Rice Business Professor Diana Jue-Rajasingh Named to National 40-Under-40 List

In Diana Jue-Rajasingh’s classroom at Rice University, students debate difficult organizational dilemmas with no easy answers. They examine business decisions through human, cultural and ethical lenses. They talk about uncertainty, trade-offs and leadership under pressure. Somewhere in the middle of those conversations, students often realize they are learning something larger than strategy itself: how to think critically and make decisions when the outcome is unclear.

This approach in the classroom has helped earn Jue-Rajasingh, assistant professor of strategic management at Rice Business, a place on Poets&Quants’ 2026 40-Under-40 Graduate Business Professors list recognizing rising stars in business education.

“Diana has a remarkable ability to challenge students while also making them feel genuinely supported,” said Peter Rodriguez, the Houston Endowment Dean of Rice Business. “She brings energy, empathy and intellectual rigor into every interaction. This recognition speaks not only to her scholarship and teaching but to the lasting impact she has on the people around her.”

Since joining Rice Business, Jue-Rajasingh has become known for a teaching style both that is both interactive and intensely practical. In her MBA strategy courses, students are pushed beyond simply applying frameworks toward making and defending decisions under uncertainty. Her classes often revolve around structured debate, live cases and real-world simulations where students must articulate assumptions, weigh trade-offs and think through consequences in real time.

A signature assignment even asks students to apply strategy frameworks to consequential decisions in their own lives — from career pivots to industry transitions — reinforcing her belief that strategy is not just a business tool but a broader way of thinking.

Students in the Jones Graduate School of Business and the Virani Undergraduate School of Business describe Jue-Rajasingh’s classroom as an environment where every voice matters, where difficult conversations are encouraged and where curiosity is rewarded.

“Diana is the kind of professor who makes you feel like the material matters because to her, it does. She asks hard questions, she doesn’t let you off the hook with a vague answer, and somehow, she does all of that while making you feel supported rather than put on the spot,” MBA student Bukky Odumosu said. “I’ve caught myself using the way she thinks through problems in real conversations, long after class has ended.”

Colleagues similarly point to her generosity as a mentor and her ability to help students develop confidence in their own thinking.

“Diana represents the very best of modern business education and Rice Business — an accomplished researcher and a thoughtful mentor. Her real-world experience gives her teaching extraordinary depth and relevance,” said Laszlo Tihanyi, the William Alexander Kirkland Professor of Strategic Management and area coordinator for strategy and environment. 

Before earning her doctorate from the University of Michigan, Jue-Rajasingh co-founded a social enterprise focused on improving the distribution of life-enhancing technologies in rural India. Through that work, she helped address challenges surrounding the adoption of clean energy products, agricultural technologies and household innovations in low-income communities.

Rather than focusing solely on how large corporations compete, Jue-Rajasingh studies how new ventures and emerging industries gain legitimacy in environments where institutional infrastructure is limited and entrepreneurs often face significant barriers. Her research spans emerging markets in India and Africa and examines innovations ranging from smoke-reducing cookstoves and biodegradable sanitary products to recycling platforms and community-based entrepreneurship. Jue-Rajasingh’s contributions have earned her recognition as a Forbes “30 Under 30” social entrepreneur and as an Echoing Green Fellow.

Her work has appeared in leading academic journals, including Organization Science and Strategic Management Journal. It has also been recognized by organizations including the Strategy Research Foundation, Kauffman Foundation and Responsible Research in Business and Management.

“This recognition reflects the kind of transformational teaching happening across Rice Business,” Rodriguez said. “Our students are learning from faculty who are not only outstanding scholars but extraordinary mentors and educators. Diana embodies that spirit completely.”

Learn more about Diana