Earl Sinclair, EMBA ’22 candidate, didn’t have an executive MBA at the top of his to-do list, but when Ivey’s recruitment team approached him with the idea, he realized it would be an ideal way to broaden his expertise and set himself up for the future.

“I’m in my early 50s, I’m thinking about retirement, and what I’ll do when I close this chapter in another 15 years or so. Maybe I can teach, or maybe I’ll even get into consulting,” says Earl, Director, Liquidity Risk -TFRM, Global Risk Management at Scotiabank.

“I thought it would be important to have something that gives you credibility in terms of your experience, and that’s consolidated in an Executive MBA. The credibility that comes with an Executive MBA at Ivey is important to establishing that kind of career path.”

While Earl had considered pursuing a graduate degree when he first emigrated to Canada 20 years ago, after two decades in banking and a CFA designation under his belt, an MBA no longer felt like a priority.

“The CFA was challenging but it was narrowly focused on asset management and trading activities,” says Earl.

“It does open doors for you, because everyone understands the amount of work that goes into that. I thought that’s where I would stop until Ivey approached me.”

Ivey’s reputation, the opportunity to meet new people and grow his network, as well as a practical education that could complement his expertise and allow him to eventually leverage that into a new career all combined to entice Earl to take the leap and become a student again.

“It’s a lot of work but it’s practical. It’s current, it’s real-time learning, and you’re soaking up a lot of information,” he says.

“For someone who has been a banker all my career, it’s a broad perspective you get through the method, the material and the content. It may be a bit of a challenge but it’s a rewarding challenge.”

Working with classmates from industries like pharmacology, engineering and construction means a common thread like leadership gets discussed and analyzed through a variety of perspectives, and the learning experience is shared with like-minded people who are open and interested in exploring new ways of thinking.

“You have an openness that comes with maturity, that you wouldn’t necessarily get if we were all just right out of undergrad,” Earl says.

And while some of the technical knowledge isn’t as directly transferable to his role, given how specific liquidity risk management is, Earl says that, after one term, he’s been able to apply some of these new skills and learnings to his role at Scotiabank.

“I’ve learned a lot about managing interpersonal relationships, and I’ve seen a change in how I approach conversations and the level of analysis I go through before I make a point or a decision,” he says. “You have to make sure that you’re listening to everybody, you’ve looked at your material, you’ve assimilated your thought process and present it in a way that ensures everybody understands the point you’re trying to make.”

The Executive MBA is a good platform to leverage new opportunities, if and when they present themselves.”