Shola Garuba, MMA ‘22, had built a solid career off his technical skills, but he was looking to broaden his perspective and move into a more strategic role when he joined Ivey’s Master of Management in Analytics program.

With an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, Garuba was already writing code for CIBC’s anti-money laundering division, but while he knew exactly what the applications were capable of, the details were often difficult to explain to those who ran the business operations.

He was drawn to Ivey’s MMA because “it advertised itself as a bridge between technology and business – using your technology findings to be able to present higher management,” says Garuba, who started his career at CIBC as an analyst, but has since moved to a role as a senior application developer in the bank’s anti-money laundering space.

“It's done that very well for me and it completely changed the way I view businesses. I have a much more holistic view of how businesses operate and where analytics can play vital roles in a company’s goals, as well as the in the ways you can provide value to a stakeholders.”

Halfway through his MMA, Garuba was promoted to his current role, which includes advising on this group’s capabilities and leading a team of developers – all of which made key teachings from Ivey around leadership and strategy instantly applicable.

“Instead of seeing things in a silo, you get this perspective around how everything interconnects to provide value as a whole for the business,” he says.

“There’s growth that comes with the program; I’m more comfortable sharing my ideas and have deepened my interpersonal and communication skills.”

For Garuba, it was also exciting to delve back into studying machine learning while updating some of the knowledge he gained during his undergrad, all of which helped him think of new ways to employ data and technology in his job.

“You have a clear objective – you know what you're looking for, so you can create a model, do your analysis, and then translate that to solve a specific business problem,” he says.

And while many of his classmates had similar academic backgrounds and interests, Garuba adds, the diversity in careers and ways of thinking everyone brought to the classroom meant they could all learn from one another.

“You get a feel for what everyone is like, what perspectives different people bring, and you realize that if all these amazing people decided this program was the best choice for them, it’s probably the right place to be.”