Published annually, the list recognizes rising professionals making an impact across the Greater Philadelphia region. This year’s honorees were selected from nearly 300nominees spanning industries such as health care, law, nonprofit, real estate, finance and hospitality, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Among those recognized for 2026 are James Pachucki, Josh Lahav and Doug DiSesa, each of whom earned their MBAs from the Fox School.
“We are incredibly proud to see three of our MBA alumni recognized in the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40,” says Crystal Harold, associate dean of master’s programs at the Fox School. “This honor reflects their talent and ambition and epitomizes the values that define the Fox School of Business—hard work, resilience and a commitment to meaningful impact. These alumni truly embody what it means to lead with purpose.”
Pachucki is president of M5 Supply — a solution-based packaging manufacturer and distributor for qualified customers and has previously landed as the top packaging-specific company across Inc5000, Inc NE Regional, PBJ Fast 50 and Philadelphia 100.
“M5 Supply competes against packaging Goliaths that tout their fleet size, employee count, warehouse space and machine capabilities,” says Pachucki, MBA ’19. “My MBA in finance taught me how to innovate new solutions, build a better mousetrap and differentiate with limited resources—skills that let me outthink competitors I’ll never outspend.”
As vice president of Cancer Center Operations at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health, Josh Lahav, MBA ‘20, is grateful for the knowledge he gained while pursuing his degree. He believes it fuels the work he does every day.
“I credit the MBA program at the Fox School of Business for providing me with a strong foundation in strategic thinking, financial discipline and operational leadership,” Lahav says. “More importantly, it sharpened my ability to translate vision into action that allows me to lead effectively in healthcare.”
Also with an impressive career trajectory is the third Fox MBA alumnus on the list, Doug DiSesa. He has more than two decades of work history in the Greater Philadelphia region.
DiSesa earned his MBA from the Fox School in 2016 and is now the market team lead and executive director at JPMorgan Private Bank in Philadelphia. He is responsible for a 50+ person team overseeing more than $6B of assets under supervision and advising some of the most prominent families/individuals in the region.
Before his time at Fox, he held roles in consulting, risk advisory and commercial real estate.
The honorees agree that the region—and the Fox School—have helped shaped their careers.
“Industry-leading companies were literally built in the basements of this region,” Pachucki says. “Where else are you a maximum of two degrees away from James Beard chefs, Super Bowl champions, Hall of Fame boxers, Fortune 200 CEOs, Forbes 30 Under 30 Recipients, world-class healthcare pioneers and nonprofits like the Ronald McDonald House — that started right here — all rooting for each other?
“It’s a city of ordinary people collectively doing extraordinary things on the world stage.”
Learn more about the MBA program at Temple University’s Fox School of Business here.