Stanford GSB Alumni

10/14/2026

The Supreme Court is supposed to be above politics. But Professor Neil Malhotra finds that its justices are more responsive to public opinion than many people believe.

The Supreme Court is not immune to the influence of Americans’ views.

10/12/2026

“Basketball has done so much for my family.”

Dan Grunfeld, MBA ’17, has been steeped in basketball since he was born. The son of former NBA player, coach, and Olympic gold medalist Ernie Grunfeld, he is now following his father’s legacy into the management side of the game as Stanford’s general manager for men’s basketball.

Grunfeld grew up at Madison Square Garden in the 1980s and ’90s, watching his dad play for, coach, and serve as an executive for the Knicks. He became a talented player in his own right: a top-100 high school recruit, team captain at Stanford, and eventually playing professionally in Europe and Israel.

When Grunfeld retired from playing in 2014, he came to Stanford GSB to find what was next. “I loved to learn, and I knew I wanted to go back to school and explore a new path,” he says. “I wanted to acquire hard skills, but also learn more about myself. I applied to and visited several business schools, but there was something about Stanford. It surpassed my expectations.”

Across a decade in Silicon Valley — four years at the startup STRIVR, then five at Lightspeed Venture Partners — Grunfeld helped founders find their competitive edge. “A lot of what I do you can relate to my career in sports,” he says. “It’s competitive, you want to win, but you also need to be a strong communicator and work well with others.”

Now, Grunfeld is bringing that experience back to Stanford. As general manager and assistant coach, he’s helping shape the next generation of Cardinal basketball. “Dan has been successful in all his endeavors, and he has intense passion and love for Stanford,” says director of men’s basketball Kyle Smith. “We are grateful that he has left the business world to help guide his beloved alma mater. He is the perfect bridge to the past that can lead us to where Stanford belongs.”

09/10/2026

Economists generally agree that free trade is a good thing. So why do tariffs keep coming back? Professor Ken Shotts explored that tension at a recent Faculty Insights & Bites event.

Insights & Bites is designed to bring students and faculty together to discuss innovative research by Stanford GSB faculty on important issues of the day. This event is sponsored by the Stanford Leadership Institute.

08/31/2026

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet sits at a whopping $6.7 trillion. While new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh wants to trim it, Professor Darrell Duffie says that’s easier said than done.

How easily can the U.S. central bank shrink its balance sheet?

08/23/2026

No matter how advanced technology becomes, there’s one aspect that can keep it from being adopted. Assistant Professor Helena Miton says, “Tech can get too cumbersome to be used.”

Why technological advancement is constrained by human cognition

08/21/2026

Stopping deforestation is one of the most effective and immediate steps to slow global warming. These faculty and student researchers have a model that could get farmers on board.

This game theory model shows why cooperation is the key.

08/18/2026

Fear is most dangerous when it goes unnamed, says lecturer Graham Weaver. That’s why his answer is to write it down. “Fear in your head is paralyzing,” he says. “Fear on paper is just a problem to be solved.” As a “Last Lecture Series” speaker, Weaver shared practical tools for pursuing what matters — without crushing your soul in the process.

08/17/2026

“Leadership is not one-size-fits-all. You can’t make any assumptions about people’s views and approach.”

Sierra Signorelli, SEP ’19, likes to say that risk is at the heart of her business. But even as she helps clients navigate uncertainty as a global leader in commercial insurance, she’s proven that she’s not averse to taking risks of her own.

Signorelli was initially drawn to environmental science and the chance to “make the world a better place,” she says. But when serendipity showed her a different way to have impact, she enthusiastically stepped through the door. “Insurance is not just a financial product; it’s really an enabler of progress. I’m passionate about our ability as an industry to help solve some of the world’s most complex challenges.”

Beginning as an underwriter with AIG, Signorelli embraced ever-increasing leadership opportunities, taking her from California to New York, Singapore, and ultimately Switzerland, where she became chief underwriting officer for Zurich Insurance’s commercial lines. But even as her career accelerated, she believed she still had more to learn. “Success can create momentum,” she says, “but it also can create blind spots.”

That conviction led Signorelli to Stanford GSB for the “intensive and immersive” experience of the Stanford Executive Program. “Stanford was a wonderful opportunity to step outside of my day-to-day environment, challenge some of my thinking, and reflect on the kind of leader I wanted to be,” she says. Returning to Zurich, she partnered with Stanford to design leadership programs for the company’s emerging talent.

Now the CEO of both Zurich U.S. and Zurich Commercial Insurance, Signorelli is still guided by her drive to make a difference. “We have the opportunity to help businesses think about their cost of risk, and not only insure it, but help them understand how they can reduce that cost through loss control,” she says. “That saves assets, but more importantly, it saves lives.”

This SEP alum doesn’t see risk as a threat, but as an opportunity.

08/09/2026

Creativity isn’t just for artists. Stanford https://brnw.ch/21x4Nmy executive director Sarah Stein Greenberg, MBA ’06, says anyone can be creative — it just takes a little curiosity.

https://brnw.ch/21x4Nmx

08/08/2026

Lightning-fast technological advances. Constant global crises. Unprecedented economic volatility. Lecturer Robert Siegel, MBA ’94, says these realities point to one conclusion: Running a business today is more difficult than ever.

Navigating modern business challenges through “systems leadership”