research/business impact (given 30% weight). The list was the most international one to day, representing professors at 22 schools in the U.S. and 17 international schools.