When Clare Mok, MMA ‘22, talks about what she gained from her time at Ivey, she describes it as “the three Cs”: credibility, confidence, and contribution. 

“The MMA has given me credibility, so that when I bring in the concept of data-driven decision making, people trust that I have training in that area and I have the knowledge to support my suggestions or ideas,” says Mok, Business Growth Initiatives at Sun Life Financial, who was also class valedictorian. 

“I also have confidence. Even though I was very interested in data analytics, the program helped level up my confidence because I know what foundation my thoughts are standing on. But it’s also allowed me to contribute in a more tangible way.” 

Before starting the MMA, Mok was working in compliance and regulatory functions at Sun Life, where she was charged with building and overseeing the programs used to monitor advisors who sold the company’s products. She also worked on several strategic initiatives that dealt with ongoing regulatory changes.  

“I felt very cocooned in one specific functional area, which would have turned me into a very specialized subject matter expert, but I was looking at options in terms of upskilling myself and broadening my scope,” she says. 

She opted for the Ivey MMA because she felt it would allow her to both leverage her math background and develop the business skills she needed for a different role – and that’s exactly where she landed shortly before finishing the program. 

She’s now part of a team focused on building and managing programmatic initiatives to help advisors reach different client segments more efficiently and grow their business. 

“I went from the risk and regulatory side to sales and marketing, which is a big jump, and I have to credit the program for not just helping me build my analytic expertise, but also strengthening my business acumen so I can support this team and my VP.”  

“I now deal with a range of different activities and am involved in several strategic initiatives across not only functions but the other business unit as well.” 

And while hers isn’t a specific analytic role, Mok does work with the analytic team to help deal with some of the issues the whole team needs to address. 

“A lot of times, in a business setting, we do need someone in-between to understand a problem and interpret it from a data perspective,” she says.  

During her time at Ivey, Mok says she was impressed by the faculty and how much all the instructors clearly cared about their students and the subject matter they were teaching. 

“The Ivey structure really encourages the professors to have a close working relationship with students, so they get to know us and our strengths and find ways to make sure we all have the best opportunity to learn,” she adds.  

“Now, when I look for an educator, that is the bar that I am expecting – and as a leader, that’s who I will model myself after.”