MIT Leaders for Global Operations (LGO)

This May, Taylor Pearlman '27, Thara Konduri '27, and Panayiota Petrou-Zeniou '27 officially launched the MIMO Manufacturing Club as a new student-led organization at MIT.

The kickoff event featured a panel with W.H. Teh of Nvidia, Davide Marini of Inkbit, and Darby Dunn of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, drawing over 80 students. Open to all MIT students, the club will be a hub for those interested in building the next generation of physical technologies and products.

We were proud to celebrate the LGO Class of 2027 at this year’s Harrison Smith '99 Award celebration in early May.

Presented by last year’s recipient, Paisley Tarboton '26, the award recognized six outstanding nominees: Rosario Astudillo, Steve Kim, CJ Taglienti, Panayiota Petrou-Zeniou, Steph Xu, and Claudia Mezey.

Congratulations to Rosario Astudillo, this year’s recipient, recognized as “a huge positive force in LGO” and “the beating heart of the class,” always making others feel at home.

Last week at EWPTE 2026, Steph Xu LGO ’27 launched Import AI with Re:Build Cadonix, a product developed through her MIT LGO thesis research in AI for manufacturing design.

The work was supervised by Lauren Heintz (LGO ’23), Head of Product & Business at Cadonix, and addresses the manual workflows that currently drive manufacturing lead times upward of 20 weeks. The project demonstrates that integrating AI into the design-to-production lifecycle can eliminate the traditional bottlenecks hindering industrial speed and precision.

By removing these non-value-add steps, the research provides a scalable framework for leveraging AI innovations to fundamentally accelerate manufacturing lead times.

We’re proud to share that Sparsh Bansal, LGO Class of 2027, completed the 2026 Boston Marathon. Congratulations to Sparsh on an outstanding achievement.

As part of the LGO International Plant Trek (IPT), Steph Xu (LGO ’27) and Shane Pornprinya (LGO ’27) led a visit to Mingzhi Technology in Suzhou, China. Hosted by Jerry Wu (LGO ’21) at his family’s business, the group got a firsthand look at advanced manufacturing and what it takes to run an international business serving the U.S. manufacturing industry.

A great example of the strength of the LGO alumni network and the community’s commitment to global operations and learning.

Panayiota Petrou-Zeniou (LGO ’27) brought together a 42-person Sloan group to trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, guiding the team through an experience grounded in leadership, resilience, and collaboration.

During Sloan Independent Period (SIP), LGO students Matt Averill, Chloe Brown, Flor Ojeda, and Becca Sholler traveled to Malaysia to work with Petronas as part of Operations Lab.

Through this experience, student teams partner with companies to tackle real operational challenges. During SIP, the team went to the gemba to observe operations firsthand and collaborate directly with their partner on-site.

They visited a carbon capture and sequestration construction site and spent several days at the Petronas Towers, where they participated in a panel and engaged with company leaders.

Beyond the project work, the group explored Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and Malacca, and even spent an afternoon in Singapore.

Congratulations to Charlie Nitschelm (LGO ’27) and Uplift Microhome for winning the MIT $100K!

Another outstanding example of LGO students driving innovation and impact!

Today is the MIT 24-Hour Challenge!

If 150 donors give to any MIT Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) fund on March 12, a group of generous alumni will unlock a $25,000 challenge gift from Julia Chang LGO ’04 and spouse Dave Kuo MBA ’04; Chris Lin LGO ’10; Leslie Prince Rudolph LGO ’99; and Eric Soederberg LGO ’92.

Every gift helps us move closer to the goal. Gifts of $314+ will also receive a custom daily puzzle calendar 🧩

Join the challenge: giving.mit.edu/24hc-lgo

MIT drives education, research, and innovation that transforms our nation and our world—and it is powered by alumni, parents, students, and friends like you. Join us for the MIT 24-Hour Challenge on March 12!

https://mit24hourchallenge.mightycause.com/p/partner-toolkit

LGO Class of 2026 students Justin Yu, Anastasiia Holubova, and Tyler Rauenzahn participated in a trek to India that combined high-level policy engagement with academic exchange. The trip began in New Delhi, where they met with senior national leaders, including India’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a former ambassador to Russia, and a former leader of the governing party.

The group then traveled to Bhubaneswar to engage with engineering students at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and indigenous students at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). There, they shared perspectives on the LGO program and their research interests, learned about the operational challenges of feeding and housing 40,000 students, and gained insight into principled leadership from the founder of KIIT/KISS, Prof. (Dr.) Achyuta Samanta. The delegation joined students from the Harvard Kennedy School, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Virginia Tech, and the University of Tulsa. Together, these experiences reflected the LGO mission by engaging with global leaders across international institutions, engineering communities, and decision-making bodies.