John Rice (MBA 1992), Founder and CEO of MLT receives Harvard Business School’s 2025 Alumni Achievement Award and will be 2025 Class Day Speaker
Will Address the Class of 2025 Day before Harvard Commencement Exercises
BOSTON—John Rice (MBA 1992), Founder and CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to increasing economic mobility and building inclusive, meritocratic workplaces, will be the Harvard Business School (HBS) Class Day alumni speaker on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. The celebration will take place on the Baker Lawn at the School’s campus in Boston.
The event—organized by a committee of second-year MBA students—will feature remarks from the MBA Class of 2025 co-presidents, the presentation of the Faculty Teaching Awards, a student address, and Rice’s keynote speech. The Class Day ceremony is a long-standing tradition that precedes Harvard University’s Commencement and welcomes HBS graduates, their families, alumni, faculty, and staff.
The seeds for MLT were planted during Rice’s time at the School. “At HBS, I saw there weren’t many people of color who were having the transformational experience I was having, so in my second year I did an independent study on underrepresentation in senior leadership positions and the pipeline to major MBA programs,” Rice recalled.
He was also inspired by his late father, a World Bank economist and governor of the Federal Reserve System. “He wanted to change the world, and he thought he could do that through economic policy,” Rice said. “But he realized you have to have economic power to really shape the world, and that always stuck with me.”
Harvard Business School has also honored Rice with the distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, which is the highest honor an alumni can receive. This award recognizes alumni who are leaders in their fields and who exemplify the mission, highest standards, and values of HBS. The 2025 awardees have made significant professional achievements and contributions while upholding the highest standards of leadership and service. John remembers his time at HBS fondly: “I was fortunate enough to build so many friendships at HBS that ultimately have been critical to building MLT.”
Rice’s professional journey includes leadership roles at the Walt Disney Company and the National Basketball Association. MLT is committed to fixing the broken systems that are critical to closing persistent wealth gaps in this country. The organization has been transforming the college-to-career economic mobility system and helping major employers implement practices that ensure all of their employees thrive.
Today, the organization that started in Rice’s garage more than 20 years ago works with 3,000 predominantly low-and moderate-income college students each year to help them achieve economic mobility and partners with more than 200 major companies on their talent strategies. MLT employs 300 people and has developed 1,000 senior leaders, with 15,000 alumni following in their footsteps across the corporate, nonprofit, and startup arenas. Ninety-eight percent of MLT‘s undergraduate fellows secure jobs with an average starting salary of $90,000, and 50 percent of the minority students at the top US business schools completed MLT’s MBA prep programs.
The most rewarding thing for me about MLT is the life-changing impact that we’ve had on thousands of individuals and their families,” Rice adds.
Reflecting on the opportunity to address the graduating class, Rice added, “My message to this next generation of leaders is this: Start with a clear picture of the impact you want to have in 15 or 20 years—and work backwards from there to develop your roadmap. Commit yourself to discovering your genius gifts—what you do best—and build your path around those gifts.”
Rice was named one of Forbes’ Top 30 Social Entrepreneurs and currently serves on the boards of Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), Opendoor (NASDAQ-OPEN), and Morgan Stanley Real Estate’s Prime Property Fund. He received his BA in Latin American studies from Yale University, where he was a three-year starter on the basketball team.
For more details on the HBS Class Day and Harvard University Commencement exercises, please visit HBS Commencement 2025.
About MLT
MLT (Management Leadership for Tomorrow) is a national nonprofit committed to accelerating economic mobility by empowering individuals and building inclusive, meritocratic workplaces.
For over 20 years, MLT has provided ambitious, hard-working students and professionals with a proven playbook for expanding their opportunities and has partnered with the world’s leading employers to help them recruit the best talent, develop their next generation of leaders, and create cultures of fairness and inclusion where everyone can thrive. Learn more at mlt.org.