Jack Liu, MM-A ’23, knew he needed to broaden his business knowledge and think strategically if he wanted to move into a more senior role and have a bigger impact at work.

“I was looking for a way to help accelerate my progression from an individual contributor to a more senior leadership role,” says Liu, Senior Manager, Digital Product Analytics at RBC.

“The combination of new business knowledge with my experience – along with the technical side of the MM-A program – seemed like the right mix. It has allowed me to think bigger picture, and it provided the right tools and techniques to address a variety of problems.”

While Liu had worked in data analytics, his background was in engineering. It was a coworker and MM-A alum who suggested Ivey’s Master of Management: Analytics program to round out his skills and gain a more formal education in analytics as he began to apply to new positions.

“It gave me more confidence, and the ability to think more strategically – all of which helped with my application and transition to a manager role,” he says.

Once at Ivey, Liu appreciated the foundation the MM-A provided in key basic analytics concepts like statistics, as well as different analytic techniques and overall business knowledge. Those learnings were cemented through Ivey’s Case Method of learning, which uses real cases for class discussion and study, and places students in a position to make decisions with limited information.

“It’s an effective approach because you get to see those lessons applied in the real world in past cases, so there’s less of a disconnect between the theory and the real world,” he says, adding that since the MM-A is completed while students work, he was able to immediately apply what he was learning.

What’s more, Liu says he was able to consider not just his approach to new problems or situations, but also the perspectives of classmates from different industries.

“We had pretty much every industry represented it feels like in my class, but we all share that common thread of working in the same field,” he says.

“The program takes a year, but you come out with so many more connections, and with a lot of different perspectives and new experience. It would be difficult to absorb that much from so many different areas any other way, so it’s like you come out with many more years of experience than the time it takes you to complete the MM-A.”