Beth Shephard

When Beth Shephard, MM-A '23 Candidate, initially began looking at masters programs, she was concerned the MM-A would be too focused on coding, something she wasn’t sure would fit with her background in health sciences. She was also aware that making data-driven decisions was an increasingly important skill to develop, and upon closer inspection, found Ivey’s Master of Management Analytics provided the exact combination she needed to upscale her career.

“We have so much data available that we are not utilizing to its utmost potential. Being able to understand where the data’s coming from and what questions we’re able to derive gives a more comprehensive and accurate picture to base decisions on,” says Shephard, Manager, Global R&D Emerging Science and Innovation at Bayer Consumer Health.

“Businesses are moving toward integrating more and more data-driven decisions. I think other MBA programs will eventually adapt some of the components we’re learning in the MM-A.”

Shephard opted to pursue an Ivey masters program to formalize some of the skills she was relying on in her current role, which combines science and business, to better position herself for future leadership opportunities.

“I have ambitions to become a leader. What I’ve seen in the leaders and people that I look up to is that they have strong business knowledge – they know the right questions to ask, and they’re able to look at opportunities and issues from multiple perspectives,” she says.

She has found the variety of courses offered at the MM-A and the Case Method of learning have made course learnings immediately applicable to her work, both in terms of leadership and communication with her team, as well as when it comes to bringing in data while deciding between different paths for projects.

“I was able to bring in some of the data model and statistics knowledge to map out options and assign probabilities to make the decision not based on instinct but by looking at how closely it fit with the strategy and the likelihood of success,” says Shephard, whose current role at Bayer involves leading transformational innovations within the consumer health division.

“The program’s field project, which looks at a business problem or challenge within one of the group member’s companies, will provide an even bigger opportunity to apply course learnings,” she adds.

“There is a great balance of both business and data management in the program, it isn’t all on the analytics and data side,” she says. “It’s the Ivey Business Essentials as well, which is invaluable knowledge to have. I chose the MM-A because of the tools I could add to my toolbox. It’s helping us all to become more well-rounded and set us to for future career successes ”